Holy Cross has hired Notre Dame associate coach Sean Kearney to be the Crusaders’ next head coach, replacing Ralph Willard, who left in June to become an assistant at Louisville. Kearney has been coaching for nearly 30 years, including 23 years at the collegiate level. The Holy Cross position will be Kearney’s first Division I head coaching job. Athletics Director Richard Regan said Kearney will be a good fit at Holy Cross.
“In Sean Kearney, we found an outstanding coach who truly reflects the core values we espouse at Holy Cross,” said Regan. “He is a first class individual and has worked closely with an outstanding coach at Delaware and Notre Dame. It was clear to me that he is very highly respected in the college basketball community. We have spent the last three weeks considering over 50 candidates who expressed interest in becoming our next head coach. There were many interesting candidates and it was a challenge to narrow it down to those few that we felt best fit our situation. We’re excited to have Sean join us and we look forward to a long association with him.”
Kearney comes to Holy Cross from the University of Notre Dame, where he has served as associate head coach for the last nine years under Mike Brey. He coordinated the program’s national recruiting efforts, and played a key role in the development of low-post players. Over the course of Kearney’s nine seasons on the staff, Notre Dame posted a 188-101 record for a .651 winning percentage and advanced to the postseason in each of those campaigns, including five NCAA tournament trips and a berth in the Sweet 16 in 2003. The Irish recorded five 20-win seasons and finished with an 88-60 record in Big East regular-season play during Kearney’s tenure, including five years with 10-plus wins in the conference.
