Grasso named finalist for Hugh Durham Award

BOSTON -- Bryant University men's basketball head coach Jared Grasso was one of 20 finalists announced on Monday for the Hugh Durham Award, given annually to the top mid-major coach in the country.

It marks the second-straight year, and the third time in four seasons at Bryant, that Grasso has been named a finalist for the award. Grasso was named a finalist in 2018-19 after tripling Bryant's win total in his first year and again in 2020-21 after leading the Bulldogs to the NEC Championship game for the first time. 

This season, Grasso took the Black and Gold to unchartered waters. Driven by unfinished business, Grasso led the Bulldogs to a DI program record 22 wins and the program's first-ever Northeast Conference Regular-Season and Tournament titles. The titles mark the first for the Black and Gold in the 60 years of Bryant basketball. 

Bryant started the year 4-7 but went on to win 18 of its final 21 games to finish 22-10 overall. The Bulldogs posted their best start in NEC history at 12-1, set a DI program record with nine-straight victories and went 14-1 at home. Trailing league-leading Wagner for most of the year, Bryant downed the Seahawks at home on the final day of the regular season to clinch the regular-season title and then swept through the NEC Tournament at home. Bryant cut the nets down with a 70-43 victory over Wagner in the NEC Championship, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in DI program history. 

Under Grasso's watch, Peter Kiss and Charles Pride were named to the All-NEC First Team and to the USBWA and NABC All-District teams. They were the nation's highest-scoring duo, averaging 42.9 points per game on the year. Kiss led all of Division I with 25.2 ppg, setting a DI program record with 680 points. 

Grasso is now 62-54 in four seasons in Smithfield. He has won at least 15 games in each of the last three seasons and is 52-34 over the last three years.