Scott Michael Nagy (/ˈnæɡi/; born June 7, 1966) is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach for Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball. He had previously served as head coach at South Dakota State for 21 seasons (1995–2016).

Scott Nagy
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamSouthern Illinois
ConferenceMVC
Record2–2 (.500)
Biographical details
Born (1966-06-07) June 7, 1966 (age 58)
Abilene, Texas, U.S.
Playing career
1984–1988Delta State
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1988–1990Illinois (assistant)
1990–1993South Dakota State (assistant)
1993–1995SIU Edwardsville (assistant)
1995–2016South Dakota State
2016–2024Wright State
2024–presentSouthern Illinois
Head coaching record
Overall579–334 (.634)
Tournaments1–5 (NCAA Division I)
1–2 (NIT)
0–1 (CBI)
6–8 (NCAA Division II)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
4 NCC regular season (1996–1998, 2002)
3 Summit League regular season (2013, 2015, 2016)
3 Summit League tournament (2012, 2013, 2016)
2 Horizon League tournament (2018, 2022)
3 Horizon League regular season (2019–2021)
Awards
Horizon League Coach of the Year (2018–2020)

Biography

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Born in Abilene, Texas,[1] Nagy attended St. Matthews grade school in Champaign, Illinois and Champaign Centennial High School, which he graduated from in 1984. His father is Dick Nagy, who was a University of Illinois assistant basketball coach under Lou Henson.

Nagy played basketball collegiately at Delta State University, where he currently holds school records for most career games played and most assists in a career (549), season (234) and game (15).[1]

After graduation, Nagy became a graduate assistant at the University of Illinois for two seasons before taking a full-time assistant's job at South Dakota State, which he held for three years. After two seasons as an assistant at SIU Edwardsville, Nagy returned to South Dakota State to take over as head coach in May 1995.

Nagy led the Jackrabbits to 20-win seasons during eight of his first nine years at the helm of the program at the Division II level. After the 2004 season, South Dakota State began the transition to Division I.[1]

The 2007–08 season was Nagy's first as a head coach in a Division I conference, as the Jackrabbits joined The Summit League on June 1, 2007. The Jackrabbits struggled early in The Summit League, finishing in 10th place their first year. However, under Nagy, SDSU steadily improved.

In 2011–12, South Dakota State won the Summit League tournament championship, qualifying them for their first ever berth in the NCAA tournament. The Jackrabbits also won the conference tournament in 2013 earning back-to-back trips to the NCAA tournament. In 2014, the Jackrabbits received an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational tournament. In 2015, Nagy led the Jackrabbits to a regular season championship and an NIT berth after failing to win the conference tournament. SDSU won their first postseason game in the NIT, defeating No. 1 seed Colorado State before falling to Vanderbilt. In 2016, the Jackrabbits returned to the NCAA tournament by winning the regular season and conference tournament. He finished his 21-year career at South Dakota State with a 410–240 record.

Following his success at South Dakota State, he was hired as head coach by Wright State on April 3, 2016.[2] The Raiders had a 167–92 overall record without a losing season and won the Horizon League championship twice in 2018 and 2022 during his eight-year tenure.[3] Clint Sargent was promoted to succeed Nagy on March 28, 2024.[4]

Coinciding with Nagy's departure from Wright State was his appointment as head coach at Southern Illinois University Carbondale also on March 28.[3] He replaced Bryan Mullins who was dismissed twenty days prior on March 8.[5]

Nagy coaches at least one game every season shoeless to support the charity Samaritan's Feet, which distributes shoes to those without worldwide. He has done so every year since the 2007–08 season.[6] He was named the 2012 Barefoot Coach of the Year, an award given to coaches who support the Samaritan's Feet organization and help raise awareness about its cause.[7]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
South Dakota State Jackrabbits (North Central Conference) (1995–2004)
1995–96 South Dakota State 24–5 15–3 T–1st NCAA Division II Sweet 16
1996–97 South Dakota State 25–5 14–4 1st NCAA Division II Sweet 16
1997–98 South Dakota State 26–3 16–2 1st NCAA Division II Sweet 16
1998–99 South Dakota State 17–10 9–9 4th
1999–00 South Dakota State 21–9 12–6 2nd NCAA Division II first round
2000–01 South Dakota State 22–7 13–5 2nd NCAA Division II first round
2001–02 South Dakota State 24–6 15–3 1st NCAA Division II Sweet 16
2002–03 South Dakota State 24–7 12–4 2nd NCAA Division II second round
2003–04 South Dakota State 27–7 9–5 2nd NCAA Division II second round
South Dakota State Jackrabbits (NCAA Division I independent) (2004–2007)
2004–05 South Dakota State 10–18
2005–06 South Dakota State 9–20
2006–07 South Dakota State 6–24
South Dakota State Jackrabbits (Summit League) (2007–2016)
2007–08 South Dakota State 8–21 3–15 10th
2008–09 South Dakota State 13–20 7–11 7th
2009–10 South Dakota State 14–16 10–8 4th
2010–11 South Dakota State 19–12 10–8 5th
2011–12 South Dakota State 27–8 15–3 2nd NCAA Division I Round of 64
2012–13 South Dakota State 25–10 13–3 T–1st NCAA Division I Round of 64
2013–14 South Dakota State 19–13 10–4 2nd CBI first round
2014–15 South Dakota State 24–11 12–4 T–1st NIT second round
2015–16 South Dakota State 26–8 12–4 T–1st NCAA Division I Round of 64
South Dakota State: 410–240 (.631) 207–101 (.672)
Wright State Raiders (Horizon League) (2016–2024)
2016–17 Wright State 20–12 11–7 5th
2017–18 Wright State 25–10 14–4 2nd NCAA Division I Round of 64
2018–19 Wright State 21–14 13–5 T–1st NIT first round
2019–20 Wright State 25–7 15–3 1st No postseason held
2020–21 Wright State 18–6 16–4 T–1st
2021–22 Wright State 22–14 15–7 4th NCAA Division I Round of 64
2022–23 Wright State 18–15 10–10 T–6th
2023–24 Wright State 18–14 13–7 T–3rd
Wright State: 167–92 (.645) 107–47 (.695)
Southern Illinois Salukis (Missouri Valley Conference) (2024–present)
2024–25 Southern Illinois 2–2
Southern Illinois: 2–2 (.500) 0–0 (–)
Total: 579–334 (.634)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Scott Nagy's 2006–2007 Media Guide bio" (PDF).[permanent dead link] (5.47 MiB), South Dakota State University, released June 5, 2007
  2. ^ "Wright State hires Nagy as basketball coach". ESPN.com. April 4, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  3. ^ a b McCaughan, Tim. "Scott Nagy Named Southern Illinois Men’s Basketball Coach," Southern Illinois University (Carbondale) Athletics, Thursday, March 28, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  4. ^ "Clint Sargent Named Wright State Men’s Basketball Head Coach," Wright State University Athletics, Thursday, March 28, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  5. ^ McCaughan, Tim. "Southern Illinois parts ways with Men’s Basketball head coach Bryan Mullins," Southern Illinois University (Carbondale) Athletics, Friday, March 8, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  6. ^ "Perfect fit". wright.edu. January 30, 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  7. ^ "Nagy honored by Samaritan's Feet". gojacks.com. March 29, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
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