Quinnipiac Director of Athletics and Recreation Greg Amodio has announced that men’s basketball head coach Baker Dunleavy has agreed to a five-year contract extension through the 2022-23 season. Dunleavy lead the Bobcats on a run to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference semifinals in his first season at the helm.
“Baker Dunleavy embodies all of the qualities that Quinnipiac values in its leadership, both as a mentor and role model to our student-athletes and as an ambassador for the University,” Amodio said. “In his first year as head coach, he has established a strong foundation for our men’s basketball program that will lead to sustained success for years to come. I’m confident that Baker and his staff will continue to build the program into a perennial MAAC contender.”
The 2017-18 season saw the Bobcats in the MAAC semifinals for just the second time since joining the conference in 2013-14. Dunleavy, a former assistant coach under Jay Wright at Villanova, used a mix of transfers and freshmen to compliment the program’s returning roster and find success throughout MAAC play.
“I am excited and humbled to continue leading our basketball program at Quinnipiac University,” Dunleavy said. “My staff and I are appreciative to our administration and leadership. We could not be more excited about our young group and the direction of our program.”
Dunleavy’s team in 2018-19 sees the return of All-MAAC Second Team guard Cameron Young, who broke the Quinnipiac single-season scoring record with 622 points. Young, who will enroll in graduate school beginning in the fall, received an extra year of eligibility from the NCAA this summer and is the MAAC’s leading returning scorer from 2017-18.
Sophomore Rich Kelly, a member of the MAAC All-Rookie team a year ago, enters his sophomore season after averaging 34 minutes per game and finishing the regular season fifth in the MAAC in assists (4.8 apg). He, along with Young and sophomore Jacob Rigoni, represent three of the Bobcats’ top scorers from last season.
Dunleavy and the Bobcats open up non-conference play with a road contest in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania against the defending national champion Villanova Wildcats.
