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Phil Martelli Jr. will be the next men’s basketball coach at VCU.
The Rams made the hire official in a Wednesday afternoon statement. ESPN reported late Tuesday night the two sides were working to finalize a deal that would take Martelli away from Bryant after two years in charge.
Martelli will be introduced on Thursday at an 11:30 a.m. press conference in Richmond. CBS Sports reported he was negotiating a six-year contract with a program fresh off Atlantic 10 regular-season and tournament championships.
“VCU has long been a dream job for me because of the high standards of excellence and national brand,” Martelli said in a statement. “I am excited to help carry on the legacy that has been set here and help elevate it to the next level.”
Martelli was the America East Coach of the Year while leading the Bulldogs to a sweep of regular-season and conference tournament titles. Bryant set a Division I program record with 23 wins, including a 79-59 blowout of Maine in the league championship game. Martelli’s last game in charge came on Friday, March 21, at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, an 87-62 loss to Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament.
“I assure our loyal and passionate fan base that the Bryant men’s basketball program will continue to compete for championships year in and year out,” Bryant athletic director Bill Smith said in a statement. “The search for the next men’s basketball coach at Bryant University is already underway.”
Smith’s last two hires have guided the Bulldogs to March Madness in two different leagues. Martelli was an associate head coach under Jared Grasso when Bryant reached its first postseason from the Northeast Conference in 2022. Martelli was elevated to head coach before the 2023-24 season after Grasso resigned in the midst of legal and personal troubles.
The Bulldogs went a combined 43-25 under Martelli, including a road win over Florida Atlantic in his fifth game. The Owls were a top-10 team in the national polls and coming off an appearance in the Final Four. Most of their stars remained on that roster in Boca Raton, and Dusty May was still the head coach prior to his hiring at Michigan.
“Phil has proven himself as a winner throughout his career,” VCU athletic director Ed McLaughlin said in a statement. “He helped engineer a historic turnaround at Bryant seven years ago and led the program to unprecedented success the past two seasons as head coach.
“He has clearly lived his entire life amid college basketball legends but has made his own path and paid his dues through hard work, good character and a devotion to developing young men into the best versions of themselves through sport. There's a reason he's served on the staffs of multiple championship programs.”
Martelli and his staff — associate head coach Chris Cole primary among them — were able to recruit, retain and develop standout players like Earl Timberlake, Rafael Pinzon, Barry Evans, Connor Withers and Keyshawn Mitchell. Timberlake was the conference Player of the Year in his third season after previous stops at Miami and Memphis. Evans was the Newcomer of the Year after a transfer from St. Bonaventure.
“A lot of people don't know I was in a very dark place a couple of years ago coming from different schools,” Timberlake said on Friday. “I didn't even want to play basketball any more. I just thank them for helping me get the love back for the game.”
Martelli holds a previous connection to VCU through his brother, Jimmy, who was on staff there from 2017-23. He followed former coach Mike Rhoades to Penn State at the close of the 2022-23 season, and the Rams were forced to search again when Ryan Odom was officially unveiled at Virginia on Monday. Rhoades and Odom are the most recent two in a string of six consecutive coaches who have reached the NCAA Tournament with the program.
Odom was previously the coach at Maryland Baltimore Country and sprung the first 1-16 upset in NCAA Tournament history when the Retrievers shocked the Cavaliers in 2018. He spent two years at Utah State before returning to the Mid-Atlantic on a contract with VCU that paid him north of $1.5 million annually. Something approaching that number figures to be a sizeable increase for Martelli, who had his interim tag removed and agreed to what was described as a long-term contract with Bryant last season.
Martelli has deep roots in the conference through his father, Phil, the long-time head coach at Saint Joseph’s and seven-time March Madness qualifier. Fox Sports reported late Tuesday that the elder Martelli could have a role on his son’s staff after spending time with the Wolverines and doing private consulting. He was in attendance for both a Bulldogs victory over the Black Bears at Chace Athletic Center and that final loss to the Spartans in Cleveland.
“It's special to have done it on their side, watching my father, and now on this side,” Martelli said at the postgame podium on Friday. “It's unique. You get to see both perspectives. There's not a lot of times where you can see both perspectives.”
