May 7, 2010

C.W. Post Names Chris Casey as Men’s Basketball Coach

BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (May, 7, 2010) – Chris Casey, a former assistant men’s basketball coach at Division I St. John’s University, was selected as C.W.  Post’s head men’s basketball coach Friday following a nationwide search, Director of Athletics Bryan Collins announced.  A press conference introducing Casey will be held Monday at 11 a.m. and will be broadcast live on CWPostpioneers.com. 

A press conference introducing Casey will be held Monday at 11 a.m. and will be broadcast live on CWPostpioneers.com.

Casey becomes the ninth head coach to take over the Pioneer program, which has qualified for the NCAA Tournament twice in the last three years, including an appearance in the Elite Eight Tournament in 2009.  

Casey spent the last six years on the men’s basketball staff at St. John’s under former head coach Norm Roberts, serving the first two seasons as the Director of Operations before being promoted to Assistant Coach. 

During his tenure at St. John’s, Casey played a large role on Roberts’ staff as he was responsible for recruiting, opponent scouting, player development, on-court instruction and practice and game preparation. 

Casey's first season as an assistant coach proved to be one of significance for the Red Storm. St. John's made a return to the BIG EAST Championship Tournament for the first time since 2003, posted its first winning record (16-15) since that season, collected the most victories since its 21-13 campaign four years ago and compiled its best conference record (7-9) since 2003 as well. 

In 2008-09, Casey's guidance helped the Red Storm equal that win total, propelling the squad to its first BIG EAST Tournament victory in six years and a postseason appearance in the CBI.

Casey came to St. John's from Central Connecticut State University, where he spent three seasons as the Blue Devils' top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. He was also responsible for game preparation, player development and on-the-floor coaching at CCSU.
During his tenure with the Blue Devils, the team won the 2002 Northeast Conference championship and earned a berth in the 2002 NCAA Tournament. In 2003, Casey was named an AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year.
In his three years with Central Connecticut State, the team averaged nearly 19 wins per year. The team's league record during those years was 40-16, and the Blue Devils advanced to two NEC Championship games.
At CCSU, Casey worked with forward Corsley Edwards, who was selected by the Sacramento Kings in the second round of the 2003 National Basketball Association Draft, the first-ever selection for a Blue Devil player. In addition, two student-athletes, Edwards and Ron Robinson, were named the league's player of the year during his tenure.
Casey joined the staff at Central Connecticut State after serving as the head coach at Rutgers University-Newark for three seasons, from 1998-99 to 2000-01. In his third year with the Scarlet Raiders, he led the team to its second postseason appearance since 1985. The team matched the school record for victories in the regular season and the Raiders qualified for the ECAC Postseason Tournament. For his efforts, Casey was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. Prior to his time at Rutgers, Casey was an assistant basketball coach at St. Peter's College for eight years. He served as the team's recruiting coordinator and helped land seven all-conference players and two players who were named the conference's Rookie of the Year. St. Peter's qualified for the Division I NCAA Tournament twice during his tenure, 1991 and again in 1995.
Casey has also made coaching stops at his alma mater, Western Connecticut State, and St. Francis (N.Y.). In 1988-89, Western Connecticut finished the season 25-3 and made a trip to the Division III Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.
Casey is a 1986 graduate of Western Connecticut State University with a B.S. in business administration. He earned his master's in education administration from Central Connecticut State in 1993.
He played basketball for four seasons at Western and was a two-time team captain. His team made an appearance in the ECAC Tournament in his senior season. Casey and his wife, Hope, have two daughters, Lauren (9) and Jordan (7).

-Provided by C.W. Post Sports Information department.