Phil Martelli Jr., the son of legendary former Saint Joseph’s males’s basketball coach Phil Martelli, put his identify on the map on Saturday as his Bryant Bulldogs clinched the second NCAA Event bid in program historical past.
Bryant (23-11, 14-2 America East) defeated Maine (20-14, 10-6 America East), 77-59, within the America East Playoffs ultimate. It is the Bulldogs’ first America East match championship however their second convention match title up to now 4 seasons.
In 2022, Bryant gained the Northeastern Convention (NEC) regular-season and match championships to safe its first NCAA Event bid as a No. 16 seed. That 12 months, the Bulldogs misplaced to Wright State, 93-82, within the First 4.
This system moved to the America East forward of the beginning of the 2022-23 season underneath former head coach Jared Grasso, who resigned in November 2023.
Phil Martelli Jr. steadied Bryant throughout a probably tumultuous time, going 20-13 in his first 12 months as head coach, main Bryant to the America East match semifinals earlier than this season’s breakthrough.
His father, Phil Martelli, coached Saint Joseph’s for twenty-four seasons (1995-2019), main the Hawks to seven NCAA Event appearances.
Through the 2003-04 season, he guided Saint Joseph’s to an undefeated common season and No. 1 seed within the NCAA Event, the place it reached the Elite Eight.
Phil Martelli Jr. was a member of that crew, together with future NBAers Jameer Nelson, Delonte West and Dwayne Jones.
In November 2022, Phil Martelli Sr. was enshrined within the Philadelphia Sports activities Corridor of Fame. Earlier this 12 months, in February 2025, he was announced as one of four recipients of the Joe Lapchick Character Award, together with all-time nice girls’s faculty basketball head coach Geno Auriemma, males’s basketball official and CBS guidelines analyst Gene Steratore and former Fordham athletic director Frank McLaughlin.
Per the award’s official website, honorees are celebrated for demonstrating “honorable character all through their careers.”
Phil Martelli Jr. comes from a powerful bloodline, and he is establishing himself together with his personal credentials at Bryant, notching his first NCAA Event look as a head coach.
This season, the Bulldogs are No. 17 within the nation in scoring (82.5 factors per recreation). They’ve glorious measurement, with their 5 most important contributors standing 6-foot-6 or increased. Bryant’s 200 blocks are the third most in Division I, and its 5.7% block charge ranks second. (h/t KenPom)
The Bulldogs’ measurement and scoring potential make them a probably difficult matchup within the NCAA Event.
Phil Martelli Jr.’s inventory is up after main Bryant to its second March Insanity look in simply his second season as head coach. He could possibly be a number one candidate for a promotion this offseason. It will likely be Bryant’s achieve if he isn’t.
