Men's Basketball

Steve Holmes will be entering his ninth year as head coach of the Salisbury University men's basketball program where he finished the 2008-09 season with a11-15 record, 8-8 in the Capital Athletic Conference.

Last season was a growing year for the Gulls, as they qualified for the six-team CAC tournament, but fell in the opening round. Salisbury finished .500 in conference for the first time since the 2005-06 season. Greg Palmer was named to the All-CAC second team and named to the Optimist Classic All-Tournament team.

In 2007-08, Holmes led a young Sea Gull squad to a large upset over first place, Hood College in the regular season. The team continued to be giant killers as they defeated top-seeded York (Pa.) College in the first round of the CAC tournament. This earned the Sea Gulls a berth into the CAC semifinals. Greg Palmer was named to the CAC second team. Under the guidance of Holmes, the Seagulls finished fourth in the Pride of Maryland tournament. Holmes also had three members place on the CAC All-Academic Team.

In 2006-07, the Sea Gulls competed at a high level for the entire season as they were in each game. SU won seven of its first nine games to start the season including making the championship game of the Pride of Maryland Tournament and winning the Mt. Aloysius tournament. The team suffered some hardships along the way, but Holmes rallied his troops around his two senior guards Ray Williams and Segun Odumeru in order to stay competitive in a highly demanding conference. Both 1,000 point scorers, and potential SU Hall of Fame candidates, have been coached and mentored by Holmes throughout their entire collegiate careers.

During the 2005-06 campaign Holmes led SU to a 15-13 overall record and a 7-7 CAC mark. Holmes guided Salisbury to the CAC championship game where they lost to Catholic 79-70 but upset the No. 4 and No. 1 seeds along the way.

Holmes debuted with the Sea Gulls in 2000-01 by leading SU to its fourth winning campaign in six years and a third-place regular season finish in the CAC. The Gulls finished 15-10 overall and 9-5 in the conference. Holmes also reached a personal milestone during his first-season in Salisbury by registering the 100th victory in his collegiate career with a 76-55 win over Gallaudet. The Gulls finished 8-17 overall in Holmes' second year, highlighted by two players-forward Jason Campion and guard Doug King-reaching the 1,000-point milestone. The Gulls have had seven players named to the All-CAC teams during Holmes' tenure at SU. He brings a career record of 80-128 into the 2008-09 season.

Holmes had been the head coach at the State University of New York at Geneseo for six years prior to moving to Salisbury, and he brought 17 years of collegiate coaching experience to the Eastern Shore. Holmes led SUNY Geneseo to the NCAA Division III Tournament in four of his six seasons while compiling a record of 90-70. He served as the assistant coach at Geneseo for four years prior to assuming the head job in 1994 and also served as an assistant coach at Potsdam (NY) State and Champlain (VT) College before moving to Geneseo. His 14-year career record is 170-198.

Holmes is a 1983 graduate of Plattsburgh (NY) State University, where he was letterman on the basketball team. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Champlain College, where he spent three seasons before moving to Potsdam State as assistant varsity coach and junior varsity head coach in 1987. Potsdam enjoyed a 60-game winning streak during Holmes tenure with the program and was the winningest program in all divisions of the NCAA during the decade of the 1980s. Holmes also earned his master's degree from Potsdam in 1988. He joined SUNY Geneseo as an assistant coach in 1990, serving four seasons before assuming the head coaching position in 1994.

Under his leadership, SUNY Geneseo earned NCAA Tournament berths in 1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999. The Knights advanced to the Sweet 16 in 1995 while making second round appearances in 1996 and 1999. During his tenure, Geneseo also captured it's first-ever conference championship in school history, winning the highly-competitive SUNYAC title in 1998 and 1999. In total, the Knights made seven NCAA Tournament appearances in Holmes' 10-year association with the program as an assistant and head coach. More impressively, SUNY Geneseo's basketball program also boasted a 100 percent graduation rate during Holmes' tenure.

Holmes, a native of Plattsburgh, NY, is a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches and a past president of the SUNYAC Coaches Association. He is also active as a fundraiser in the Coaches vs. Cancer campaign.

Holmes and his wife, Heather, have a son, Lucas, and a daughter, Stephanie.

Coach Holmes' Record at SU