Despite some recent changes among the women’s basketball program, Rutgers is staying the course when it comes to the men’s basketball. In an interview with NJ Advance Media, Athletic Director Keli Zinn announced that Steve Pikiell will return as the Scarlet Knights’ head coach for the 2026-27 season, despite a disappointing campaign this season.
“I believe he deserves that chance,” Zinn said in the post. “Certainly, when you look at the win/loss column, it’s not where we want to be. He doesn’t want to be there, but I think they’ve got really good plans in place. I was thrilled as I’ve been able to take a closer look at it as to what they’re looking at and what they’re expecting. I do think in a number of instances, we’re pretty close. Certainly, I’ve watched a lot of basketball, and in some cases, we came up short, but there was enough there to say, let’s make an investment in it and give him another year.”
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Pikiell, who was hired back on March 22, 2016, to replace Eddie Jordan, is 159–157 in 10 seasons at the helm. During that timespan, he broke a 30-year NCAA Tournament drought and made back to back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2020-21 and 2021-22. Before arriving in Piscataway, he spent 11 years as the head coach of Stony Brook, leading the program to six postseason appearances.
While the 2025-26 season has fallen short of expectations, Rutgers is betting that Pikiell’s past breakthroughs provide some hope for the future. On top of that, the basketball program is expected to have some more help financially via the athletic department to help the rebuild.
Time will tell if he’s the right man for the job. He’s getting an 11th season, but he could be on thin ice with the Scarlet Knights.