By Bert Leeson
3 28 2024
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois University Carbondale has named Scott Nagy the 15th men’s basketball head coach in the program’s history.
With nearly three decades of head coaching experience at Wright State and South Dakota State, Nagy has a career 577-332 (.635) record and ranks No. 18 in wins among active Division I head coaches.
SIU will introduce Nagy to the public on Friday at 1 p.m. in the Charles Helleny Pavilion of the Banterra Center. Voice of the Salukis Luke Martin will host the event, with comments from Coach Nagy, Chancellor Austin A. Lane and Director of Athletics Tim Leonard.
“I’m extremely excited to welcome Coach Nagy to Saluki Nation,” Leonard said. “His record speaks for itself. He is a winner in every sense of the word and will be a perfect fit for our program, the campus community and the region.”
In eight years at Wright State, Nagy was named Horizon League Coach of the Year three times, led the Raiders to 20-plus wins in five seasons, and tallied 18 wins in the shortened 2021 campaign. He guided WSU to three Horizon League regular-season championships, two Horizon League tournament championships, a pair of NCAA Tournament berths, and one NIT bid.
In his first season at Wright State in 2017, he led the program to its first 20-win season since 2008. Building on that success in his second season, Nagy took the Raiders to their first NCAA Tournament in a decade and earned his first Horizon League Coach of the Year Honor.
Nagy repeated as Coach of the Year in year three, taking the Raiders to the NIT after tying for the league’s regular season title.
In 2019, he won a school-record 25 games on his way to WSU’s first outright League title in program history, while earning his third-consecutive Horizon League Coach of the Year award.
He led Wright State to a Horizon League tournament championship in 2022 – with wins over No. 1-seeded Cleveland State and No. 3 Northern Kentucky. The Raiders won their First Four game in Dayton over Bryant before falling to No. 1 Arizona. The win over Bryant marked the first NCAA Tournament win for WSU in the history of the program.
Nagy spent 21 seasons at South Dakota State and guided the program’s transition to Division I. He led the SDSU to 20-win seasons in eight of nine seasons while at the Division II level, including eight postseason appearances.
During that time, Nagy recorded an overall record of 410-240 (.631). After SDSU moved to the Summit League in 2007, Nagy’s teams went 175-119 (.595), earning berths in the NCAA tournament in 2012, 2013 and 2016, and an NIT berth in 2015.
In his final season at SDSU, he led the Jackrabbits to a 26-8 record, winning the Summit League regular-season and post-season tournament championships.
Nagy and his staff recruited and developed several all-league, academic all-league, and all-newcomer team members during his time at SDSU. Perhaps his best-known player was Nate Wolters, who garnered a host of honors, including being named Third Team All-America as a senior in 2013. He was drafted in the second round by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Nagy is a 1988 graduate of Delta State, where he helped lead the team to three Division II tournament appearances in his four years. In addition to setting career records for games played and assists, he also excelled in the classroom, earning Gulf South All-Academic honors three times. He was inducted into the Delta State Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
After graduating, Nagy joined the staff at the University of Illinois under hall-of-fame coach Lou Henson. In his two seasons on staff, the Illini advanced to the NCAA tournament both years, including a trip to the Final Four in 1989. He also got to coach alongside his dad, Dick, who was a longtime assistant under Henson.
Nagy and his wife Jamie have five children: Nick, Tyler, Anthony “TJ”, Natalie and Naika.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
Jeff Goodman, College Basketball Analyst
“Scott Nagy is a home run hire at SIU. Any coach around the country will tell you he’s one of the best mid-major coaches in the country. He’s done it at South Dakota State and Wright State. Scott is the least self-promoting head coach I’ve ever met, and that’s probably why more fans don’t understand how good he is. This was a terrific get by Tim Leonard and Southern Illinois.”
Jeff Borzello, ESPN College Basketball Insider
“Scott Nagy has been a consistent winner at multiple schools, taking one program from Division II to Division I and immediately making it a force and then elevating a second program that hadn’t been to the NCAA tournament in a decade prior to him taking over. He’s regularly produced efficient offensive teams that can play with pace and shoot from the perimeter. It’s a recipe that should serve him well in the Missouri Valley.”
Jon Rothstein, CBS Sports
“Scott Nagy is a proven winner. He did great things at Wright State and I have no doubt that he will replicate that success at Southern Illinois.”
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