Jared Grasso
Jared Keith Grasso (born May 11, 1980) is an American college basketball coach. He has currently been the head coach of the Bryant Bulldogs men's basketball team since 2018. In his fifth season, he led Bryant to the 2022 NCAA Tournament, the first in program history for the school.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Bryant |
| Conference | America East |
| Record | 79–67 (.541) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | May 11, 1980 Syosset, New York, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1998–2002 | Quinnipiac |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2002–2003 | Hofstra (assistant) |
| 2003–2005 | Hartford (assistant) |
| 2005–2006 | Quinnipiac (assistant) |
| 2006–2009 | Fordham (assistant) |
| 2009–2010 | Fordham (interim HC) |
| 2010–2011 | Iona (assistant) |
| 2011–2018 | Iona (associate HC) |
| 2018–present | Bryant |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 80–89 (.473) |
| Tournaments | 0–1 (NCAA Division I) 0–1 (CBI) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| NEC Regular Season (2022) NEC Tournament (2022) | |
| Awards | |
| NEC Coach of the Year (2022) | |
Playing career
Grasso played four years at Quinnipiac, where he ranks fifth all-time in assists, and fourth all-time in three-point field goals.[1][2] He graduated in 2002 as Quinnipiac's second 1,000-point scorer in its Division I era and was inducted into the university's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.[3]
Coaching career
After graduation, Grasso joined the coaching staff at Hofstra, where he was a graduate assistant for the 2002–03 season before moving on to Hartford for a two-year assistant coaching stint. He returned to his alma mater Quinnipiac for a season as an assistant coach before becoming an assistant coach under Dereck Whittenburg at Fordham.[4][5]
When Whittenburg was fired on December 3, 2009, Grasso took over head coaching duties on an interim basis for the Rams for the remainder of the season. At 29 years old Grasso was then the youngest Division 1 coach in the country.[4][6]
Grasso was not retained by Fordham on a full-time basis, and joined Tim Cluess's staff at Iona as an assistant coach. While with the Gaels, the team has appeared in five NCAA tournaments, and has won five MAAC conference tournament titles, along with three MAAC regular season titles.[1]
On April 2, 2018, Grasso was named the 8th head coach in Bryant men's basketball history, and the second in the Division I era, replacing Tim O'Shea.[7]
Grasso led the Bulldogs to one of the nation's biggest turnarounds. The Bulldogs were the only team in the nation to triple its win total. Grasso was recognized as a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award as the nation's top first year head coach.
In the 2020–21 season Grasso was named the USBWA District 1 Coach of the Year, while leading Bryant to its best record in the program's D1 history.
In the 2021–2022 season Grasso was named NEC Coach of the Year, while leading Bryant to its best season in program history, winning 22 games and winning the regular season and conference tournament titles.
On September 29, 2023, Grasso was placed on leave by Bryant University.[8] It was reported that there was an investigation into inappropriate behavior by Grasso.[9] On October 1, 2023, Grasso was arrested in Smithfield, Rhode Island and charged with a hit-and-run.[10]
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fordham Rams (Atlantic 10 Conference) (2009–2010) | |||||||||
| 2009–10 | Fordham* | ||||||||
| Fordham: | – (–) | – (–) | |||||||
| Bryant Bulldogs (Northeast Conference) (2018–2022) | |||||||||
| 2018–19 | Bryant | 10–20 | 7–11 | 8th | |||||
| 2019–20 | Bryant | 15–17 | 7–11 | T–7th | |||||
| 2020–21 | Bryant | 15–7 | 10–4 | 2nd | CBI Quarterfinals | ||||
| 2021–22 | Bryant | 22–10 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I First Four | ||||
| Bryant Bulldogs (America East Conference) (2022–present) | |||||||||
| 2022–23 | Bryant | 17–13 | 8–8 | T–4th | |||||
| Bryant: | 79–67 (.541) | 48–36 (.571) | |||||||
| Total: | 79–67 (.541) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
*Denotes interim head coach
References
- "Official Website of Iona College Athletics". www.icgaels.com.
- "Jared Grasso College Stats - College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
- "Jared Grasso (2014) – Hall of Fame".
- "Jared Grasso – Men's Basketball Coach".
- "JARED GRASSO NAMED ASSISTANT MEN??S BASKETBALL COACH AT FORDHAM UNIVERSITY". Fordham University.
- "Fordham fires basketball coach in 7th season".
- "Bryant Athletics announces Jared Grasso as next men's basketball head coach" (Press release). Smithfield, Rhode Island: Bryant University. 2 April 2018.
- "Bryant basketball coach Jared Grasso is on leave from the program. No reason given". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
- Donovan, Trilly (2023-09-29). "Sources: Bryant's Grasso Taking Leave of Absence". Burner Ball. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
- "Suspended Bryant coach Jared Grasso facing charge after car crash". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2023-10-09.