A respected veteran within college basketball, Jay Young has been named the Head Coach of the Fairfield University Men’s Basketball program. Young, the 13th head coach in program history, most recently spent three seasons as an assistant coach in the Big Ten at Rutgers University.

“I am excited and proud to announce Jay Young as the next Head Coach of Fairfield Men’s Basketball,” said Director of Athletics Paul Schlickmann. “He emerged at every step of our thorough search process as the individual with the depth and breadth of experience to lead our program.  Jay has a stellar reputation for operating with integrity and an authentic approach to the recruitment and overall development of young men.  He has coached at every level of college basketball and has been the common denominator of great success at each of those stops.  Jay is a winner and will be relentless in his approach to achieve excellence in every aspect of our program.  I am confident his passion and energy will create a unique identity for Stags Men’s Basketball that will resonate with our community.”     

Fairfield will host a welcome event on Wednesday April 10^th at 10:00am in the Dogwood Room in the Barone Campus Center. The event is open to the public as Young will be introduced to the Fairfield University community and provide formal remarks. The event will also be streamed on the Fairfield University and Fairfield Athletics Facebook pages.

While at Rutgers, Young helped lead the Scarlet Knights to their best-ever Big Ten finish in 2018-19, recording wins over nationally-ranked conference foes Ohio State and Iowa with one of the youngest rosters in the nation. Young, who coordinated the Rutgers defense for Head Coach Steve Pikiell, was also integral in bringing the highest-ranked freshman class in program history to Piscataway.

Rutgers set a new standard for Big Ten wins in each of Young’s three seasons with the Scarlet Knights. The Scarlet Knights earned their first Big Ten postseason win in 2017 and then reached the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals for the first time in 2018. KenPom.com ranked Rutgers as the most improved Power 6 conference program in the nation this year, jumping 71 positions since the beginning of the 2018-19 season.

“I am humbled and honored to be the next Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Fairfield University,” said Young. “I would like to thank President Nemec and Director of Athletics Paul Schlickmann for all of their confidence and support. Fairfield’s blend of academic and athletic excellence makes this truly a special opportunity for me. It is with great enthusiasm that I look forward to joining the Fairfield community.”

Prior to patrolling the sidelines at Rutgers, Young rose to the role of Associate Head Coach at Stony Brook University, where he was a member of Coach Pikiell’s staff for many of the most successful seasons in Seawolves history. Stony Brook reached the NCAA postseason for the first time in its Division I history in 2016 after winning the America East Tournament and Regular Season Championship. The Seawolves also received bids to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) three times during Young’s tenure as the America East Regular Season Champions.

Young also directed the recruiting efforts that brought Jameel Warney to Long Island. A three-time America East Player of the Year, Warney is Stony Brook’s all-time leader in points, rebounds and blocked shots. He is currently a member of the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League. Young recruited three of the top four all-time leading scorers at Stony Brook during his tenure with the Seawolves.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jay and his wife Janet to our community,” said Fairfield University President Mark R. Nemec, PhD. “Jay’s vision for Fairfield Basketball, his respect for and embrace of our core Jesuit values as well as his track record of transformation, make Jay uniquely qualified to lead our program at this time. We are confident Jay will elevate our men’s basketball program to a level of success on and off the court that is commensurate with our institutional rise as a model of modern excellence.”

Previously a Head Coach at the University of New Haven, Young took the reins of a team that had just one winning season in the prior eight years and led them to back-to-back NCAA postseason bids in 2003-04, including the Chargers’ first victory on the national stage since 1988. He went 78-66 (.542) in his five seasons at New Haven, wrapping up his tenure with four consecutive winning campaigns.

Young’s first head coaching stop was in the junior college ranks at Newbury College, where he was a two-time NJCAA Regional Coach of the Year and 1995 NJCAA District VI Coach of the Year. Young guided his team to postseason play in three straight seasons, highlighted by a trip to the 1995 NJCAA Division III Final Four.

Young has also made assistant coaching stops at Northeastern, Salem State, and Fitchburg State in a collegiate coaching career that spans more than 30 years.

A 1986 graduate of Marist College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, Young played three seasons of lacrosse for the Red Foxes. He earned First Team All-Conference honors in his senior campaign.