Sean Strickland has been named associate head coach of the Muskingum women's basketball program.
Strickland arrives in New Concord after a highly successful two-year stint serving as head coach for the Penn State Beaver women's basketball team. During his tenure, the Lions were a perfect 18-0 in conference play at home, played in the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference Championship game and qualified for the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Division II National Tournament as the fifth seed. In his two years of leading the program, the Lions produced a PSUAC Player of the Year and a USCAA First-Team All-American. Strickland's teams have also excelled in the classroom with nine PSUAC All-Academic Team selections, and the program's first-ever USCAA All-Academic player.
Strickland was previously at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. In his seven years as the leader of the men's program, Strickland coached 12 All-AMCC performers, including an AMCC Conference Player of the Year and an AMCC Newcomer of the Year. Off the court, his Bobcats earned 22 AMCC Academic All-Conference Team awards and attained the highest team GPA in men's basketball program history. Strickland also coached seven of the 12 1,000-point scorers in school history.
Strickland's 2015-16 team is the most decorated team in the history of the Pitt-Greensburg Men's basketball program. The Bobcats captured the 2016 AMCC Championship and earned Pitt-Greensburg's only NCAA Tournament berth in men's basketball history. That team featured four players that broke the 1,000 point scoring barrier. Overall, Strickland's high-powered offense set school records in scoring (81.8 ppg), 3-point field goals made (254), 3-point field goal percentage (37.3%), free throw percentage (77.6%), total assists (463), and assists per game (16.9).
Strickland's college coaching career started at Baldwin Wallace University where he served as the top assistant women's basketball coach and head women's golf coach. His two-year tenure in basketball at BW included a DIII News Preseason #1 ranking; an average of 20 wins per season; a conference championship appearance; and an NCAA tournament appearance. As the head women's golf coach, Strickland recruited two classes that went on to be the most successful and decorated women's golf team in school history – a run that included a 289-142-3 record, 17 invitational titles, three conference championships, three NCAA tournament appearances, 18 All-OAC selections, and two NGCA Academic All-Americans.
Strickland was a member of the men's basketball team at Penn State Beaver from 1989-91. He scored over 1,000 points in his two seasons at PSB and left the program with single-game records for points (46), assists (12), and 3-pointers (8). He earned his bachelor's degree at Penn State University in 1993 in business logistics, and his master's degree from Slippery Rock University in sports management.
Strickland owns Strick Hoops, LLC which runs camps, clinics, and does skills training for players in the area. It is through this venture that Coach Strickland also works with Jim Dabbelt of The Dabbelt Report in Ohio to run #PittsburghTop100 events. Strickland is also very involved in the local basketball community as he volunteers as the President of the Central Valley Youth Basketball program, and President of the Ohio River Girls Basketball League.