Chicago State University has named Scott Spinelli to the position of head men’s basketball coach, Vice President /Director of Athletics Dr. Monique V. Carroll announced today.
Spinelli was an assistant coach on the 2023-24 CSU men’s staff as the primary coordinator of game plans for the Cougars, who earned key wins over Northwestern during the regular season and UC San Diego in the College Basketball Insider postseason tournament.
“I was impressed with Scott’s vision to build our program into a conference contender,” Dr. Carroll said. “His experience at Power Five programs and developing winning cultures, along with his demonstrated ability to recruit and develop student-athletes into elite performers elevated Scott to this role. I am confident he can build champions at Chicago State University as we enter the Northeast Conference.”
Widely recognized as one of the top assistant coaches and recruiters in the country, Spinelli’s extensive coaching journey spans more than two decades at the Division I level. Prior to this past season as an assistant at Chicago State, he served as interim head coach at Boston College during the 2021 season, where he was an assistant coach for eight seasons and ranked as high as No. 11 in the top 50 assistant coaches list according to Hoopscooponline.com.
As an assistant, Spinelli led the recruiting and development of six current NBA players (Khris Middleton, DeAndre Jordan, Alex Len, Jake Layman, Jerome Robinson and Ky Bowman) and implemented scouting and game plans to defeat No. 1 Duke at two different schools (Maryland and Boston College), which highlights his leadership abilities and deep understanding of the game.
Spinelli has earned accolades throughout his career for his exceptional coaching acumen and player development expertise. His contributions at Boston College include nurturing five 1,000-point scorers and guiding the program through challenging times, including the COVID shutdown and notable victories over top-ranked opponents.
A native of Leominster, Mass., Spinelli is a 1989 graduate of Boston University, where he was a member of the basketball team under coach Mike Jarvis, helping the Terriers advance to the NCAA tournament in 1988. He and his wife, Lynn, have three children: Gianna, Gabriel, and Joseph.
