Stevenson University held off Hood College for a 58-54 MAC Commonwealth men’s basketball victory at Owings Mills Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
The win was the 300th career victory for fifth-year Stevenson head coach Gary Stewart. Stewart is in his 23rd season as a collegiate head coach with stops at LaVerne, Cal State East Bay and UC Davis prior to his arrival at Stevenson.
Over the past two seasons, Stewart has led the Mustangs to back-to-back ECAC Championships, winning a school record 21 games in both 2013-14 and 2014-15. In four seasons, Stewart has mentored seven all-conference selections in addition to then 2012-13 Commonwealth Conference Rookie of the Year.
Last season, the Mustangs made an appearance in the Commonwealth Conference championship game for the second-straight season. Junior Christian Roberts became the third Mustangs under Stewart to score 1,000 career points.
In 2013-14, Stewart was named the Commonwealth Conference Coach of the Year. He guided a team that finished with nine wins and a fifth place finish in the conference to 13 conference wins and a share of the regular season title. During that season, the Mustangs posted three wins over top-20 teams, including a sweep of conference foe Messiah.
In 2012-13, Stewart led Stevenson into a new era as a member of the MAC Commonwealth Conference. Wasting little time in forcing his MAC Commonwealth brethren to take notice of a new combatant joining the battle, Stewart guided the Mustangs to the fourth best season in school history by orchestrating the third best regular season turnaround in Division III.
Prior to becoming the head basketball coach at Stevenson, Stewart spent eight years as head basketball coach at UC Davis. He guided the program through the university’s transition from Division II to Division I membership. Taking over a team that finished three games under .500 the previous season, he guided the Aggies to an 18-9 record. A lasting memory came during the third year of the D-I reclassification when UC Davis upset PAC-10 power Stanford, 64-58.
In all, UC Davis averaged double-figure wins throughout the transition period while winning more games than any other four-year transition program in college basketball history.
Stewart’s ability to make an immediate impact did not start at UC Davis. It’s a pattern of success that has followed him throughout his 20-year career as a head coach. In his first coaching stint, he guided the University of La Verne, his alma mater, from last place to first in a matter of three seasons. He currently ranks second all-time in school history in wins.
He remains the only coach in La Verne history to lead his team to a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) title, a feat he accomplished 3 times. A truly remarkable accomplishment considering, three NBA head coaches, Mike Budenholzer, (Atlanta Hawks), Mike Dunlap (Charlotte Bobcats) and Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) where in the SCIAC. Stewart’s 1992-93 team made an appearance in the NCAA “sweet 16”. His last six seasons at La Verne, the Leopards were ranked nationally or regionally in each year, making the only time in school history La Verne had garnered such recognition. Stewart still holds the highest winning percentage at La Verne.
Following his tenure at La Verne, Stewart worked his magic again when he took over at Cal State Hayward (now Cal State East Bay). Hired to resurrect a program that had posted a 22-79 record in four seasons prior to his arrival, Stewart engineered one of the best turnarounds in college basketball. Again, he guided a team from last place to first place – this time in just two seasons. He led the Pioneers to a school record for wins in conference (a record he holds at La Verne as well), while capturing a share of the Northern California Athletic Conference (NCAC) title. For his part, Stewart was named NCAC Coach of the Year and was a nominee for District Coach of the Year. Furthermore, the Oakland Tribune selected him as the Bay Area College Coach of the Year for all NCAA divisions.
