It’s official: Shaheen Holloway is leaving St. Peter’s to return to his alma mater, Seton Hall. Seton Hall announced Wednesday that it has hired Holloway as its new head men’s basketball coach. The move was widely expected as Holloway guided St. Peter’s on a historic run through the NCAA tournament. The Peacocks became the first No. 15 seed to advance all the way to the Elite Eight. That run came to an end Sunday when Holloway’s team lost to North Carolina with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
At Seton Hall, Holloway replaces Kevin Willard, who left for Maryland after 12 seasons coaching the Pirates. Holloway was an assistant under Willard from 2007-18, first at Iona and then at Seton Hall from 2010-18.
After the 2018 season, Holloway stayed in the state of New Jersey and accepted the head-coaching job at St. Peter’s. Over four seasons with the Peacocks, he amassed a 64-57 overall record. The Peacocks went 10-22 in his first season but had a winning record in the three seasons that followed, culminating with this year’s historic March Madness run.
"I am incredibly excited to welcome Shaheen Holloway and his family home to Seton Hall," Seton Hall athletic director Bryan Felt said. "Shaheen is a winner in every sense of the word, and he is not only an incredible coach, but also an incredible educator of young men. He works tirelessly to put his student-athletes in a position to succeed, and he makes them believe that they can achieve anything with hard work and determination. That is evidenced by his historic NCAA Tournament run this month. Shaheen made an unforgettable impact here at Seton Hall, first as a student-athlete and then again as an assistant coach, and now we're ready to watch him take over our men's basketball program as head coach and lead our Pirates to further greatness.”
Holloway, who has reportedly agreed to a six-year contract, was a star point guard at Seton Hall from 1996-2000. He then played professionally overseas before beginning his coaching career.
"Life has a way of coming full circle. This is certainly a full circle moment for my family and I. Seton Hall is near and dear to my heart; it's where I became a man, where I met the love of my life, where I spent countless hours honing my crafts as a basketball player and a basketball coach," Holloway said. "To say that I'm excited to get started as the head men's basketball coach at Seton Hall University would be an understatement. Thank you to President [Joseph] Nyre and Bryan Felt for this opportunity. It is a dream come true. Pirates fans, I look forward to seeing you all in the community, on campus and at the Prudential Center."
Holloway, who will be introduced during a Thursday afternoon news conference, inherits a Seton Hall program that has consistently finished in the top half of the Big East. Over the past seven seasons, the Pirates made five NCAA tournament appearances and finished with at least 20 wins six times.
This past season, Seton Hall went 21-11 overall and 11-8 in Big East play, earning a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament. However, the Pirates lost to TCU in the first round. Seton Hall only once advanced past the first round during Willard’s tenure.
Tournament star returns to alma mater after historic run with Saint Peter's
Holloway made history coaching the first-ever No. 15 seed to advance to an Elite Eight, Legendary Seton Hall player and NCAA Tournament coaching star Shaheen Holloway is returning to his alma mater to fill the program's head coaching vacancy, the university announced Wednesday. Holloway's historic Elite Eight run with Saint Peter's marked the first time in tournament history that a No. 15 seed advanced that far in the bracket. The Peacocks also became the first team in tournament history to win twice as a double-digit underdog.
Holloway's deal will be for six years, according to CBS Sports' Matt Norlander. An introductory press conference has been scheduled for Thursday.
Just 45 years old, Holloway played for the Pirates in the late 1990s and was a three-time All-Big East performer. Once a star recruit and McDonald's All-American as a high school player, he chose Seton Hall over Kansas, Duke and Syracuse and became the face of the program, where he averaged 13.7 points and 5.9 assists per game over his four-year career.
"I am incredibly excited to welcome Shaheen Holloway and his family home to Seton Hall," said athletic director Bryan Felt in a statement. "Shaheen is a winner in every sense of the word, and he is not only an incredible coach, but also an incredible educator of young men. He works tirelessly to put his student-athletes in a position to succeed, and he makes them believe that they can achieve anything with hard work and determination. That is evidenced by his historic NCAA Tournament run this month."
In just four years as a head coach at the college level, Holloway built Saint Peter's from a 10-22 team in Year 1 to a program that enjoyed three consecutive winning seasons. With a 64-53 overall record, he led the school to its first of three NCAA Tournament wins and leaves behind a legacy as the head coach of one of college basketball's best Cinderella stories in March Madness.
At Seton Hall, Holloway will take the reins from long-time coach Kevin Willard, who earlier this month left his position to take the same job at Maryland. Willard was 225-161 with the Pirates since taking over the program in 2010, but he left on a sour note after a 27-point first-round loss to TCU in the NCAA Tournament -- the program's third-worst loss in history on the NCAA Tournament stage.
"Life has a way of coming full circle," said Holloway. "This is certainly a full circle moment for my family and I. Seton Hall is near and dear to my heart; it's where I became a man, where I met the love of my life, where I spent countless hours honing my crafts as a basketball player and a basketball coach. To say that I'm excited to get started as the head men's basketball coach at Seton Hall University would be an understatement. Thank you to President Nyre and Bryan Felt for this opportunity. It is a dream come true. Pirates fans, I look forward to seeing you all in the community, on campus and at the Prudential Center."