Rutgers has reportedly found its man in Steve Pikiell, who has been head coach at SUNY-Stony Brook since 2005, leading the Seawolves to the NCAA tournament this season. Stony Brook lost to Kentucky in the first round on Thursday, 85-57. The news was reported on Twitter by Steve Politi of The Star-Ledger.
He takes over a Rutgers Scarlet Knights program that went 29-68 the past three seasons under Eddie Jordan, finishing 14th in the B1G the last two years. Jordan's Scarlet Knights went 2-16 and 1-17 in conference play since joining the Big Ten, leading to his firing nine days ago.
Pikiell, 48, has led Stony Brook to five 20-win seasons in the last six years, reaching the postseason in each of those seasons. The Seawolves have captured three regular season America East championships since 2010 under Pikiell.
The UConn grad and two-year co-captain has also served as an assistant coach at George Washington (2001-05) and Central Connecticut (1997-2001). He also has previous head coaching experience at Wesleyan, where he went 5-18 in 1995-96.
Source: @stevepoliti
