Jay Wright (basketball)
Jerold Taylor "Jay" Wright Jr. (born December 24, 1961) is a former American college basketball coach. He served as the head coach of Villanova University from 2001 until 2022. Wright led the Villanova Wildcats to six Big East Conference championships and 16 NCAA tournament appearances in 21 seasons as head coach. Under Wright, Villanova reached four Final Fours (2009, 2016, 2018, 2022) and won two national championships in 2016 and 2018.
Wright in 2023 | ||||||||||||
| Biographical details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | December 24, 1961 Churchville, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |||||||||||
| Alma mater | Bucknell | |||||||||||
| Playing career | ||||||||||||
| 1979–1983 | Bucknell | |||||||||||
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||||||||||||
| 1984–1986 | Rochester (assistant) | |||||||||||
| 1986–1987 | Drexel (assistant) | |||||||||||
| 1987–1992 | Villanova (assistant) | |||||||||||
| 1992–1994 | UNLV (assistant) | |||||||||||
| 1994–2001 | Hofstra | |||||||||||
| 2001–2022 | Villanova | |||||||||||
| Head coaching record | ||||||||||||
| Overall | 642–282 (.695) | |||||||||||
| Tournaments | 34–16 (NCAA Division I) 4–4 (NIT) 27–15 (Big East) | |||||||||||
| Accomplishments and honors | ||||||||||||
| Championships | ||||||||||||
| 2× NCAA Division I Champion (2016, 2018) 4× NCAA Final Four (2009, 2016, 2018, 2022) 2× America East Regular Season (2000, 2001) 2× America East Tournament (2000, 2001) 8× Big East Regular Season (2006, 2014–2017, 2019–2021) 5× Big East Tournament (2015, 2017–2019, 2022) | ||||||||||||
| Awards | ||||||||||||
| 2× Naismith College Coach of the Year (2006, 2016) NABC Coach of the Year (2006) John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award (2018) 6× Big East Coach of the Year (2006, 2009, 2014–2016, 2019) 2× America East Coach of the Year (2000, 2001) AP Coach of the Decade (2010s) | ||||||||||||
| Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2021 | ||||||||||||
Medal record
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Beginning as a four-year player at Bucknell University, he quickly moved to coaching as an assistant at the University of Rochester and then Drexel University. In 1987, Wright returned to the institution he grew up rooting for as an assistant at Villanova under Hall of Fame coach Rollie Massimino. He'd coach at Villanova for five years, before following Massimino for a stint as an assistant at UNLV.
Wright started his head coaching at Hofstra University (1994–2001), leading the program to NCAA tournament appearances in both 2000 and 2001. Wright was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the 2021 class.