Siena Men's Basketball alumnus Carmen Maciariello '01 recently completed his fifth season guiding his alma mater. The native of nearby Clifton Park, New York directed the Saints to four straight top-three conference records to begin his tenure, highlighted by at least a share of a pair of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Regular Season Championships, and the awarding of an outright MAAC Tournament Championship in his first year. Additionally, Maciariello has developed a pair of MAAC Player of the Year honorees, with Manny Camper (2020-21) and future NBA Draft pick and current Denver Nuggets guard Jalen Pickett (2019-20) each earning acclaim.
The now 45-year-old Maciariello, who received a three-year contract extension on Mar. 26, 2021 which runs through the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, has achieved a 68-72 (.486) overall record including a 53-43 (.552) mark in MAAC action. He recorded 50 victories through his first 76 MAAC Regular Season games coached through his first four seasons at the helm, which was tied for the sixth-best start in the league’s 43-year history.
“I want to thank Dr. Gibson, John D’Argenio, and all the amazing people I get to work with on a daily basis here at Siena College,” Maciariello said upon signing his contract extension in 2021. “I am thankful for the belief that the College and administration has shown in our program, and I’m excited for the many years to come.”
Maciariello was promoted to be the 18
th head coach in Siena Men’s Basketball history on Mar. 25, 2019, after having served the previous 2018-19 season as an assistant coach in his second stint with the program. He first entered the collegiate ranks as Siena’s director of basketball operations during the 2005-06 season, serving on the staff of Siena Athletics Hall of Famer Fran McCaffery.
"We are pleased with the success Carm and the team have achieved the past two seasons," said Siena College Vice President and Director of Athletics John D’Argenio upon Maciariello’s contract extension. “We're excited to see the program continue to improve and compete for MAAC Championships, while continuing to do so in a way that aligns with Siena's Franciscan values.
Maciariello led the Saints to a program-record fifth consecutive top-three MAAC record during the 2022-23 season, encompassing his four seasons as head coach and his one year as an assistant. Siena also achieved a winning non-conference campaign, highlighted by a third-place finish in the prestigious ESPN Events Invitational, which included victories over power conference foes Florida State (ACC) and Seton Hall (BIG EAST). The Saints earned three All-MAAC honors, highlighted by MAAC Rookie of the Year selection Michael Eley.
Maciariello piloted the Saints to a third straight winning season in 2021-22. Despite returning only three scholarship players from the year prior – and being ranked tied for fourth nationally for the most newcomers (11) – Siena went 7-3 in the month of February to finish with a 15-14 overall record and a third consecutive top-three MAAC finish under Maciariello with a 12-8 league mark.
Maciariello guided Siena to a share of its second straight MAAC Regular Season Championship in as many years, successfully navigating the Saints through an unprecedented 2020-21 season wrought by the challenges faced from the coronavirus pandemic. Siena overcame four separate in-season COVID-19 pauses and, despite being the second-to-last Division I team to tip-off its season on Jan. 3, persevered to post a 12-5 overall record including a 12-4 ledger in the MAAC. Maciariello piloted to the Saints to a program record-tying 16-game win streak bridging his first two seasons, which included a program-record eight straight true road wins. For his efforts, he was named one of 25 Division I finalists for both the Hugh Durham (top Division I mid-major coach) and Skip Prosser Man of the Year awards.
Maciariello achieved an unprecedented first season leading the Saints in 2019-20. Siena posted a 20-10 overall record including a stellar 15-5 record in the MAAC, culminating with the program’s eighth MAAC Regular Season Championship while also being awarded its sixth MAAC Tournament Title. The only one of the 61 new Division I head coaching hires during the 2019-20 season to lead his team to an outright conference regular season championship, Maciariello was named one of the “Top-12 Most Immediately Successful Hires of the 2019-20 Season” by CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander. Maciariello became the first rookie head coach in program history to lead Siena to an outright MAAC Regular Season Championship in his first season, while his 20 wins tied for the most of any first-year Siena head coach.
