SCSU Men’s Basketball Head Coach Scott Burrell enters his 11th year as the Owls’ head coach in 2025-26.
Scott Burrell Highlights
- First African-American Head Basketball Coach in Northeast 10 Conference history
- Three NCAA Tournament appearances (2016, 2017, 2024)
- One-time Northeast 10 Southwest Division Champion (2016)
- 2016 ECAC Coach of the Year
- 75 wins over his first four years are the most by a coach over an opening four-year stretch in Southern history
- .589 WL% ranks second in Southern history
- 155 total wins ranks as the second most in Southern history
- Four All-Americans
- One Northeast 10 Player of the Year (Desmond Williams, 2016)
- One Northeast 10 Rookie of the Year (Ulyen Coleman, 2018)
- Two Northeast 10 Defensive Player of the Year (Austin Carter, 2016, Cherif Diarra, 2024)
- 26 All-Northeast 10 Conference selections
- Two ECAC Players of the Year
- One ECAC Rookie of the Year (Ulyen Coleman, 2018)
- Eight All-ECAC selections
- 10 All-Region selections
- Two CoSIDA Academic All-District selections
- Four Northeast 10 All-Academic Team selections
Scott Burrell, the 2016 ECAC Coach of the Year, completed his 10th season as head men's basketball coach at Southern Connecticut State University in 2024-25. His first two seasons at SCSU produced back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths, and his 75 wins over his first four years are the most successful opening four-year stretch for any Owls' coach in program history. Entering the 2025-26 season, Burrell stands at 155-108 (.589) and ranks second in SCSU history in wins and winning percentage.
2024-25 saw the Owls finish the year at 17-11 overall while Albert Vargas and Antonio Chandler received NE10 First Team accolades while Cherif Diarra was named to the NE10 All-Defensive team for the second-straight season. Vargas and Chandler were also named to the D2CCA All-Region team. The Owls won six of seven to end the regular season before defeating Franklin Pierce in the NE10 First Round. The Owls then fell on the road to Bentley in overtime.
The 2023-24 saw the Owls finish with an overall record of 22-11 and 13-9 in the NE10. The Owls entered the NE10 tournament that season with an overtime win against AIC on its home court before back-to-back upsets at Bentley and against Saint Anselm to make its second NE10 Finals appearance in program history before falling to Southern New Hampshire on the road. The Owls then made the third NCAA Regional appearances of Burrell's career, but fell in the first round. Cherif Diarra was named the NE10 Defensive Player of the Year and also received All-Defensive Team honors while Josh McGettigan and Marty Silvera earned All-NE10 recognition.
In 2022-23, Southern came off a difficult season after coming out of the COVID pandemic with a 18-12 mark that included an 11-9 record in the NE10 and 10-4 record at James Moore Field House. The Owls hosted a nine-game winning streak and won three of its last five games to clinch the 5th seed before bouncing Saint Rose out of the NE10 Tournament in the First round.
During the 2019-20 season, the Owls earned the No. 3 seed in the NE10 Conference Tournament, their highest seed entering the tournament since the 2016-17 season. Southern also earned multiple end-of-the-year accolades, including two All-Conference selections. Taurus Adams II garnered NE10 Third-Team honors, while Lyron Bennett was named to the NE10 All-Rookie Team. Adams II was also received All-ECAC First-Team honors.
The 2018-19 season saw the Owls win multiple NE10 Conference Tournament games for the first time since 2014, as Southern defeated Stonehill in the first round before upsetting top-seeded Saint Anselm to advance to the tournament's semifinals. The Owls finished the season 19-12, which included an eight-game winning streak, the program's longest since the 2014-2015 season. Southern also had two players honored with conference awards at the conclusion of the season. Isaiah McLeod was named to the NE10 Conference's First Team, while Kealen Ives was recognized with the conference's Third Team honor.
