Jamion Christian returns from overseas to replace Phil Martelli Jr. as Bryant's basketball coach
SMITHFIELD, R.I. — Bryant has hired Jamion Christian to replace Phil Martelli Jr. as its men's basketball coach, the school announced.
Christian will move to the Rhode Island school after spending the last two seasons as coach of Pallacanestro Trieste of the Italian Professional Basketball League. Christian also has had prior head coaching jobs at George Washington, Siena and Mount St. Mary's.
Bryant won 23 games, a school record for its Division I era that started in 2008, and swept the America East regular-season and tournament championships. The Bulldogs lost to Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Martelli left five days later to take the VCU job.
'I am so excited to have a chance to lead the Bryant basketball program,' Christian said. 'My level of appreciation comes from all the success they have had recently but also the incredible progression this program has been on since turning Division I.'
During Christian's six seasons at Mount St. Mary's, he coached against Bryant when the Bulldogs were members of the Northeast Conference. Bryant moved to America East in 2022.
'Each time I played here I was amazed at the talent and the passion of the fan base,' he said.
Christian, 42, said he and his family missed college basketball while they were overseas.
'As the head coach I am looking forward to enhancing the momentum that we have as a program,' he said. 'We will compete. We will play with joy. We will show how powerful connection can be. We will elevate those around us with our actions. It's a Great Day to be a Bulldog!'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
'Drunk frat guys?' West Virginia coach rips Clemson for 'bogus' visitors' bullpen setup
'Drunk frat guys?' West Virginia coach rips Clemson for 'bogus' visitors' bullpen setup West Virginia Mountaineers coach Steve Sabins isn't a fan of Clemson baseball's Doug Kingsmore Stadium -- or at least not the visitors' bullpen area of the stadium. Sabins, whose team defeated the Tigers 9-6 at the Clemson Regional of the NCAA Tournament last Saturday before clinching the regional the following day against Kentucky, spoke about the environment at Doug Kingsmore on Friday ahead of West Virginia's best-of-three Super Regional showdown with the LSU Tigers at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge. What does Sabins think of the setup? Plenty, it seems. Among the adjectives the first-year Mountaineers coach said of the designated area for opposing pitchers to warm up at Clemson's stadium, Sabins called it "bogus" and "kind of a minor league thing." When asked by a reporter about any "issues" he had with the setup, Sabins sounded off: "I like that you called them 'issues.' I agree with 'issues.' I think they need to fix that deal... I think it's 8,000 fans at Clemson. They're excited. It's an awesome atmosphere. It's a little bit more like a minor league atmosphere I think than [LSU]. When I've watched ballgames here, they don't pump as much music into the stadium. The crowd here is raucous and really into the game, but it's more of a traditional college baseball setting." There weren't 8,000 fans on hand for Clemson vs. West Virginia. The State's Chapel Fowler noted that 6,475 people attended the game. And according to Clemson, the Doug Kingsmore Stadium attendance record is 6,891 when the Tigers defeated South Carolina, 5-3, on February 28. Sabins called Clemson's bullpen setup for opposing teams "bogus": "At Clemson, it's kind of that minor league thing where it's offensive-oriented. Every time that there's a ball or a walk or a hit, the music gets louder, and so it's a little bit like an artificial heart rate increase I think for pitchers and for defenders. The bullpen thing is bogus at Clemson." Sabins went on to say that the visitors' bullpen set up at Clemson could allow "drunk frat guys" to interfere with opposing relievers. "You can get so close and it's a net where as a pitcher is warming up, someone could actually grab a pitcher's arm," Sabins said. "And so I'm all for environment. It's just that as somebody was warming up, somebody could actually reach out and grab an arm." Did any Clemson fan actually grab a West Virginia player's arm? "I don't want to say that," Sabins said. "I don't know that for certain. It's close enough to be able to do that, so I think as a pitcher is warming up, psychologically, if you feel like you're in danger, you may adjust your mechanics or you may feel like it's too tight. So there probably needs to be a rule in place just to control that a little bit." Here's a clip of Sabins' comments, courtesy of and posted by The State's Chapel Fowler. Contact us @Clemson_Wire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Watch Mamaroneck and Scarsdale in Section 1 Class A championship
Watch the final point as St. Xavier boys volleyball tops Elder in regional final action St. Xavier boys volleyball tops Elder 3-1 in the Division I, Region 4 championship Saturday, May 24, at Mason. Here's the final point. 0:22 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Southern Miss baseball coach Christian Ostrander breaks down season-ending loss to Miami
WATCH: Cooper Maher fans the final batter to beat Cumberland as the Hawks take Game 1 Bishop Hendricken takes Game 1 of the Division I baseball championship series, 4-3, over Cumberland on June 5. Game 2 is Sunday. 0:27 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
