Sean Coffey recently completed his eighth season as head coach of the Utica University men’s basketball program. He is the eighth head coach in the program’s history, and took the reins ahead of the 2016-17 season.
In his first eight seasons at Utica, Coffey has led the Pioneers to a 139-60 overall record and a gaudy 93-29 mark in the Empire 8 while earning berths into the Empire 8 Conference Tournament in seven (2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024) of his first eight seasons at the helm. He led the squad to to Empire 8 Championship title in 2021 and 2024, and has piloted the team to the conference title game on two other occasions.
Coffey has pieced together winning seasons in each of the last seven years. He is the first Utica head men's basketball coach to have accomplished this prestigious feat. In his tenure, he has also surpassed 100 career wins and was the fastest to do so in program history while being just the third head coach in program history to do so.
Coffey has been apart of an Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year honors five times. His earned the award twice as an assistant coach at St. John Fisher and earned his first as a head coach with Utica for the marvelous 2021-22 season. He followed this up receiving the same honor during the 2022-2023 and 2023-24 seasons for the Pioneers conference play dominance. In addition, Coffey was named as the 2022-2023 ECAC Coach of the Year.
The 2023-24 season was another outstanding campaign with Coffey leading the team to another Empire 8 Conference Championship title. The team boasted an incredible 24-4 overall record and were 15-1 in conference play while setting the most wins in a single-season with 24. This led to Utica reaching the NCAA DIII Tournament for the second-straight season. Three Pioneers received E8 All-Conference Honors with Damien Call and Justice Brantley earning First-Team honors with Griffin Barasa being named Utica's recipient of the Empire 8 Sportsman Award.
Continuing their winning ways, the 2022-2023 season was another one for the record books under Coffey. He led the team to an overall record of 23-5, which tied the 2021-22 and 2005-06 record of most wins in a single-season. The Pioneers established their best conference record, topping last season's, with a record of 17-1. The outstanding season led to an NCAA DIII Tournament appearance which was the team's first since 2006-07. Four Pioneers were chosen to the E8 All-Conference teams, with Justice Brantley and Darius Hopkins earning first team honors.
In many ways, the 2021-22 season raised the bar even further for the Pioneers under Coffey. Utica posted a 23-4 overall record to tie the program's most wins in a single season which was set by the 2005-06 Pioneers. A 15-1 conference record marked the best conference play record in program history which ultimately led to the squad's first Empire 8 regular season title. Utica carried a program-record fourteen game winning streak into the Empire 8 championship game, and finished the season as the conference tournament runner-up on their home floor. Five Pioneers were chosen to the Empire 8 All-Conference teams, with Darius Hopkins adding Defensive Player of the Year accolades to his second team honors. Thomas Morreale was picked as an NABC All-District selection.
The Spring 2021 season was memorable for Coffey and the Pioneers ending with the program's first ever Empire 8 Conference title. The fifth-year head coach led his team to a 10-2 overall record and an 8-2 Empire 8 conference record. The magical season ended with a blowout 89-65 win over top-seeded St. John Fisher to win the program's first Empire 8 Conference title. Damien Call was chosen as the E8 Rookie of the Year, and six Pioneers in all were named to Empire 8 All-Conference teams.
Coffey's 2019-20 season saw tremendous strides within the program. He led Utica to an 18-8 overall record while finishing third in the Empire 8 at a 9-5 conference record during the 2019-20 season. The Pioneers sported three all-conference selections, including Empire 8 Rookie of the Year Thomas Morreale. Sophomore Darius Hopkins was named First-Team All-Conference, while junior center Kimedrick Murphy and Morreale were named to the third team. All three players earned the first All-Conference honors of their careers under Coffey’s guidance in the 2019-20 season.
The 2019-20 regular season was highlighted by a non-conference win over local rival Hamilton College, a game that also doubled as Coffey’s 50th win at Utica. The Pioneers made a school-record 48 foul shots to take down the No. 22 Continentals. Additionally, Utica also held the national lead in three point shooting percentage for a lengthy stretch of the regular season, and the team was successful at home with a record of 10-2 when playing on Miga Court.
The 2018-19 season brought with it a 14-11 mark, and an 8-8 ledger in Empire 8 play. Avery Coston was a second team All-Conference selection, and was one of two Utica players to earn All-Conference honors from the Empire 8 Conference.
In the 2017-18 campaign, he led the team to its first Conference Championship Game appearance since the 2006-07 season. Utica entered the E8 tournament on a six-game winning streak. The Pioneers took down Stevens in the first round of the tournament in thrilling fashion, as freshman Avery Coston nailed a buzzer-beater for the win. Coston was selected to the All-Tournament team, while the senior Ivan Iton won his second consecutive Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year Award. Iton was also voted First-Team All-Conference in the Empire 8 as well, and also made a repeat appearance on the D3Hoops All-Region team while adding on NABC All-District honors.
In Coffey’s first season, the Pioneers experienced an incredible turnaround. After not posting a winning result before December 31st, 2016, a young Utica team went on to record a 10-6 conference record in the second half of the season and qualify for the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. Ivan Iton was the Empire 8 Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a first team All-Conference selection.
Before coming to Utica, Coffey spent a highly successful half decade at Empire 8 rival St. John Fisher College. During his five-year tenure at Fisher, Coffey helped guide the Cardinals to 89 victories, including 52 wins in Empire 8 Conference play. His time at Fisher included three Empire 8 Conference Tournament appearances and in 2014-15 the Cardinals won the Conference tournament championship, earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament and advanced as far as the Sweet 16. He recruited and developed an All-American, Empire 8 Conference Player of the Year and multiple All-Conference and All-East Region selections.
Prior to Fisher, Coffey spent one season as an assistant men's and women's basketball coach and fitness center coordinator at Corning Community College. Prior to CCC he had two separate stints at Hudson Valley Community College as the assistant director of athletics and sports information director (2009-2010) as well as men's basketball assistant coach (2006-2008). He helped guide HVCC to a 51-11 record, including a 30-1 record in 2007-08.
Originally from New Paltz, New York, he graduated from SUNY Oneonta in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies and he was also a member of the men's basketball team. Coffey then went on to earn his Masters in College Student Service Administration from the College of St. Rose in 2008.
While at Oneonta as a student-athlete, Coffey broke several records under the guidance of Head Coach Vince Medici. He broke the school's all-time record for three point field goals with 173 3-pointers in three seasons, and currently sits second all time in this category. He holds the single game record for 3-pointers made with nine, and has games where he hit eight, seven, and six 3-pointers, which are all in the top 10 for the Red Dragons.
After college, Coffey played professional basketball in the Irish Superleague (the top league in Ireland) in 2008 and 2009. He played for the Limerick Lions and led the league in 3-pointers and in scoring. His performance earned him spots on the Irish Superleague All-Import First Team and the Eurobasket.com first team. Coffey was also Head of Basketball Operations for the Claregalway Basketball Club in Claregalway, Ireland.
He is a National Strength and Conditioning Association certified strength and conditioning specialist.
Sean and his wife Gabrielle, who is the head basketball coach at Mohawk Valley Community College, reside in Utica with their daughter Brielle and son Richard "Rip" Sean Coffey Jr.
