Grasso named one of top 40 rising head coaches

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Bryant University men's basketball head coach Jared Grasso has been named one of the top 40 rising head coaches in Division I basketball by Silver Waves Media.

Grasso in his third season in Smithfield and has the Black and Gold off to their best start in DI program history at 9-2. The Bulldogs have won six-straight games and are 5-1 in the Northeast Conference.

Grasso has built the Bulldogs into one of the most explosive teams in the country, with the Black and Gold ranking fourth nationally with 91.4 points per game and fourth in tempo (77.0). Bryant currently features four players averaging 13+ points per game and ranked 81st in the most recent NCAA Net Rankings. That's higher than programs such as St. John's, Duke, Kentucky, Boston College and Michigan State.

The 2020-21 season is just one example of how Grasso has turned the Bulldog program around. Grasso was hired as the head coach of the Bulldogs in April 2018 following a three-win season. Bryant tripled its win total – the only DI program to do so – in his first season and won 15 games in 19-20, the fourth-most in a single season in DI program history.