Youngstown State Penguins men's basketball

The Youngstown State Penguins men's basketball team represents Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. The team currently competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level as a member of the Horizon League, of which it has been a member since 2001. Since 1972, home games are played at the 6,300-seat Beeghly Center on the YSU campus. The Penguins have never appeared in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

Youngstown State Penguins men's basketball
2024–25 Youngstown State Penguins men's basketball team
University	Youngstown State University
Head coach	Ethan Faulkner (1st season)
Conference	Horizon League
Location	Youngstown, Ohio
Arena	Beeghly Center (capacity: 6,300)
Nickname	Penguins
Student section	The Arctic
Colors	Red and white[1]
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
Division II 1972
NCAA tournament appearances
Division II 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1977
Conference regular-season champions
2023

History

The team was founded in 1927 and played their first game on December 14, 1927, a 53–24 loss to Thiel College. Like many other men's athletic programs, after the 1942–43 season, the program was suspended, but returned in 1946 after World War II. Upon reinstatement in 1946, the Penguins joined the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), where they competed from 1946 to 1960. As NAIA members, the Penguins qualified for the NAIA tournament four times and had an overall record of 5–4 in tournament play, advancing as far as the quarterfinals in 1957 and 1958.

YSU joined the NCAA in 1960 and competed at the Division II level from 1960 to 1981, joining the Mid-Continent Conference in 1978. During their tenure in Division II, the Penguins qualified for the NCAA tournament nine times and had an overall record of 8–11 in tournament play, advancing as far as the regional finals in 1972. YSU moved to Division I in 1981 and joined the Ohio Valley Conference. They reached the tournament final in 1984 and 1985, losing both times. They played in the OVC until 1988. The Penguins competed as an independent from 1988 to 1992, then rejoined the Mid-Continent Conference, which by then had become a Division I conference. They reached the tournament final in 1998. They joined the Horizon League in 2001.^[2]

YSU made their first appearance and recorded their first win in a Division I postseason tournament by playing in the 2013 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament where they went 1–1. The 2022–23 season saw the program win their first-ever conference championship by winning the Horizon League regular-season title, along with their first appearance in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). In 2025, they reached the final of the Horizon League tournament for the first time ever.

Postseason results

NCAA Division II tournament results

The Penguins have appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament nine times. Their combined record is 8–11.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1961	Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game	Wittenberg South Carolina State	L 28–43 W 96–82
1962	Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game	Florida A&M Gannon	L 60–74 W 58–52
1963	Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game	Wittenberg Buffalo	L 31–38 W 65–53
1964	Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game	Le Moyne Ithaca	L 53–64 W 91–79
1966	Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game	Akron Randolph–Macon	L 63–70 W 94–63
1970	Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game	Philadelphia Cheyney	L 52–79 L 91–94
1972	Regional Quarterfinals Regional semifinals Regional Finals	Gannon Cheyney Akron	W 81–71 W 90–80 L 71–87
1975	Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game	Saint Joseph's Eastern Illinois	L 78–96 L 80–86
1977	Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game	Randolph–Macon Bellarmine	L 69–71 OT W 81–79

NIT results

The Penguins have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament one time. Their combined record is 0–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2023	First Round	Oklahoma State	L 64–69

NAIA tournament results

The Penguins have appeared in the NAIA Tournament four times. Their combined record is 5–4.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1947	First round	Northern Arizona	L 45–49 OT
1957	First round Second Round Quarterfinals	Westmont Emporia State Southeastern Oklahoma State	W 81–75 W 80–74 L 65–69
1958	First round Second Round Quarterfinals	Quincy Platteville State Western Illinois	W 88–68 W 74–63 L 67–70
1959	First round Second Round	Northern State Tennessee State	W 85–76 L 80–89

CIT results

The Penguins have appeared in one CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). It was their first Division I postseason tournament appearance in program history. Their record is 1–1. They accepted an invitation to the 2020 CIT, however the tournament was canceled.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2013	First round Second Round	Oakland Canisius	W 99–87 L 82–84 OT

