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Saint Peter's University Athletics

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Marc Mitchell

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Marc Mitchell is entering his fourth season as head coach of the women's basketball program, and the eighth in the history of the program, in 2021-22, after being hired in March of 2018.

The third season proved to be the charm for Mitchell, as he led the Saint Peter's University women's basketball team to a historic season in which the squad reached the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Women's Basketball Championship Game for the first time in nearly 20 years. With Mitchell at the helm, the Peacocks finished off the regular season with an overall record of 11-14, and a winning conference record of 10-9, marking the team's best regular season finish since the 2008-09 campaign, when the Peacocks finished 13-15 (10-8 MAAC). The sharp turnaround of the program led to Mitchell earning his first MAAC Coach of the Year honor, making him the first Saint Peter's women's basketball head coach to earn the award since Saint Peter's hall of fame coach Mike Granelli in 1999.

The team's 2020-21 finish clinched a three-seed for the Peacocks, which was the program's highest conference seeding since it entered the 2001-02 season as a two-seed. Saint Peter's finished the regular season on a high note, defeating first-place Marist 58-51 in Poughkeepsie on March 5. The win marked Mitchell's first victory over the REd Foxes, as well as Marist's first loss to a MAAC opponent in over two years. Under Mitchell's tutelage, Saint Peter's went on to defeat Iona 61-50 in the 2021 MAAC Quarterfinal round on March 11, before overcoming hOURglass rival Rider by a score of 72-67 in the semifinal round on March 12. While the Peacocks would ultimately fall to the Red Foxes in the MAAC Championship Game, Mitchell's 2020-21 squad put Saint Peter's back on the map.

Mitchell's second season saw a number of highlights in what ultimately was another important foundational year for what promises to be an incredible future. While the Peacocks earned a ninth-place Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular season finish after securing the most wins by the program in nearly a decade (9), it is how those wins transpired and against whom they came against that truly shows the level of improvement from his inaugural campaign to the next.

A blowout win against Long Island University, in which Saint Peter's dropped 89 points, was an early indicator to just how potent the Peacock offense would be throughout the 2019-20 season. After that, the program would close out its non-conference slate with a home win over Morgan State and a road victory at Coppin State before the start of MAAC play. If there was one certainty in the 2019-20 season, it was that every game against Saint Peter's would be a grind, a testament that rang true as the Peacocks started to pick up wins -- and confidence -- against some of the league's elite squads. 

One of the defining victories of the season came in early February against a Rider squad that was among the most dominant not only in the conference, but in all of mid-major basketball, entering their matchup riding a 14-game winning streak and as the MAAC's last unbeaten team. That ended abruptly after the Peacocks posted a wire-to-wire win to jumpstart a furious finish to the season that would see them post three more impressive victories, including an overtime thriller against another one of the league's top teams in Fairfield and an unbelievable comeback in the regular season finale against Iona. While the Peacocks' season ultimately was stopped in the first round of the 2020 MAAC Championships, there was no denying the progress that had been made over the last two months of the year, progress that could make Saint Peter's a true dark horse in 2020-21.

The Peacocks ultimately would finish 2019-20 ranked second in the league in scoring offense (68.8), fourth in shooting percentage (39.0), third in 3-point shooting (31.5) and first in free throw conversion (79.0); the Peacocks also led the MAAC in turnover margin (3.03) and forced opponents to commit more turnovers than any other MAAC team. Individually, Taiah Thornton '21 and Kendrea Williams '21 -- who were playing their first seasons at Saint Peter's after transferring -- were among the top-12 in the conference in scoring and overall shooting. Thornton would earn all-league third team honors and ranked third in steals per game (2.3), while Williams finished as the league's top 3-point shooter (41.3) and ranked second in 3-pointers per game (2.5). In the classroom, eight Peacocks earned MAAC All-Academic honors while the program posted a score of 991 for the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate (APR).

During Mitchell's first season at Saint Peter's, the women’s basketball team had its best start in over a decade, beginning the season 4-2 overall and a perfect 3-0 at home. Mitchell would go on to lead his team to five non-conference wins, the most by the program since 2007-08. Under his lead, the Peacocks finished their season with the most wins (6) since 2010-11. Mitchell's freshman guard Briyanah Richardson was unanimously named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team after leading the Peacocks in scoring and assists during the season and she was also a three-time MAAC Rookie of the Week selection. Richardson’s career-high 39-point performance against Fairfield tied for ninth in the MAAC record book for most points in a conference game.

Mitchell came to Jersey City after spending the last nine years at the helm of the Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham women's basketball team. While there, he became the Division III program's all-time winningest coach, compiling a career record of 187-67 (.736). Under his guidance, the Devils claimed an unprecedented six straight Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom Championships, making six straight NCAA Division III tournament appearances. During the six-year run, Mitchell's teams won 20 or more games in every season and he won 86.5 percent of his contests posting a 154-24 overall record over the half dozen year span.

Mitchell's best campaign came during the 2013-14 season, when the Devils posted a perfect 33-0 record and capped off the season as the NCAA Division III national champions. The national title was the first in FDU-Florham history and the Devils became the first team to win the NCAA Division III women's basketball champions from the state of New Jersey. 

In addition to the national title run, Mitchell's squads have made trips to the Elite Eight twice and won at least one NCAA tournament game in five out of the six appearances.

Mitchell has garnered coaching honors for MAC Freedom Coach of the Year four times, D3 News Coach of the Year, WBCA Coach of the Year, and All-MET Coach of the Year.

Prior to joining FDU-Florham, Mitchell was the top assistant at Caldwell College in 2008-09. He spent 2007-08 as an assistant coach at New Jersey City University and the three previous seasons as the Head Girls' Basketball Coach at Elizabeth High School. While at Elizabeth, he led the squad to the County Semifinals in 2005 and to the State Tournament all three years.

He graduated from Kean University in 2000 with a degree in History and he earned his Master's Degree in Education from American Intercontinental in 2008.

Mitchell currently resides in Elizabeth with his wife, Winsome, his two daughters, Amira and Jade, and his twin sons, Jemal and Jalen.

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