SUNY Westchester Athletics has announced the hiring of Stephen Allen as the new Head Coach of Men’s Basketball. Coach Allen was tapped by Director of Athletics, Mike Belfiore, after he served as the Associate Head Coach for the 2024-2025 season.
Coach Allen replaces Andre Pennicooke who is leaving the program after 3 years at the helm. Pennicooke led the Vikings to 43 wins, including two Region 15 Championship appearances. He coached 7 All-Region players including Elijah Hernandez, who was an NJCAA All-American this past season. “We thank Coach Pennicooke for his leadership, mentorship, and commitment to our student-athletes’ success. During his time with us, he not only got us back to being a winning program by improving each year, but he fostered opportunities for many of our players to move on to the 4-year college level to continue their athletic and academic careers” said Belfiore. “His ability to identify key talents and develop players is something we will really miss. We appreciate his hard work and dedication and look forward to seeing him succeed in the next chapter of his career”.
This past season, Coach Allen’s addition to the staff paid immediate dividends as his contributions helped the Vikings win 6 more games than the previous year. The team also increased their scoring output by more than 10 points per game. Belfiore said, “Coach Allen’s impact to the team and the way he connected with players was particularly impressive. I look forward to great things from the program as he continues to build off of our past success”.
Allen had previously served as the Head JV coach and Assistant Men’s Basketball coach at SUNY Sullivan. During his time there the Generals had a 50-13 overall record and won the Conference, Region and District titles while appearing in the final fall in the 2021-2022 season. Prior to that he had coached women’s basketball with stops at Missouri Baptist University and the Saint Louis Surge. He was the Head Women’s Coach at Univeristy of Health Science and Pharmacy for three seasons.
Prior to that headed the staff at the University at Pittsburgh at Titusville (NJCAA) where his team increased their scoring output in each of his three seasons. He graduated 17 players to 4-year school opportunities and one player ended up moving on to play professional basketball as well.
“I want to thank Andre for the opportunity last year to be a part of his staff, and to Mike Belfiore for the chance to lead the program going forward. While this is a new era of Westchester basketball, we are continuing to build onto the foundation that’s been laid over the last several years”, Coach Allen said. This staff and I are looking forward to continuing the elevation of this program into a national powerhouse”. He also added, “New York basketball is special, and we strive to be there premier program for players looking to boost their academic or athletic profile. Together we will provide a program that the people of Westchester and New York are going to be proud of.”
Stephen earned his Bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education from SUNY Fredonia and a Masters in Special Education from Medaille College. He resides in the Bronx with his wife Nexcy.
