New England Native Becomes 15th Coach In School History
KEENE, N.H.--The Keene State College Department of Athletics is pleased to announce the hiring of Steven Enright as the next head coach of the men's basketball program.
"I am incredibly excited to be a Keene State Owl," said Enright. "I am grateful to come back home to New England and want to thank Marty Testo, Abe Osheyack, Amy Watson, Keith Boucher, Matt Schmidt, and the rest of the committee for the opportunity. I would also like to thank the current players for welcoming me to the Keene State family and can wait to start working with them!"
Enright comes to Keene State after serving as the head coach of Bridgewater College since 2019. Bridgewater is a private liberal arts college in Bridgewater, Virginia.
Before taking the head job at Bridgewater, Enright was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Division I Virginia Military Institute in 2018-19. He also has coaching experience at Pfeiffer University, Endicott College, and Mount Ida College, his alma mater. He graduated in 2012 with a degree in sports management, with a concentration in coaching.
Bridgewater improved continuously during Enright's five-year tenure as head coach, from a three-win season in his first campaign to a 16-10 mark this past season. The 16 victories were a program-best since 2005.
Enright inherits a Keene State team that, in 2023-24, captured a second straight Little East Conference championship, and seventh overall, and advanced to a second consecutive NCAA Sweet 16. The team finished 26-4 overall and was ranked No. 5 nationally going into the NCAA Tournament. His position becomes effective on April 29. He becomes the 15th full-time head coach in program history.
"We're excited to welcome Steve to Keene State," said Keene State athletic director Marty Testo. "He will bring a 'competitive culture' to Keene State men's basketball and continue to elevate our program into one of the premier teams in the country."
A two-year stint as assistant director of basketball operations at the University of Rhode Island, from 2013-15, under then-head coach Dan Hurley, is also on Enright's coaching resume. Hurley is now the head coach at UConn, where earlier this month he led the Huskies to a second straight NCAA Division I national title in his sixth season in Storrs.
Competing in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), regarded as one of the top men's basketball conferences in NCAA Division III, Enright led the Eagles to a 9-7 record this season, the program's first winning conference mark since 2009, and a tie for fifth place in a 13 team league that produced four NCAA tournament teams, including national runner-up Hampden-Sydney and Final Four participant Guilford.
During Enright's time at Bridgewater, the Eagles touted the ODAC Rookie of the Year in two of the past three seasons, Jordan Cooper in 2024 and Shod Smith in 2022.
"I am thankful to Bridgewater College for taking a chance on a first time head coach in fall 2019, and am fortunate to have worked for some tremendous Head Coaches in my time as an assistant coach," added Enright. "I would like to thank Dan Hurley, Dan Earl, Shawn Postiglione, Rico Cabral, and Phil Rowe for mentoring me and preparing me for this opportunity."
The Eagles beat No. 20 Virginia Wesleyan on the road this season, the first win against a ranked team for Bridgewater since the 2018-19 season.
Keene State graduates two seniors, Alonzo Linton and First-Team All-American Jeff Hunter, who set program records for rebounds and blocked shots, and ascended to No. 4 on Keene State's all-time scoring list.