Head Coach: Gerry Matthews
Gerry Matthews is on the cusp of yet another milestone as he begins his 21st season as the head coach at Stockton. Matthews is 14 victories shy of 400 wins on the Ospreys’ bench, and only one of his 20 previous teams failed to win at least 14 games. Matthews has led Stockton to 10 NCAA Tournament berths, including a trip to the Final Four in 1987, as well as four NJAC titles (1987, ’88, ’96, ’97). His teams have reached the 20-win mark 10 times, and he has never had a losing season at Stockton. Matthews’ .695 winning percentage ranks among the top 25 active Division III coaches and he has been voted the NJAC Coach of the Year seven times (1987, ’88, ’92, ’93, ’96, ‘00, ‘02).

Last year, Matthews coached Stockton to an 18-10 record and appearances in the NJAC and ECAC Metro semifinals. The Ospreys went 19-11 and recorded runner-up finishes in the NJAC and ECAC Metro tournaments in a 2004-05 season that signaled a resurgence after 14-12 and 16-12 marks the previous two years. Matthews reached a milestone with his 300th win, 69-46 over Marywood, on November 16, 2001. He went on to lead his team to 20 victories again as Stockton reeled off eight consecutive wins down the stretch to reach the 2002 NJAC tournament finals.

Upon his arrival, Matthews brought immediate success to the Stockton program. In just his second season, he led the Ospreys to their first of two straight NJAC championships and only NCAA Final Four appearance. The 1986-87 campaign began a streak of four consecutive NCAA Tournament berths. After a one-year absence, Stockton returned to the NCAA Tournament three straight times from 1992-94.

Matthews took a year off before returning to steer the Ospreys to a school-record 26 wins in 1995-96 and consecutive NJAC titles and NCAA berths that season and the next one. Stockton surpassed the 20-win mark again in 1998-99 and 1999-00, with the former season yielding an NCAA bid and the latter producing a trip to the NJAC finals.

Before coming to Stockton, Matthews coached on the high school level at Long Branch and Rumson-Fair Haven where he accumulated a 228-98 record and two state championships in 13 years.

Phone: (609) 626-6008
Fax: (609) 626-5510
Email: matthewg@stockton.edu

Assistant Coaches:
Kevin Brooks
Kevin Brooks is entering his 12th season as an assistant coach for the Ospreys. He attended Stockton from 1982-86 and played one season of basketball. He went on to play professionally with the Albany Patroons of the CBA, the Pottsville Stingers of the ABA, as well as overseas in Goteborg, Sweden. Brooks also had a tryout with the Philadelphia 76ers, lasting through the preseason.

Scott Bittner
Scott Bittner joins the Stockton men’s basketball coaching stafff for the 2006-07 season. Bittner has previous coaching experience on the high school level from stints as an assistant boys basketball coach at Bishop Eustace and his alma mater, St. Augustine Prep. As a player, Bittner spent one year at Morris County College and then three seasons at Wheeling Jesuit University, where he was a Division II All-American in 1994 and a three-time all-conference selection.