John Alesi is in his 11th season as the Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Baruch College.
Under his leadership, the Bearcats have reached the post-season in nine of his 10 seasons as Head Coach (5 ECAC, 4 NCAA) and played in the CUNYAC Championship game six times.
He won his fourth CUNYAC Championship during 2022-23 and returned to play in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in his career (four as a coach, one as a student-athlete, all for Baruch).
Alesi's teams are known for their defense and have been regularly ranked among the NCAA Division III leaders in categories such as Scoring Defense (26th- 2020, 6th- 2019, 10th- 2018, 48th- 2017, 24th- 2015, 46th- 2014) and among the Top 30 in Field Goal Percentage Defense (4th- 2020, 6th- 2019, 19th- 2017, 6th- 2015, 6th- 2014, 29th- 2013). Within the CUNYAC, his teams have led in Field Goal Percentage Defense in five of his eight seasons and led in Scoring Defense in six of his 10 seasons.
The 22 wins during 2022-23 tied his career-high as a Head Coach.
The Staten Island native was voted the CUNYAC Coach of the Year and regionally honored as the Met Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) Coach of the Year in 2014-15. He was voted CUNYAC Coach of the Year again in 2023-24.
During the 2015-16 season, the team returned to the CUNYAC Championship Title Contest by winning three games as a No. 5 seed to play again in front of a national audience on ESPN3. The Bearcats finished the season in the ECAC Postseason Tournament and reached the semifinal round.
Alesi was promoted to Head Coach on March 7, 2012. He joined the Baruch staff in June 2011 and spent his first year as "Head Coach in Waiting" before his promotion.
He is a 2003 graduate of Baruch College with a bachelor’s degree in marketing management. He returned to Baruch following stints as an assistant coach with the Division I staffs at the University of Pittsburgh (2005-06), Hofstra University (2003-2004), and Manhattan College (2006-10).
He also served as the Head Coach of rival Hunter College during 2010-11 and led the Hawks to the semifinals of the CUNY Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Championship Tournament.
As an undergraduate at Baruch, Alesi played four years at guard and led the team to their first CUNYAC Championship in 2000. He can now claim a Baruch men's basketball championship as a player and head coach.
As a senior in 2003, he captained the Bearcats to their first-ever ECAC Metro Regional Championship and was named MVP of the post-season tournament as the team finished with a team best record of 25-5.
Alesi has served on the ECAC Metro Region Men's/Women's Basketball Tournament Selection Committee and the NCAA Division III Atlantic Region Advisory Committee (2015-18). He is a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and currently serves as Atlantic Region Chair on the NABC Division III All-American Committee.
In addition to coaching basketball, Alesi also serves as the Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities helping oversees the entire athletic complex, which includes the ARC Arena, Auxiliary Gym, Aquatic Center, Fitness Center, and Locker Rooms.
COACHING ACCOMPLISHMENTS
*CUNYAC Coach of the Year 2014-15
*Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Coach of the Year 2014-15
*Recruited two CUNYAC Rookie of the Year Award winners (Raymond De La Cruz, Chimaechi Ekekeugbor) in his first three seasons at Baruch
*2018-19 ECAC Division III Coach of the Year
COACHING HISTORY
Baruch
2023-24: 18-8, 13-1, TBD
2022-23: 22-6, 12-2, CUNYAC Champion, NCAA Postseason Berth
2021-22: 20-8, 11-3, CUNYAC Champion, NCAA Postseason Berth
2020-21: Cancelled by Covid-19
2019-20: 19-11, 9-5, CUNYAC Runner Up, ECAC Postseason Semifinalist
2018-19: 22-6, 14-2, CUNYAC Champion, NCAA Postseason Berth
2017-18: 16-11, 12-4, CUNYAC Semifinalist, ECAC Postseason Quarterfinalist
2016-17: 18-10, 10-6, CUNYAC Semifinalist, ECAC Postseason Quarterfinalist
2015-16: 17-14, 9-7, CUNYAC Runner Up, ECAC Postseason Semifinalist
2014-15: 21-7, 14-2 CUNYAC Champion, NCAA Postseason Berth
2013-14: 14-12, 10-6
2012-13: 17-11, 11-4, ECAC Postseason Quarterfinalist
Hunter
2010-11: 13-14, 7-6, CUNYAC Semifinalist
