Patrick E. Crarey II has been named as the St. Thomas University (STU) Men’s Basketball Coach and an Assistant Athletic Director, announces STU Athletic Director Bill Rychel.
“We are excited to add Patrick to our department. He is a proven winner and will add a lot of experience to our university, on and off the court,” said Rychel. “I am excited to see him recruit and develop our student-athletes to continue contending for championships.”
Bobcat Men’s Basketball has reached the Sun Conference Tournament Championship in each of the past two seasons, and has had four student-athletes receive All-Conference accolades. St. Thomas University’s tenth president, David A. Armstrong, J.D., is looking forward to Crarey continuing the program’s success. “We are very excited to continue Bobcat Basketball’s winning tradition with the addition of Coach Crarey,” stated President Armstrong. “Patrick is a great mentor and understands how to motivate student-athletes to excel on the court, as well as in the classroom. Welcome to South Florida, and welcome to STU, Coach Crarey.”
Crarey comes to St. Thomas University after a decade as the Men’s Basketball coach at Washington Adventist University (MD.) while also serving as the Athletic Director at WAU. During his tenure at Washington Adventist, Crarey was recognized as the conference coach of the year twice (ICAA/2014, AII/2020), and set the program record for wins in a single season (23/2020). Several of Crarey’s former players have gone on to play professional basketball in a variety of leagues, including the National Basketball Association – G-league, France, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Kosovo, and Bahrain.
“Firstly, I want to thank President [David A.] Armstrong [J.D.] and Athletic Director [Bill] Rychel for the opportunity to lead the men’s basketball program at St. Thomas University,” added Crarey. “I’m looking forward to cultivating relationships with our players, faculty, staff, and the South Florida community.”
Crarey continued, “‘Relationships then Championships’ is the motto I live my life by, and I look forward to building STU into a national contender.”
In his ten-year run as the Head Coach at WAU, Crarey led the Shock basketball program to unprecedented heights. In 2014, Crarey guided the Shock to the USCAA National Championship and also won the Association of Independent Institutions Conference Championship in 2017. Crarey’s has led four teams to 20+ win seasons, including three of the last four campaigns. Crarey took Washington Adventist to four NAIA National Tournament Appearances (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020).
Crarey received a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science, Scientific Basis from La Sierra University in Riverside, Ca.
