Steve Pikiell Position: Head Coach Experience: 5th year at SBU Alma Mater: Connecticut '90

Steve Pikiell enters his fifth year at the helm of the Seawolves basketball program after being named the 10th coach in Stony Brook men's basketball history on April 13, 2005.

Charged with building a program that made the jump from Division III to Division I in 1999, Pikiell guided the Seawolves to their best season in Division I history in 2008-09.

The Seawolves finished 16-14 overall and 8-8 in the America East Conference last season, tying for fourth-place in the final regular season conference standings, the Seawolves best-ever America East Conference finish. The 16 overall wins and eight conference victories were the most for Stony Brook in its eight years as a member of the America East Conference.

The 15 wins over the Division I opponents are the most since Stony Brook joined the Division I ranks in 1999-00. Stony Brook's improvement garnered national attention as Pikiell was named America East Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com.

After winning just two games on the road in 2007-08, the Seawolves won a program record nine games away from home last season, including victories over Air Force and defending conference champion UMBC. The Seawolves also had great success in their first season at newly renovated Pritchard Gymnasium, which included a program record five sold out crowds.

Stony Brook also set a program record with four players earning spots on All-America East teams. Junior Muhammad El-Amin was named to the All-America East second team, the first Seawolves player named as high as the second team in five years. He was also selected as the America East Player of the Week in January, becoming the first SBU player to be honored with the award since 2004.

Stony Brook, which started three freshmen and had four in its normal rotation; had two first-year players honored by the America East Conference. Freshmen Tommy Brenton and Bryan Dougher were both named to the America East All-Rookie team, the first time in program history that two players have been named All-Rookie. Brenton, Dougher and freshman Danny Carter also combined to win the America East Rookie of the Week award seven times, the first time in program history that three different players have won the honor in the same season.

Senior walk-on Marques Cox also earned a spot on the America East All-Defensive team as he finished the season sixth in the America East in steals per game.

In 2007-08, Pikiell guided Stony Brook to victories over defending conference champion Vermont and Long Island rival Hofstra in addition to leading SBU to its first postseason victory since 2004.

The previous season the Seawolves more than doubled their win total from 2006, going 9-20 including a stunning 59-51 road victory over Big Ten opponent Penn State. The Seawolves also doubled their conference victory total (four), picking up their first conference road victory since February 21, 2005, against UMBC.

In his first year at the helm of the Seawolves, Pikiell's squad went 4-24 and played the most challenging schedule in school history with games against UConn, George Washington, and Boston College. A constant recruiter, Pikiell wasted no time in bringing in the best recruiting class in program history. The class was recognized nationally when it was ranked the 27th best class in the country by Hoopscooponline.com. He also received the honor of being inducted into his hometown Bristol Hall of Fame in the the fall of 2006.

Pikiell came to Stony Brook with the reputation of being one of the rising stars in the collegiate coaching profession. Known as one of the top assistants for his understanding and ability to teach the game, Pikiell clearly demonstrated that he knew how to build a winner. In his two previous stops, Pikiell has been instrumental in seeing programs win conference championships.

Before arriving at Stony Brook, Pikiell helped orchestrate the rebirth of the George Washington basketball program under head coach Karl Hobbs. In 2004-05, the Colonials recorded 22 wins, the most since the 1997-98 season and the second most in 50 years, en route to their first-ever Atlantic-10 title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The 14 conference victories were the most in GW's Atlantic-10 Conference history, signaling a complete turnaround for a team that finished last in the Atlantic-10 in 2001.

The remarkable resurgence was punctuated with the Colonials appearance in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Top 25 national polls in 2004-05. At GW, Pikiell landed two Top 25 national recruiting classes and brought four Top 100 players to the program. Two of Pikiell's recruits, Mike Hall and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, declared for the NBA Draft in June 2005.

Pikiell joined the GW staff in 2001 and in his third season under Karl Hobbs, the Colonials posted an 18-12 mark, a second-place finish in the Atlantic-10 West Division and earned a bid to the National Invitation Tournament. The second-place finish marked the best showing for the program in the previous five years.

Pikiell's responsibilities at GW included recruiting, game and practice preparation, scheduling of games, and assisting Hobbs with day-to-day operations.

Prior to GW, he served as an assistant coach at Central Connecticut State University (1997-01) which, prior to his arrival, had never posted a winning season at the Division I level. During his tenure at CCSU, the Blue Devils notched an 81-63 (.563) record, including a 25-6 mark in 1999-2000 and a bid to the 2000 NCAA tournament.

It marked the school's first appearance in the NCAA tournament. He was part of a staff at CCSU that recorded three straight winning seasons including the 25-6 campaign which set a new Northeast Conference record for victories in a single season.

He was also instrumental in recruiting three players who won Northeast Conference Player of the Year awards in 2000, 2001 and 2004 including CCSU's first-ever NBA draft pick, Corsley Edwards. Seven of his recruits went on to earn all-conference recognition and he helped the 1999-00 team earn the highest G.P.A. in the school's Division I history.

A 1990 graduate of the University of Connecticut, Pikiell was a point guard, two-year captain and four-year letterwinner for the Huskies from 1987-91. UConn won its first Big East title and advanced to the "Elite Eight" and "Sweet 16" during the two years that Pikiell captained the Huskies. He played in 106 career games and averaged 8.2 points a game as a freshman. In 1991, Pikiell was given the UConn Club Senior Athlete Award for outstanding contributions to UConn athletics. He graduated from UConn with a degree in finance.

After graduation, he stayed on as an assistant coach at Connecticut under head coach Jim Calhoun in 1991-92. After one season with the New Haven Skyhawks of the USBL (1992) Pikiell spent three years as an assistant at Yale (1993-95). He then moved on to take over as interim head coach at Wesleyan, a Division III school in Middletown, Conn. for one year. Then, his former coach and colleague Howie Dickenman became the head coach at Central Connecticut State University and hired Pikiell as an assistant coach.

Pikiell enjoyed a storied career at St. Paul's High School in Bristol, Conn. The three-time all-state selection had his former No. 21 jersey retired after a career in which he ranks among the all-time leaders in points scored, assists and steals.

The Bristol, Conn., native is one of nine children and has been an instructor at several summer basketball camps, including his own camp from 1991-99 in Cheshire, Conn. Pikiell and his wife, Kate, have four children: Brooke Elizabeth, 10, John Patrick, 8, Olivia Kathryn, 6, and Kevin Thomas, 4.