UNC Wilmington Seahawks men's basketball

The UNC Wilmington Seahawks men's basketball team represents the University of North Carolina Wilmington. The team plays in the Coastal Athletic Association. The Seahawks are currently coached by Takayo Siddle. UNC Wilmington has appeared seven times in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, most recently in 2025. At the 2002 NCAA tournament, the Seahawks won their first-ever NCAA tournament game, upsetting 4-seed USC 93-89 in overtime.

UNC Wilmington Seahawks men's basketball
2024–25 UNC Wilmington Seahawks men's basketball team
University	University of North Carolina Wilmington
First season	1976
Head coach	Takayo Siddle (6th season)
Conference	Coastal Athletic Association
Location	Wilmington, North Carolina
Arena	Trask Coliseum (capacity: 5,200)
Nickname	Seahawks
Student section	Screaming Seahawks
Colors	Teal, gold, and navy[1]
Uniforms
Home Away
NCAA tournament round of 32
2002
NCAA tournament appearances
2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2016, 2017, 2025
Conference tournament champions
2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2016, 2017, 2025
Conference regular-season champions
1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022

History

Conference memberships

• 1976–1984: Independent
• 1984–present: Coastal Athletic Association^[2]

Season-by-season results

Statistics overview

Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Mel Gibson (Independent) (1976–1986)
1976–77	Mel Gibson	16–10	–	–	–
1977–78	Mel Gibson	19–7	–	–	–
1978–79	Mel Gibson	19–8	–	–	–
1979–80	Mel Gibson	19–10	–	–	–
1980–81	Mel Gibson	13–13	–	–	–
1981–82	Mel Gibson	13–14	–	–	–
1982–83	Mel Gibson	11–16	–	–	–
1983–84	Mel Gibson	11–17	–	–	–
Mel Gibson (Colonial Athletic Association) (1984–1986)
1984–85	Mel Gibson	12–16	4–11	6th	–
1985–86	Mel Gibson	16–13	7–9	4th	–
Mel Gibson:		149–124	11–20
Robert McPherson (Colonial Athletic Association) (1986–1990)
1986–87	Robert McPherson	18–12	11–6	2nd	–
1987–88	Robert McPherson	15–14	9–7	4th	–
1988–89	Robert McPherson	16–14	9–5	3rd	–
1989–90	Robert McPherson	8–20	3–11	7th	–
Robert McPherson:		57–60	34–31
Kevin Eastman (Colonial Athletic Association) (1990–1994)
1990–91	Kevin Eastman	11–17	6–8	5th	–
1991–92	Kevin Eastman	13–15	6–8	5th	–
1992–93	Kevin Eastman	17–11	6–8	4th	–
1993–94	Kevin Eastman	18–10	9–5	3rd	–
Kevin Eastman:		59–53	29–33
Jerry Wainwright (Colonial Athletic Association) (1994–2002)
1994–95	Jerry Wainwright	16–11	10–4	2nd	–
1995–96	Jerry Wainwright	13–16	9–7	3rd	–
1996–97	Jerry Wainwright	16–14	10–6	T1st	–
1997–98	Jerry Wainwright	20–11	13–3	T1st	NIT First round
1998–99	Jerry Wainwright	11–17	9–7	T–4th	–
1999–2000	Jerry Wainwright	18–13	8–8	4th	NCAA first round
2000–01	Jerry Wainwright	19–11	11–5	T–2nd	NIT First round
2001–02	Jerry Wainwright	23–10	14–4	1st	NCAA second round
Jerry Wainwright:		136–103	84–44
Brad Brownell (Colonial Athletic Association) (2002–2006)
2002–03	Brad Brownell	24–7	15–3	1st	NCAA first round
2003–04	Brad Brownell	15–15	9–9	7th	–
2004–05	Brad Brownell	19–10	13–5	T–2nd	–
2005–06	Brad Brownell	25–8	15–3	1st	NCAA first round
Brad Brownell:		83–40	52–20
Benny Moss (Colonial Athletic Association) (2006–2010)
2006–07	Benny Moss	7–22	4–14	T–10th	–
2007–08	Benny Moss	20–13	12–6	T–2nd	–
2008–09	Benny Moss	7–25	3–15	12th	–
2009–10	Benny Moss	7–14	3–7	n/a
Benny Moss:		41–74	22–42
Brooks Lee (Colonial Athletic Association) (2010–2010)
2009–10	Brooks Lee	2–8	2–6	T–9th
Brooks Lee:		2–8	2–6
Buzz Peterson (Colonial Athletic Association) (2010–2014)
2010–11	Buzz Peterson	13–17	7–11	7th
2011–12	Buzz Peterson	10–20	5–13	T–8th
2012–13	Buzz Peterson	10–20	5–13	9th
2013–14	Buzz Peterson	9–23	3–13	9th
Buzz Peterson:		42–80	20–50
Kevin Keatts (Colonial Athletic Association) (2014–2017)
2014–15	Kevin Keatts	18–14	12–6	T–1st	CIT first round
2015–16	Kevin Keatts	25–8	14–4	T–1st	NCAA first round
2016–17	Kevin Keatts	29–6	15–3	1st	NCAA first round
Kevin Keatts:		72–28	41–13
C. B. McGrath (Colonial Athletic Association) (2017–2020)
2017–18	C. B. McGrath	11–21	7–11	6th
2018–19	C. B. McGrath	10–23	5–13	10th
2019–20	C. B. McGrath	5–14	0–6	n/a
C. B. McGrath:		26–58	12–30
Rob Burke (Colonial Athletic Association) (2020–2020)
2019–20	Rob Burke	5-8	5–7	9th
Rob Burke:		5-8	5-7
Takayo Siddle (Colonial Athletic Association) (2020–present)
2020–21	Takayo Siddle	7-10	1-6	10th
2021–22	Takayo Siddle	27-9	15-3	T-1st	CBI Champion
2022–23	Takayo Siddle	24-10	12-6	T-3rd
2023–24	Takayo Siddle	21-10	12-6	T-3rd
2024-25	Takayo Siddle	27–8	14–4	2nd	NCAA first round
Takayo Siddle:		106-47	54-25
Total:		735–653
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