The Basketball Classic results

The Penguins have appeared in one of The Basketball Classic Tournaments. It was their third Division I postseason tournament appearance in program history. Their record is 1-1

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2022	First round Quarterfinals	Morgan State Fresno State	W 70-65 L 71–80

Year by year results

Statistics overview

Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Al Fairfield () (1927–1930)
1927–28	Al Fairfield	2–2
1928–29	Al Fairfield	8–2
1929–30	Al Fairfield	6–6
Al Fairfield:		16–10 (.615)
Jack McPhee () (1930–1932)
1930–31	Jack McPhee	1–13
1931–32	Jack McPhee	3–10
Denton Doll () (1932–1933)
1932–33	Denton Doll	3–11
Denton Doll:		3–11 (.214)
Jack McPhee () (1933–1935)
1933–34	Jack McPhee	6–8
1934–35	Jack McPhee	11–9
Jack McPhee:		21–40 (.344)
Ray Sweeney () (1935–1940)
1935–36	Ray Sweeney	8–11
1936–37	Ray Sweeney	8–10
1937–38	Ray Sweeney	11–9
1938–39	Ray Sweeney	6–12
1939–40	Ray Sweeney	9–9
Ray Sweeney:		42–51 (.452)
Dom Rosselli () (1940–1942)
1940–41	Dom Rosselli	14–8
1941–42	Dom Rosselli	9–12
Dom Rosselli:		23–20 (.535)
Joe Morbito (NAIA) (1942–1943)
1942–43	Joe Morbito	11–5
Joe Morbito:		11–5 (.688)
Dom Rosseli (NAIA) (1946–1960)
1946–47	Dom Rosselli	13–10			NAIA National Tournament, 1st Round
1947–48	Dom Rosselli	10–14
1948–49	Dom Rosselli	9–14
1949–50	Dom Rosselli	3–20
1950–51	Dom Rosselli	16–7
1951–52	Dom Rosselli	16–7
1952–53	Dom Rosselli	10–14
1953–54	Dom Rosselli	11–16
1954–55	Dom Rosselli	10–17
1955–56	Dom Rosselli	12–14
1956–57	Dom Rosselli	23–4			NAIA National Tournament, quarterfinals
1957–58	Dom Rosselli	23–7			NAIA National Tournament, quarterfinals
1958–59	Dom Rosselli	19–9			NAIA National Tournament, 2nd Round
1959–60	Dom Rosselli	11–14
NAIA:		186–167 (.527)
Dom Rosseli (NCAA Division II) (1960–1981)
1960–61	Dom Rosselli	21–7
1961–62	Dom Rosselli	16–12
1962–63	Dom Rosselli	18–9
1963–64	Dom Rosselli	24–3
1964–65	Dom Rosselli	20–6
1965–66	Dom Rosselli	19–7
1966–67	Dom Rosselli	18–7
1967–68	Dom Rosselli	17–8
1968–69	Dom Rosselli	19–7
1969–70	Dom Rosselli	22–5
1970–71	Dom Rosselli	19–6
1971–72	Dom Rosselli	22–7
1972–73	Dom Rosselli	10–13
1973–74	Dom Rosselli	10–16
1974–75	Dom Rosselli	19–9
1975–76	Dom Rosselli	17–9
1976–77	Dom Rosselli	22–7
1977–78	Dom Rosselli	16–9
1978–79	Dom Rosselli	13–13	4–6
1979–80	Dom Rosselli	17–10	2–6
1980–81	Dom Rosselli	13–13	3–3
NCAA Division II:		372–184 (.669)
Dom Roseeli (Ohio Valley Conference) (1981–1982)
1981–82	Dom Rosselli	8–18	5–11	6th
Dom Rosselli:		589–388 (.603)	9–15 (.375 MCC) 5–11 (.313 OVC)