The 2017-18 season saw the Owls register a winning record and finish with a 16-12 record. SCSU had three players earn year-end laurels at the conclusion of the year, with Ulyen Coleman being named both the NE10 and ECAC Rookie of the Year. In addition, Luke Beesley and Jerry Luckett, Jr. were named to the NABC Honors Court for their work in the classroom.
The 2016-17 season was capped in another NCAA Tournament berth for the Owls, its fourth in a row overall, which extended the new school record in that department. Michael Mallory was named the ECAC Player of the Year, an All-American by three different organizations and was also a NE10 Conference Man of the Year candidate. Mallory and Jerry Luckett were both named All-Conference, and six Owls were named to the NABC Honors Court for their work in the classroom.
His inaugural season leading the Owls was a highly successful one on and off the court. The Owls finished with a 24-8 record and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. SCSU also won the Northeast-10 Conference's Southwest Division title. The team was ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation during the year.
On the individual front, Desmond Williams and Michael Mallory both collected All-America honors, with Williams being tabbed as the Regional, ECAC and Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year. Austin Carter was also named the NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year, while Joey Wallace was named to the All-Rookie Team.
The team was also recognized for its work in the classroom by the NABC with its Team Academic Award, while five student-athletes were named to the NABC Honors Court. His teams have also thrived academically during his first two years, highlighted by consecutive recognitions by the National Association of Basketball Coaches with its Team Academic Award.
One of the greatest all-around athletes in Connecticut sports history, the former NBA World Champion and University of Connecticut legend was named as head men's basketball coach at Southern Connecticut State University on July 10, 2015.
Burrell joined the Owls after eight seasons as an assistant coach at nearby Quinnipiac University, a stretch in which the Bobcats claimed 143 victories and made four Division I post-season appearances. Burrell played an instrumental role in the Bobcats' overall success and transition from the Northeast Conference to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
A first-round draft pick (20th overall) of the Charlotte Hornets in the 1993 NBA Draft, he also suited up with the Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls and New Jersey Nets in a professional career that ran from 1993-2006. Burrell was a member of the 1998 Chicago Bulls team that won the World Championship and averaged 7.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game over his NBA career. He also spent five seasons playing professionally in Japan, Spain, the Philippines and China before entering the coaching ranks as an assistant with the Colorado 14ers of the NBA Developmental League.
He remains the only athlete in professional sports history to be drafted in the first round of two different sports. A three-sport scholastic standout at Hamden High School, he was drafted in the first round of the 1989 Major League Baseball Draft by the Seattle Mariners (and again drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays the following year), but enrolled at the University of Connecticut instead, where he developed into one of the Huskies' all-time greats.
Burrell was the first player in NCAA Division I history to top 1,500 points, 750 rebounds, 275 assists and 300 steals in his career. He averaged 13.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game over his four seasons and set a new Huskies record with 310 steals. Burrell finished his career as the school's all-time leader in blocked shots and was eighth on the school's all-time scoring list before heading to the NBA.
He holds a bachelor's degree in general studies from UConn.
Scott Burrell Career Coaching Record Wins Loss WL%
| 2015-16 |
Southern Conn. St. |
22 |
8 |
|
0.733 |
| 2016-17 |
Southern Conn. St. |
18 |
13 |
|
0.581 |
| 2017-18 |
Southern Conn. St. |
16 |
12 |
|
0.571 |
| 2018-19 |
Southern Conn. St. |
19 |
12 |
|
0.613 |
| 2019-20 |
Southern Conn. St. |
16 |
11 |
|
0.593 |
| 2020-21 |
Southern Conn. St. |
|
|
|
No Season (COVID) |
| 2021-22 |
Southern Conn. St. |
7 |
18 |
|
0.280 |
| 2022-23 |
Southern Conn. St. |
18 |
12 |
|
.600 |
| 2023-24 |
Southern Conn. St. |
22 |
11 |
|
.667 |
| 2024-25 |
Southern Conn. St. |
17 |
11 |
|
.607 |
|
|
155 |
108 |
|
0.589 |