[email protected]
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Martelli leaves Bryant for head coaching job at Virginia Commonwealth
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The Rams made the hire official in a Wednesday afternoon statement. ESPN reported late Tuesday night the two sides were working to finalize a deal that would take Martelli away from Bryant after two years in charge.
Martelli will be introduced on Thursday at an 11:30 a.m. press conference in Richmond. CBS Sports reported he was negotiating a six-year contract with a program fresh off Atlantic 10 regular-season and tournament championships.
“VCU has long been a dream job for me because of the high standards of excellence and national brand,” Martelli said in a statement. “I am excited to help carry on the legacy that has been set here and help elevate it to the next level.”
Martelli built strong resume in Smithfield
Martelli was the America East Coach of the Year while leading the Bulldogs to a sweep of regular-season and conference tournament titles. Bryant set a Division I program record with 23 wins, including a 79-59 blowout of Maine in the league championship game. Martelli’s last game in charge came on Friday, March 21, at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, an 87-62 loss to Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament.
“I assure our loyal and passionate fan base that the Bryant men’s basketball program will continue to compete for championships year in and year out,” Bryant athletic director Bill Smith said in a statement. “The search for the next men’s basketball coach at Bryant University is already underway.”
Smith’s last two hires have guided the Bulldogs to March Madness in two different leagues. Martelli was an associate head coach under Jared Grasso when Bryant reached its first postseason from the Northeast Conference in 2022. Martelli was elevated to head coach before the 2023-24 season after Grasso resigned in the midst of legal and personal troubles.
The Bulldogs went a combined 43-25 under Martelli, including a road win over Florida Atlantic in his fifth game. The Owls were a top-10 team in the national polls and coming off an appearance in the Final Four. Most of their stars remained on that roster in Boca Raton, and Dusty May was still the head coach prior to his hiring at Michigan.
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“Phil has proven himself as a winner throughout his career,” VCU athletic director Ed McLaughlin said in a statement. “He helped engineer a historic turnaround at Bryant seven years ago and led the program to unprecedented success the past two seasons as head coach.
“He has clearly lived his entire life amid college basketball legends but has made his own path and paid his dues through hard work, good character and a devotion to developing young men into the best versions of themselves through sport. There's a reason he's served on the staffs of multiple championship programs.”
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Bryant roster was best in conference
Martelli and his staff — associate head coach Chris Cole primary among them — were able to recruit, retain and develop standout players like Earl Timberlake, Rafael Pinzon, Barry Evans, Connor Withers and Keyshawn Mitchell. Timberlake was the conference Player of the Year in his third season after previous stops at Miami and Memphis. Evans was the Newcomer of the Year after a transfer from St. Bonaventure.
“A lot of people don't know I was in a very dark place a couple of years ago coming from different schools,” Timberlake said on Friday. “I didn't even want to play basketball any more. I just thank them for helping me get the love back for the game.”
Martelli holds a previous connection to VCU through his brother, Jimmy, who was on staff there from 2017-23. He followed former coach Mike Rhoades to Penn State at the close of the 2022-23 season, and the Rams were forced to search again when Ryan Odom was officially unveiled at Virginia on Monday. Rhoades and Odom are the most recent two in a string of six consecutive coaches who have reached the NCAA Tournament with the program.
Odom was previously the coach at Maryland Baltimore Country and sprung the first 1-16 upset in NCAA Tournament history when the Retrievers shocked the Cavaliers in 2018. He spent two years at Utah State before returning to the Mid-Atlantic on a contract with VCU that paid him north of $1.5 million annually. Something approaching that number figures to be a sizeable increase for Martelli, who had his interim tag removed and agreed to what was described as a long-term contract with Bryant last season.
Martelli has deep roots in the conference through his father, Phil, the long-time head coach at Saint Joseph’s and seven-time March Madness qualifier. Fox Sports reported late Tuesday that the elder Martelli could have a role on his son’s staff after spending time with the Wolverines and doing private consulting. He was in attendance for both a Bulldogs victory over the Black Bears at Chace Athletic Center and that final loss to the Spartans in Cleveland.
“It's special to have done it on their side, watching my father, and now on this side,” Martelli said at the postgame podium on Friday. “It's unique. You get to see both perspectives. There's not a lot of times where you can see both perspectives.”
[email protected]
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Martelli leaves Bryant for head coaching job at Virginia Commonwealth
Continue reading...