Mike Rice (Ohio Valley Conference) (1982–1987)
1982–83	Mike Rice	15–12	5–9	6th
1983–84	Mike Rice	18–11	9–5	3rd
1984–85	Mike Rice	19–11	9–5	2nd (tie)
1985–86	Mike Rice	12–16	8–6	3rd (tie)
1986–87	Mike Rice	11–17	4–10	7th
Mike Rice:		75–67 (.528)	35–35 (.500)
Jim Cleamons (Ohio Valley Conference) (1987–1989)
1987–88	Jim Cleamons	7–21	2–12	7th
Ohio Valley Conference:			42–58 (.420)
Independent (1988–1992)
Jim Cleamons (Independent) (1988–1989)
1988–89	Jim Cleamons	5–23
Jim Cleamons:		12–44 (.214)	2–12 (.143)
John Stroia (Independent) (1989–1992)
1989–90	John Stroia	8–20
1990–91	John Stroia	12–16
1991–92	John Stroia	6–22
John Stroia (Mid-Continent Conference) (1992–1993)
1992–93	John Stroia	3–23	1–15	9th
John Stroia:		29–81 (.264)	1–15 (.063 MCC)
Dan Peters (Mid-Continent Conference) (1993–1999)
1993–94	Dan Peters	5–21	3–15	10th
1994–95	Dan Peters	18–10	10–8	4th (tie)
1995–96	Dan Peters	12–15	7–11	9th
1996–97	Dan Peters	9–18	4–12	7th (tie)
1997–98	Dan Peters	20–9	11–5	3rd (tie)
1998–99	Dan Peters	14–14	9–5	3rd (tie)
Dan Peters:		78–87 (.473)	44–56 (.440)
John Robic (Mid-Continent Conference) (1999–2001)
1999–00	John Robic	12–16	9–7	5th
2000–01	John Robic	19–11	11–5	3rd
Mid-Continent Conference:			65–83 (.439)
John Robic (Horizon League) (2001–2005)
2001–02	John Robic	5–23	2–14	9th
2002–03	John Robic	9–20	4–12	6th (tie)
2003–04	John Robic	8–20	4–12	7th (tie)
2004–05	John Robic	5–23	2–14	9th
John Robic:		27–86 (.239)	12–52 (.188 Horizon) 20–12 (.625 MCC)
Jerry Slocum (Horizon League) (2005–2017)
2005–06	Jerry Slocum	7–21	4–12	9th
2006–07	Jerry Slocum	14–17	7–9	4th (Tie)
2007–08	Jerry Slocum	9–21	5–13	9th
2008–09	Jerry Slocum	11–19	7–11	6th (Tie)
2009–10	Jerry Slocum	8–22	2–16	10th
2010–11	Jerry Slocum	9–21	2–16	9th (Tie)
2011–12	Jerry Slocum	16–15	10–8	6th (Tie)
2012–13	Jerry Slocum	18–16	7–9	5th (Tie)	CIT 2nd Round
2013–14	Jerry Slocum	15–17	6–10	7th (Tie)
2014–15	Jerry Slocum	11–21	2–14	9th
2015–16	Jerry Slocum	11–21	6–12	7th
2016–17	Jerry Slocum	13–21	5–13	8th (Tie)
Jerry Slocum:		139–227 (.380)	62–139 (.308)
Jerrod Calhoun (Horizon League) (2017–Current)
2017–18	Jerrod Calhoun	8–24	6–12
2018–19	Jerrod Calhoun	12–20	8–10	6th (Tie)
2019–20	Jerrod Calhoun	18–15	10–8	4th (Tie)
2020–21	Jerrod Calhoun	15–12	9–11	6th
2021–22	Jerrod Calhoun	19–15	12–9	7th	TBC Second Round
2022–23	Jerrod Calhoun	24–10	15–5	1st	NIT First Round
2023–24	Jerrod Calhoun	22–10	14–6	2nd
Jerrod Calhoun:		118–106 (.527)	74–61 (.548)
Total:		1115–1146 (.493)
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