VCU is set to hire Phil Martelli Jr. as its next head coach and he is expected to hire his father Phil Martelli Sr. to his staff, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein reported. He’s coming off two strong seasons at Bryant, including an NCAA Tournament berth this year, and will replace Ryan Odom.
Before Martelli Jr. took over as Bryant head coach, he was the program’s associate head coach from 2018-23. He previously served as an assistant coach at Central Connecticut, Manhattan, Niagara and Delaware before heading to the NBA G-League on the Delaware 87ers staff in 2016-17.
Bryant went 23-12 overall this past season and had a 14-2 record in America East action. The Bulldogs made the leap to Division I in 2008, and this year marked their second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
The VCU job also marks a return to the Atlantic 10 for Martelli Jr. He played at St. Joseph’s from 1999-2003, where his father was the head coach. Phil Martelli Sr. was an assistant coach at St. Joe’s from 1985-95 before a decorated run as the head coach from 1995-2019.
During his time at the helm, Martelli Sr. went 444-328 overall and 218-176 in A-10 play. The Hawks went to seven NCAA Tournaments during that time, including a run to the Elite Eight in 2004. St. Joseph’s also won three Atlantic 10 tournaments and four regular season titles.
After his time at St. Joseph’s, Martelli Sr. became the associate head coach at Michigan under Juwan Howard from 2019-24. He also served as the acting head coach twice – once when Howard served a suspension, and again after the program moved on from one of its all-time greats.
VCU is coming off an Atlantic 10 regular-season and tournament title this past season to make it to the NCAA Tournament with a 28-6 overall record, as well as a 15-3 mark in league action. It marked the Rams’ first appearance in two years under Odom after heading to the NIT last season. Odom took over as the head coach at Virginia this week following VCU’s tournament loss to BYU in the first round.
Martelli Jr. wasn’t the only name connected to the opening, though. VCU was also considering New Mexico coach Richard Pitino, who was coming off a Round of 32 appearance with the Lobos. However, earlier Tuesday night, Xavier announced Pitino as its next head coach. That opened the door for Martelli Jr. to land at VCU for his first head coaching opportunity.
