By SEAN BOCK
Xavier has hired associate head coach Travis Steele to be its next head coach, the school announced on Saturday.
Steele has spent the last 10 seasons at Xavier and has been an associate head coach for Chris Mack, who took the Louisville job earlier this week.
I am extremely excited to be the next Head Coach at Xavier University! #LetsGoX pic.twitter.com/UJ4peYMwIv
— Travis Steele (@CoachSteeleXU) March 31, 2018
“As we completed our national search process, it became clear that the best head coach for our program is the person we knew the best, Travis Steele,” Xavier athletic director Greg Christopher said in a statement. “Travis has impacted the Xavier basketball program in a variety of ways during his time at Xavier, whether in the office, on the court or in recruiting. Travis brings passion, personality, and organizational leadership skills to our head coaching position, which is really the CEO of our basketball program. He has earned a reputation as one of the brightest young offensive minds in the game and one of the future stars in this profession.”
Steele has been a part of nine NCAA Tournament teams in his 10 years at Xavier, including five teams that reached at least the Sweet 16. This past year’s team won Xavier’s first Big East Regular Season Championship, a school-record final AP ranking of No. 3 and the first NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed in school history.
“I am excited about the opportunity to build on the success that we’ve enjoyed in the Xavier basketball program,” said Steele. “I want to thank the Xavier administration and everyone involved in the search process, especially Greg Christopher.”
Steele is a big part of the reason Xavier’s recent recruiting classes have earned national attention.
He has played a key role in multiple nationally-ranked recruiting classes in recent years, including three straight classes ranked among the top 20 in the country.
Photo: Sporting News
