Seton Hall hires St. Peter's Shaheen Holloway after historic NCAA tournament run
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.
The program’s last Sweet 16 appearance came in 2000 when Holloway was the starting point guard.
