LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena Basketball Head Coach Gerry McNamara has been selected as one of 16 finalists nationally for the CollegeInsider.com Joe B. Hall Award. The award is presented annually to the top first-time Division I men's basketball head coach.
 
To date, McNamara has led Siena to a nine-win improvement from the previous season, and directed an offense which is averaging the program's highest single-season scoring mark (72.5 points) in nine years (75.0 in 2016-17). The 2003 National Champion at Syracuse and longtime assistant at his alma mater, he has recruited, developed, and cultivated a roster in his first season leading the Saints which includes conference-leading four-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week Gavin Doty, and one-time MAAC Player of the Week Justice Shoats who ranks in the top-six in the conference in scoring, assists, and steals.  
 
The Joe B. Hall Award is named in honor of the longtime Kentucky head coach who led the Wildcats to the 1978 National Championship. A four-time Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year, he amassed a 297-100 record while leading Kentucky from 1972-85, and guided the program to a pair of additional Final Four appearances. Coach Hall passed away on Jan. 15, 2022.
 
The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of CollegeInsider.com. The 2025 Joe B. Hall Award recipient will be announced in San Antonio, Texas, site of this season's Final Four.
 
McNamara and the Saints return to action when they host Fairfield in their final regular season home game Thursday at 7 p.m. at MVP Arena.
 
2025 Joe B. Hall Award Finalists
Patrick Crarey II                    Florida A&M  
Mike DeGeorge                   Cal Poly
Ethan Faulkner                    Youngstown State
Kahlil Fennell                       UT Rio Grande Valley
Cornelius Jackson               Marshall
John Jakus                            FAU
Jon Jaques                           Cornell
Mike Jones                           Old Dominion
Donny Lind                           Mount St. Mary's
Jonathan Mattox                  Morehead State
Ben McCollum                     Drake
Gerry McNamara               Siena
Hank Plona                           Western Kentucky
Clint Sargent                         Wright State
Ivan Thomas                        Hampton
Kevin Young                         BYU
 
Previous Joe B. Hall Award Winners
Sundance Wicks, Green Bay (2024); Keith Urgo, Fordham (2023); Jordan Mincy, Jacksonville (2022); Mike Magpayo, UC Riverside (2021); Greg Paulus, Niagara (2020); Justin Hutson, Fresno State (2019); Ryan Ridder, Bethune-Cookman (2018); Ryan Odom, UMBC (2017); Eran Ganot, Hawaii (2016); Chris Jans, Bowling Green (2015); Brad Underwood, Stephen F. Austin (2014); Jack Perri, LIU Brooklyn (2013); Steve Prohm, Murray State (2012).
 
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