Coaching Carousel Conference Preview: NEC

One of the smallest conferences in the country produced one of the sport’s biggest headlines last season when Fairleigh Dickinson beat Purdue in the NCAA Tournament. Ironically, that result led to the only coaching change made in the NEC this spring. Other than that, there isn’t much going on in a league full of Division I newcomers.

Newcomers

Jack Castleberry (Fairleigh Dickinson)

Jack Castleberry takes over at Fairleigh Dickinson after Tobin Anderson’s departure for Iona. Castleberry spent the last 15 seasons as an assistant with stops at UT-Martin, VMI, Siena (with the women’s team) and the Citadel before arriving in Teaneck last year. The stop at Siena is significant because that’s where he met Tobin Anderson, who was working for the men’s team at the time. The Knights’ historic upset of Purdue put them on the map and everyone involved benefitted from it. Castleberry’s promotion happened fast, which helped keep the roster intact and the momentum going for a program that should compete for another NEC title this season.

Potential Movers

Joe Gallo (Merrimack)

Joe Gallo is 61-52 in four seasons at Merrimack. While guiding them through the D1 transition, they’ve won two regular season titles and last year’s conference tournament. Fun fact: Merrimack currently has the longest winning streak in the country at 11 games. Gallo has the makings of a future star in this business because of what he’s been able to do at Merrimack. The Warriors are finally eligible for the NCAA tournament this season, but it won’t take an appearance for Gallo to get looks at some better opportunities next spring. Gallo loves his alma mater and it’ll take something worthwhile to get him to leave, but everyone has a price and many programs would be lucky to have him at the helm.

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