"Carmen is uniquely qualified to take over the reins of our men's basketball program,” said the late Siena College President Br. F. Edward Coughlin, O.F.M, Ph.D upon
Maciariello's hiring. “In addition to being an excellent basketball coach with a proven track record, his passion for Siena College and our student athletes is inspiring. He carries a deep understanding and commitment to the Siena mission, the community, and this special program that will serve him well. I share his vision of championship basketball, developing and graduating student athletes, and leading the way in the Capital Region. I know our fans join me in welcoming back a son of Siena to this key position at this key moment in our history."
Siena restored home court dominance under Maciariello’s leadership, posting a perfect 14-0 mark at MVP Arena (formally the Times Union Center) during the 2019-20 season, as the Saints were one of just 13 teams nationally to secure an undefeated home record. Maciariello brought back excitement to the Capital Region community and, in turn, the fans showed their outstanding support as the Saints boasted the top average attendance among all 56 Northeast mid-major programs. Siena’s average attendance of 6,228 ranked 83
rd overall nationally – the program’s highest standing in five years – and 12
th in the country among the 263 mid-major programs which served as a seven-spot increase from the year prior.
Maciariello’s Saints have reached historic heights in the classroom during his stewardship. Siena has been bestowed with the program’s first two National Association of Basketball Coaches Team Academic Excellence Awards following both his first and most recent seasons at the helm for achieving a 3.0 or better team grade-point average. This past season, the Saints were one of just 80 Division I programs – and the only MAAC team – to earn the honor after establishing a program-record 3.38 cumulative GPA for the 2022-23 school year. Moreover, the Saints posted a perfect 100% graduation success rate according to the latest NCAA GSR Report released in November 2022, and earned an 11-point jump in the latest NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR) Report released in May, with the program’s score of 983 exceeding the national men’s basketball average by 16 points.
“Saints Don’t Sit on the Sidelines,” and Maciariello has taken an active approach in giving back to his local Capital Region community and beyond. The Saints participated in more than 50 community service activities locally throughout the 2019-20 season, including delivering food and vital supplies to Capital Region first responders during the COVID-19 pandemic, organizing the Second Annual Autism Awareness and Sensory Friendly Game, and volunteering to assist Capital Region youth through the Ronald McDonald House, Make-A-Wish, Play It Foreward 518, Troy Boys and Girls Club, and the CAPTAIN Cares program, just to name a few. Following the conclusion of the season, the Saints were presented with the 2020 Autism Action Award by New York State Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara for the team's success with the Autism Awareness and Sensory Friendly game. Maciariello also spearheaded the creation of Coaches 4 Change, an organization that engages, educates, empowers, and evolves the collegiate student athlete on the issues of social injustices, systemic racism, and the power of voting in the endless pursuit of equality.
Maciariello returned to his alma mater for his second stint on staff in 2018-19, serving as an assistant coach who helped guide Siena to a 17-16 overall record including an 11-7 mark in the MAAC. The Saints’ 17 wins tied for the most of any MAAC team, and the squad’s nine-win improvement was tied for the 11th best turnaround nationally. Siena finished in a tie for second place in the
MAAC – placing nine spots higher than their preseason poll prediction – which tied UT Arlington for the largest improvement nationally.
Maciariello served as the coordinator for a Siena defense during the 2018-19 season which ranked 42
nd nationally allowing 66.0 points per game, the third best mark during the program’s 43-year Division I era. Maciariello’s defense held the opposition to 70 points or fewer for 15 straight games, marking the program’s longest such streak in 26 years.
Maciariello first entered the collegiate ranks as Siena’s director of basketball operations during the 2005-06 season under the direction of 2017 Siena Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Fran
McCaffery. In
Maciariello’s lone season with McCaffery, the Saints posted a nine-win improvement, helping lay the groundwork for the greatest three-year run in Siena Basketball history which yielded a trio of
MAAC Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances from 2008-10.
