Two-time NABC Northeast District and Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year David McLaughlin is in his tenth season as Stonehill head men’s basketball coach.

He has re-established the Skyhawks as a conference and regional power with a school-record  189 victories in his first ten seasons, including six 20 win seasons and a program-record 27 wins during the team’s 2005-06 NCAA Division II National Semifinal round run. In addition to leading the Skyhawks to a 189-99 record, he has guided the program to five NCAA Tournament bids, including a school-record four-straight bids from 2008 to2012, two East Regional Championships, the program’s first NE-10 Tournament title since 1989 and the NE-10 regular season title in 2009-10.

His recent program record run of four-straight NCAA Tournament bids, culminated with a second East Regional title and trip to the Division II Elite Eight in Highland Heights, Ky., where Stonehill advanced to the National Semifinal round for the second time before being defeated by eventual national champions Western Washington University. The Skyhawks posted a 91-90 victory over No. 3-ranked West Liberty State University in the national quarterfinals, edging a Hilltoppers team that entered the game averaging a Division II-best 102.8 points per game. Stonehill finished the season ranked seventh nationally for scoring defense (60.0 ppg), 19th in field goal percentage defense (.401) and 21st for blocked shots per game (4.5). The Skyhawks led the NE-10 in winning percentage (.735), scoring defense, three-point field goal percentage defense (.314) and blocked shots.

Stonehill ended a 23-year drought by capturing its first Northeast-10 Tournament Championship since 1989 with a 73-61 triumph over UMass Lowell. The Skyhawks, who had dropped four-straight NE-10 Tournament games leading into the tournament, were seeded third in the event and opened with a home win over Merrimack College, before hitting the road to edge second-seeded Adelphi University in the semifinals. Senior Patrick Lee earned NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year honors, marking the third-straight year a Stonehill player received the recognition, and he was joined on the All-Northeast-10 teams by Brian Hamor, who earned second team honors. Senior Sean Lowry also received the NCAA Elite 89 Award for having the highest cumulative grade point average among the teams competing at the Division II Elite Eight.

He led the 2009-10 team to appearances in the NCAA East Regional and NE-10 postseason tournaments with a 24-6 overall record, including a 20-2 mark in conference play. The Skyhawks earned their first-ever #1 seed in the East Regional tournament, advancing to the semifinal round on their home court. McLaughlin was voted the NE-10 Coach of the Year for the second time in his seven-year career, and had two players, A.J. Rudowitz ‘10 and Randall Stallworth ‘10, named to the All-Conference team, with Stallworth also collecting NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year accolades.

In 2008-09, Stonehill returned to the NCAA Tournament after a two-year hiatus, finishing with a 21-9 overall record and a fourth-place finish in the Northeast-10 regular season standings. Along the way, the Skyhawks reappeared in the national rankings, rising as high as #10, and snapped Bentley’s Division II-record 42-game home winning streak. Rudowitz became the team’s first All-Conference first team honoree since the 2005-06 season, and Matt Hall ‘09 was selected to the third team.

 The 2007-08 Skyhawks won 18 games and advanced to the NE-10 tournament semifinals, upsetting fourth-seeded Pace on the road in the quarterfinal round. Stonehill claimed four wins that season over teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament, and posted a strong showing in a 76-72 defeat to national #3 Grand Valley State. Stonehill went 16-12 and qualified for the NE-10 postseason tournament in 2006-07, and saw Nick Smith ‘09 selected to the All-Conference second team, and Rudowitz named to the All-Rookie squad.

The 2005-06 season marked a high point for the program, as McLaughlin’s Skyhawks reached the NCAA Division II Final Four for the first time in program history. Stonehill peaked at a #10 national ranking during the season and claimed their first conference regular-season title since 1997-98 on the strength of a school-record 12-game winning streak. The Skyhawks dropped conference rival UMass Lowell in the NCAA East Regional title game to earn Stonehill’s first regional championship, and defeated Tarleton State to reach the Final Four, where they fell to eventual national champion Winona State.

McLaughlin was honored as the Northeast Regional Coach of the Year by National Association of Basketball Coaches, and earned his first NE-10 Coach of the Year selection. He had four players earn postseason recognition from the conference as well, including All-Conference first team selection Marquis Taylor ‘06, third team selections Sean Nelson ‘06 and current assistant coach Chris Kraus ‘06, and All-Rookie honoree Nick Smith ‘09.

McLaughlin was named Stonehill’s interim head coach in January 2004 after three and a half seasons as an assistant coach, and was elevated to the full-time position later that year. In his first full season at the helm, he guided the team to a 20-8 finish.

Prior to Stonehill, he served as an assistant coach at Wesleyan University for two seasons, where he coordinated recruiting for the Cardinals and assisted in scouting and the development of strength and conditioning programs. He also spent time on the Suffolk University staff and was the head coach of the gold-medal-winning Northeast entry of the 1999 Bay State Games. McLaughlin has also served as a head coach at the Collegiate Basketball Invitational for the past four years, coaching top Division II senior players.

McLaughlin was a four-year letterwinner at Colby College, graduating in 1997 with a degree in history and going on to earn his Master of Education from Suffolk in 1999. In May 2000, McLaughlin earned partial certification from the National Strength and Conditioning Association and is a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the NSCA.

David and his wife Jenna, a former soccer All-American at Colby, reside in Easton with their three children.

Career Records

	Overall			NE-10
Year	Record	Pct.		Record	Pct.		Highlights
2003-04	5-12	.294		5-12	.294
2004-05	20-8	.714		16-6	.727		NE-10 Tournament
2005-06	27-7	.794		17-5	.773		NABC Northeast & NE-10 Coach of the Year NE-10 Regular Season Champion; NCAA East Regional Champions NCAA Division II National Semifinalists
2006-07	16-12	.571		11-11	.500		NE-10 Tournament
2007-08	18-14	.563		12-10	.545		NE-10 Tournament
2008-09	21-8	.724		16-6	.727		NE-10 Tournament; NCAA Tournament
2009-10	24-6	.800		20-2	.909		NABC Northeast & NE-10 Coach of the Year NE-10 Regular Season Champions; NCAA Tournament
2010-11	22-8	.733		16-6	.727		NE-10 Tournament; NCAA Tournament
2011-12	25-9	.735		15-7	.682		NE-10 Tournament Champions; NCAA East Regional Champions NCAA Division II National Semifinalists
2012-13	11-15	.423		7-15	.318
Total	189-99	.656		135-80	.630		2x NE-10 Regular Season Champions; 1 NE-10 Tournament Championship; 5x NCAA Tournament; 2x East Regional Champions