UNC Wilmington began playing Division I NCAA basketball in the 1976–77 season. The above records do not include the years UNC Wilmington played as a junior college (1951–63) or in the NAIA (1963–76).^[3]

Postseason results

Division I NCAA tournament results

The Seahawks have appeared in the Division I NCAA tournament six times. Their combined record is 1–6.

Year	Round	Seed	Opponent	Result
2000	First Round	#15	#2 Cincinnati	L 47–64
2002	First Round Second Round	#13	#4 USC #5 Indiana	W 93–89 OT L 67–76
2003	First Round	#11	#6 Maryland	L 73–75
2006	First Round	#9	#8 George Washington	L 85–88 OT
2016	First Round	#13	#4 Duke	L 85–93
2017	First Round	#12	#5 Virginia	L 71–76
2025	First Round	#14	#3 Texas Tech	L 72–82

NIT results

The Seahawks have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) two times. Their combined record is 0–2.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1998		First Round	Wake Forest	L 52–56
2001		First Round	Dayton	L 59–68

CBI results

The Seahawks have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) one time. They were the champions of the 2022 College Basketball Invitational. Their combined record is 4–0.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
2022	#9	First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals	#8 VMI #1 Drake #12 Northern Colorado #2 MTSU	W 93–78 W 76–75 W 80–64 W 96–902OT

CIT results

The Seahawks have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) one time. Their record is 0–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2015	First Round	Sam Houston State	L 71–87

Seahawks in the NBA

• Brian Rowsom
• Matt Fish
• Devontae Cacok
• Jaylen Sims

Seahawks in international leagues

• Adam Smith (born 1992), basketball player for Hapoel Holon in the Israel Basketball Premier League

Former Seahawks as head coaches

Former UNC Wilmington Players

• Mark Byington, (1994–1998), Head basketball coach of Georgia Southern (2013–2020), James Madison (2020–2024),Vanderbilt (2024–present)
• John Calipari, (1978–80), Head basketball coach of UMass (1988–96), NBA New Jersey Nets (1996–99), Memphis (2000–09), Kentucky (2009–24), Arkansas (2024–present)
• Billy Donlon, (1995–99), Head basketball coach of Wright State (2010–2016), UMKC (2019–2022)
• Todd Lickliter, (1975–76), Head basketball coach of Butler (2001–07), Iowa (2007–10), Marian (2012–2015), Evansville (2020–2022)

Former UNC Wilmington Coaches

• Brad Brownell, UNC Wilmington Head Coach (2002–2006), Head basketball coach of Wright State (2006–10), Clemson (2010–present)
• Kirk Earlywine, UNC Wilmington Asst Coach (2006–07), Head basketball coach of Eastern Washington (2007–2011)
• Kevin Eastman, UNC Wilmingtin Head Coach (1990–94), Head basketball coach of Washington State (1994–99), NBA Boston Celtics Asst Coach (2004–2005)
• Frank Haith, UNC Wilmington Asst Coach (1990–92), Head basketball coach of Miami (FL) (2004–2011), Missouri (2011–2014), Tulsa (2014–2022)
• Dave Hanners, UNC Wilmington Asst Coach (1986–89), NBA Asst Coach Philadelphia 76ers (2000–03), Asst Detroit Pistons (2003–05), Asst New York Knicks (2005–06), Asst Charlotte Bobcats (2008–2010), Asst New Orleans Pelicans, (2010–2015)
• Kevin Keatts, UNC Wilmington Head Coach (2014–17), Head basketball coach of NC State (2017–2025)
• Jeff Reynolds, UNC Wilmington Asst Coach (1990–94), Head basketball coach of Wingate (1997–2000), US Air Force Academy (2007–2012)
• Byron Samuels, UNC Wilmington Asst Coach (1992–94), Head basketball coach of Hampton (1995–97), Radford (2002–2007), Florida A&M (2014–2017)
• Rodney Terry, UNC Wilmington Asst Coach (1998-2002), Head basketball coach of Fresno State (2011-2018), UTEP (2018–current)
• Jerry Wainwright, UNC Wilmington Head Coach (1994–2002), Head basketball coach of Richmond (2002–05), DePaul (2005–2010)