Maciariello graduated cum laude with a marketing and management degree from Siena in 2001. He helped guide the Saints to 20 wins and a share of the
MAAC Regular Season Championship during his senior season, after having sat out the previous year per NCAA transfer regulations following his matriculation from the University of New Hampshire. In his lone season playing for Siena, he appeared in 31 games (one start) and averaged 3.5 points and 1.6 rebounds spanning 11.3 minutes of action.
Maciariello played three seasons for the Wildcats, where he was tabbed the team’s Defensive Player of the Year in 1998, and was a team captain during his junior season in 1998-99.
Maciariello spent 11 seasons as a Division I assistant coach, which included stops at Siena (2018-19), George Washington (2014-18), Boston University (2011-14), and Fairfield (2008-11).
Maciariello’s teams made seven national postseason tournament appearances, while averaging 20.5 wins and a .624 winning percentage. He also helped guide his programs to a 124-70 (.639) conference mark and, including his time as an undergraduate at Siena, won a conference regular season or postseason title at each school.
George Washington amassed 87 wins and made three national postseason tournament appearances over
Maciariello’s four seasons with the program. The Colonials captured the 2016 NIT Championship and won a program-record 28 games.
Maciariello assisted Boston University to 57 victories including a 38-12 (.760) league record over his three seasons working under head coach Joe Jones. BU made a pair of national postseason tournament appearances during his tenure, punctuated by a NIT berth in 2013-14 when the Terriers achieved a 24-11 overall record and the program’s first Patriot League Regular Season Championship with a 15-3 conference mark.
Maciariello helped guide Fairfield to a 65-34 (.657) overall record and a 37-17 (.685) mark in the
MAAC in three seasons on Ed Cooley’s staff. The Stags made a pair of national postseason tournament appearances during his tenure, highlighted by a school-record 25 wins,
MAAC Regular Season Championship, and NIT Second Round appearance in 2011.
Maciariello first entered the coaching ranks with a two-year stint as vice president and head coach of the Albany City Rocks AAU program, where he coached a number of future Division I players and professional stars including Siena legend Edwin Ubiles, Jimmer
Fredette, Mark Lyons, and
Talor Battle.
Following his collegiate playing career, Maciariello received Italian citizenship and played four professional seasons in Italy. He first signed with Bignami Castel Maggiore, before playing with GS Basket
Massafra where he averaged 30 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. Maciariello concluded his professional career in the League Due with Virtus
Rigusa and
Cimberio Novara in Sicily.
Maciariello was inducted into the Capital District Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. A 1996 graduate of
Shenendehowa High School, he was named the
Albany Times Union Player of the Year after guiding the Plainsmen to a 22-2 overall record and Section II Championship. Maciariello and his wife, Laura, are the proud parents of a six-year-old daughter, Reese, a three-year-old son, Matteo, and welcomed their most recent addition, son Caden, who was born this past November.
Year-by-Year With Coach Maciariello
| YEAR |
OVERALL |
PCT |
MAAC |
PCT |
MAAC FINISH |
HIGHLIGHTS |
| 2019-20 |
20-10 |
.667 |
15-5 |
.750 |
1st |
MAAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions |
| 2020-21 |
12-5 |
.706 |
12-4 |
.750 |
T-1st |
MAAC Regular Season Co-Champions |
| 2021-22 |
15-14 |
.517 |
12-8 |
.600 |
3rd |
|
| 2022-23 |
17-15 |
.531 |
11-9 |
.550 |
T-3rd |
High-major wins over Florida State (ACC) and Seton Hall (BIG EAST) |
| 2023-24 |
4-28 |
.125 |
3-17 |
.150 |
11th |
|
| TOTALS |
68-72 |
.486 |
53-43 |
.552 |
|
|
