Damian Pitts, who played at Goucher and coached at D2 Millersville (Pa.) for more than a decade, will be the next head men's basketball coach for Centenary (N.J.).
Centenary Director of Athletics Keith O'Connor announced the hiring.
"I am extremely pleased to welcome Damian and his family to Centenary University," said O'Connor. "Damian firmly believes in developing student-athletes both on and off the court in preparation for their futures after college. I am confident that he will make our men's basketball program and university community better".
Pitts comes to Hackettstown, N.J. after a 16-year stint as an assistant coach at Division II Millersville University in Millersville, Pennsylvania. Pitts played a vital role in the Marauders making three NCAA Tournament appearances, including two NCAA Regional finalist, and capturing the PSAC Championship in 2006-07.
"I am incredibly honored to be named the next Head Men's Basketball Coach at Centenary University," said Pitts. "I would like to thank Mr. O' Connor and the search committee for entrusting the program to me."
During his tenure at Millersville, the Marauders had 21 All-PSAC East selections, including a two-time Player of the Year in Charlie Best and a Defensive Player of the Year in Eijah Obade. Pitts recently took the reins on the academic side and guided MU to its best semester GPA in more than a decade.
Pitts graduated with a master's degree in Sports Management from Millersville in 2002 and received a bachelor's degree from Goucher in 1998. Damian was a standout basketball player for the Gophers and their longtime head coach Leonard Trevino. Trevino recruited the Laurel, Md. native out of nearby Laurel High School, where he was a standout for the Spartans.
Pitts replaces Tim Fusina who became the head coach at California Lutheran in May.
Fusina went 48-58 in four seasons at Centenary (N.J.), but that included the only two winning seasons in program history. The Cyclones went 14-13 in 2015-16 and 15-13 in 2014-15, reaching the ECAC tournamet both times.
Centenary was 12-14, 8-10 in the CSAC last season.