Maine Maritime Academy director of athletics Steve Peed has appointed Cedric Gillette to be the Mariners next men’s basketball head coach, effective on Monday, Sep. 16.
“In our conversations leading up to this search among the committee members and the team, we identified that we needed a chief energy officer to capitalize on the foundation that Coach (Dan) McNeely had set down,” said Peed. “Cedric most definitely brings unbridled passion and energy into the building and he was hungry for this opportunity. He earned this position at every stage from his initial email, in the resume screening, in the first round and he absolutely knocked it out of the park when he arrived on campus.
“I have sat through hundreds of interviews in my career and have never seen a candidate come into the space more thoroughly and meticulously prepared. He is a student of the game, he is a student of coaching, and he emerged from a talented and experienced pack as the clear person to lead Maine Maritime’s basketball players and work alongside our amazing staff.”
Gillette added: “I’m super excited for the opportunity to become the next head coach for Maine Maritime Academy Men’s Basketball. I want to thank Steve Peed and Associate Athletic Director Tricia Carver for believing in me. When the job first came open, I was initially enticed by the amount of returning talent on the roster and the more I’ve learned about the Academy, the more excited I’ve become. From the moment I got to campus it has been clear that MMA is a special place. I can’t wait to get to work and start competing for North Atlantic Conference championships.”
Gillette comes to Maine Maritime after serving as an assistant coach with NCAA Division I Merrimack College out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. He helped the 2023-24 Warriors to a 21-12 overall record (setting the program’s season wins total as a Division I member) and a 13-3 record for a share of the regular-season title in the Northeast Conference–their last season in the NEC. He was part of the coaching staff that saw the program clean up conference postseason awards: Jordan Derkack (Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-NEC), Adam “Budd” Clark (Rookie of the Year, Second Team All-NEC, NEC All-Rookie Team) and Bryan Etumnu (NEC Most Improved Player).
Gillette was a five-year member of the Merrimack baseball team as a starting pitcher. He won 13 games and struck out 94 batters in 180 innings.
Gillette chose the hardwood over the diamond as his vocation. He first joined the Warriors men’s basketball coaching staff in 2022-23 as a graduate assistant. Merrimack swept the NEC regular-season and tournament championships. He played a vital role in the development of the conference player and rookie of the years. He helped the team become the best defensively by points per possession in the history of the NEC. Last season, he was elevated to quality control assistant coach. Over the summer, he was promoted for a third time to full-time assistant coach ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.
“I’ve been extremely lucky to be around some really great coaches in my life. I played for some legendary coaches in high school and have had the opportunity to coach under a great coach in Coach Gallo at Merrimack College,” Gillette said about how his experience has helped him prepare for his first head coaching role at MMA. “I’ve also been really lucky to be around some great assistant coaches at Merrimack in Micky Burtnyk, Phil Gaetano, Chris Mohr, Juvaris Hayes and Jimmy Langhurst–learning so much from them in my two-plus years at MC. I’ve also been lucky enough to coach some great players at Merrimack, which has led to a lot of success. I plan on bringing all that I’ve learned from these people to MMA to create a consistent winner in Castine.”
A three-sport Andover (Mass.) High School in baseball, basketball and football, Gillette is a two-time graduate of Merrimack. He was the AHS Athlete of the Year and the Eagle Tribune newspaper’s Regional Three-Sport Athlete of the Year.
He received a bachelor of arts degree in political science in 2022 and earned his master’s degree in management two years later.
Gillette isn’t shying away from expectations and believes the foundation of success is present in the program, which McNeely led to double-digit wins in each of the last two seasons for the first time in 16 years. “I know it’s the classic coaches cliche to talk about culture on Day 1, but it all starts there. We are going to be a fearless, relentless and selfless team that plays every defensive possession like we are up 2 with 25 seconds left in the national championship game and plays freely and for each other on the offensive end. The fans can expect a team that is exciting to watch, easy to root for, and keeps them coming back to Margaret Chase Smith Gymnasium for more.”
