Jared Keith Grasso (born May 11, 1980) is an American basketball coach who currently is the head coach at The Knox School. A former college basketball coach, Grasso was most recently the head coach of the Bryant Bulldogs men's basketball team from 2018 to 2023.
| 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) |
| 2018–2023 | Bryant |
| 2024-present | The Knox School (NY) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 79–67 (.541) |
| 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
editGrasso was a four year starter and two time captain at Quinnipiac, where he ranks sixth all-time in assists, sixth all-time in three-point field goals, and sixth all-time in minutes played.[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
editAfter 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 fired by Fordham after a 1-22 record for the remainder of the season. He joined Tim Cluess's staff at Iona as the Associate Head Men’s Basketball coach for the 2010-2011 season. During his 8 years at Iona the Gaels appeared in five NCAA tournaments, and 3 NITs. In addition, Iona won four MAAC conference tournament titles, along with four 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, it was reported that Grasso was on leave from Bryant University.[8][9] Two days after the report, on October 1, Grasso was charged with a hit-and-run in North Smithfield, Rhode Island.[10] Charges were dropped on November 8 and Grasso resigned as the Bryant head coach on November 13.[11]
In April 2024, Grasso was named Director of Athletic Advancement and Recruitment, as well as head coach of varsity and postgraduate basketball, at The Knox School, a private boarding and day school in St. James, New York.[12]
Head coaching record
edit| 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) (2022–2023) | |||||||||
| 2022–23 | Bryant | 17–13 | 8–8 | T–4th | |||||
| Bryant: | 79–67 (.541) | 49–36 (.576) | |||||||
| Total: | 79–67 (.541) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
*Denotes interim head coach
References
edit- ^ a b "Official Website of Iona College Athletics". www.icgaels.com.
- ^ "Quinnipiac Men's Basketball Leaders - College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
- ^ "Jared Grasso (2014) – Hall of Fame".
- ^ a b "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". Providence Journal. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
- ^ Borzello, Jeff (November 13, 2023). "Bryant coach Jared Grasso resigning after leave of absence". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
- ^ "Knox welcomes new basketball coach". ESPN.com. April 18, 2024. Retrieved April 18, 2024.