Announced on June 19, 2018 by Brooklyn athletic director Bruce Filoa, Jeff Jean-Baptiste was promoted to interim head men's basketball coach following his first season as associate head coach. He replaces fellow Brooklyn alumnus, Rich Micallef, after four seasons at the helm of the program.
"Jeff has been successful in every aspect of his education and career at Brooklyn College. He knows the college and our program," Filosa said. "Our team is in good hands. We are looking forward to his contributions as head coach."
In his 12 seasons on the Brooklyn coaching staff, Jean-Baptiste has been responsible for player development, assisting with scouting reports, recruiting and providing pre-season and post-season workout plans.
From 2006-2018, Jean-Baptiste played an integral role in helping Brooklyn post an overall record of 192-137 (.583 winning percentage), to go along with three CUNYAC championships and NCAA Tournament appearances (2008-2009, 2009-2010, and 2015-16), as well as three ECAC Metro Tournament selections (2007-2008, 2011-2012 & 2014-2015).
Jean-Baptiste made the move from player to coach after spending four seasons on the BC men's basketball team (2002-2006), including three seasons as team captain. Over his four-year career, Jean-Baptiste scored 1,482 career points (currently fifth all-time) and was named a second team CUNYAC All-Star in 2005. As a student athlete at BC, Jean Baptiste was a member of the 2003 CUNYAC Goodwill Team that toured the Dominican Republic and played on the Haitian national team at the 2005 World University Games held in Turkey.
Jeff set the bar for the Jean-Baptiste name at Brooklyn, as his younger brother Richard followed in his big brother's footsteps en route to setting the BC record at the time for career points with 1,847 (2007-2010). The Jean-Baptiste brothers combined to score 3,329 points at BC.
Jean-Baptiste takes over for Rich Micallef after four seasons under his tutelage. Micallef has moved on to become the girls basketball varsity coach at Northern Highlands High School in New Jersey where he will have the opportunity to coach his daughter for her senior year. The Brooklyn grad led the Bulldogs to a 58-53 record in four seasons as head coach. In only his second year at the helm for the 2015-16 season, Brooklyn won the CUNYAC title advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
Taking the program over for the 2014-15 season, Micallef led the Bulldogs to a 23-7 overall record including CUNYAC and ECAC Championship game appearances. His jersey number retired and third on Brooklyn College's all-time scoring list with 1,740 points over his four-year playing career (1980-84), Micallef coached BC's current all-time leading scorer, Egzon Gjonbalaj (2012-16), in the final two seasons of his career. Micallef began his college coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater when Brooklyn was a Division I member.
Jean-Baptiste currently teaches science at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Academy in Brooklyn.