Xavier University was in need of a new head men’s basketball coach after alum Chris Mack, the winningest coach in program history, departed for the University of Louisville this week — as widely expected.
On Saturday, 36-year-old Travis Steele officially took over the reigns for Mack, three years after being promoted to associate head coach. He’s the 18th head coach in program history. Mack was longtime Musketeer, playing there from 1991-93, two stints as an assistant (1999-2001, 2004-09), and he was ahead of the program since 2009.
Pacers rookie Edmond Sumner, who left Xavier in 2017 after his redshirt sophomore season, wanted to see Xavier promote Steele from within.
“Keep the winning tradition alive and hire @CoachSteeleXU one of the reasons why most of us decided to choose Xavier,” he tweeted on Tuesday.
Keep the winning tradition alive and hire @CoachSteeleXU one of the reasons why most of us decided to choose Xavier https://t.co/tPqlK5hfuW
— Edmond Sumner (@EdmondSumner) March 27, 2018
Then, shortly after the promotion became official, Sumner wrote: “That’s so livvvvvvveeeee”
Steele has played the lead role in key recruitments, such as Sumner. Xavier has had success recruiting Indiana with players like Trevon Bluitt and Paul Scrubbs playing at X. This seemed like the inevitable move for Xavier and it’s good to see it ultimately come to fruition.
A native of Danville, Indiana, Steele graduated from Butler University in 2004. During his college years, he spent time as an assistant for Ben Davis High School basketball. He was a graduate manager at Ohio State for a season, and then spent two seasons at IU, first as a video coordinator and then as an assistant.
I am extremely excited to be the next Head Coach at Xavier University! #LetsGoX pic.twitter.com/UJ4peYMwIv
— Travis Steele (@CoachSteeleMU) March 31, 2018
[Photo: Xavier Athletics]