Pitino named 2025 Naismith Coach of the Year

St. John's bench boss Rick Pitino won the 2025 Naismith Coach of the Year award Sunday.

Pitino received the honor over Bruce Pearl of Auburn, Kelvin Sampson of Houston, and Jon Scheyer of Duke.

In his second season with the Red Storm, Pitino guided the program to a 31-5 record - winning the Big East regular season and tournament championships.

St. John's made its first March Madness since 2015 under Pitino. The Red Storm lost to Arkansas in the second round of March Madness.

This is the first Naismith award for Pitino and St. John's. He was named co-AP Coach of the Year with Pearl this season, the first tie in the history of the award.