** Three-time ASUN Coach of the Year (2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2019-20)
** NABC District 3 Coach of the Year (2014-15)
PERSONAL FILE
- Birthdate: Dec. 14, 1964
- Native of Pittsburgh, Pa.
- Family includes: Wife, Carrie and sons Chase & Paxton
- 1992 graduate of Slippery Rock (Bachelor of Science degree in education)
AT UNF
* Named head coach on April 7, 2009
* 248-264 (.484) career record in 14 seasons
* 144-118 (.550) record in ASUN play
* 11-16 (.407) in all postseason games (11-14 in ASUN Tournament)
* ASUN Regular Season Champions (2015 | 2016 | 2020)
* ASUN Tournament Champions (2015)
* Two National Postseason appearances (2015 NCAA | 2016 NIT) | Earned invitation to 2020 CIT (canceled due to COVID)
* Three appearances in ASUN Tournament Championship game (2011 | 2015 | 2017)
* Guided Ospreys to 5 regular season tournament titles
* Coached UNF to victories over Power 5 foes (Purdue in 2014-15 | Illinois in 2015-16 | South Carolina in 2024-25 | Georgia Tech in 2024-25)
* Earned Top 20 final ranking in CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll (2014-15)
* Earned first-ever votes in Associated Press (AP) Poll (2024-25)
* Twice NCAA Div. 1 National Leader in 3-Pointers Made per Game (2016 | 2020)
* Responsible for 13 of program's 18 1,000 Point Scorers and 16 of 21 including those bringing points as transfers
* Teams own every single season program record (except steals)
* His squads have produced 27 of program's 50 triple-digit scoring outputs
* Owns all of program's 20+ win seasons (23 in 2014-15 | 22 in 2015-16 | 21 in 2019-20)
* Posted .500 or better record in ASUN play in 12 of 16 seasons
* Qualified for ASUN Tournament every season of his tenure
* UNF's attendance has been on the rise throughout Driscoll's tenure averaging near 2,000 per game in each of the last seven seasons, highlighted by the program record 2,856 per game average in 2015-16
* For the past nine seasons, Driscoll has served as a voter for the USA Today/NABC Coaches Top 25 Poll
* Winningest coach in UNF program history & ASUN Conference history
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT - UNF
* 19 ASUN All-Conference honorees
* Seven NABC All-District selections
* Two ASUN Players of the Year
* One ASUN Newcomer of the Year
* Two ASUN Freshmen of the Year
* Three ASUN Defensive Players of the Year
* Nine ASUN All-Freshmen selections
* 11 ASUN All-Tournament selections
* Three ASUN Scholar-Athletes of the Year
* 16 ASUN All-Academic honorees
* 120 ASUN Academic Honor Roll members
* 37 ASUN Players of the Week
* 24 ASUN Newcomers of the Week
* 11 UNF players that have continued careers professionally
* Developed two players invited to Portsmouth Invitational Tournament and NBA Summer League
* Graduated all players that have completed careers at UNF
MEMORABLE DATES
- Nov. 18, 2009: First UNF victory vs Savannah State (57-46)
- Dec. 23, 2009: Won first regular season tournament vs. Southern Miss (53-46)
- Nov. 24, 2010: Won Cancun Challenge vs. Morgan State (59-52)
- Jan. 2, 2010: First ASUN victory vs. Kennesaw State (66-60)
- Mar. 3, 2011: First ASUN Tournament victory vs Jacksonville (68-64)
- Mar. 5, 2011: First ASUN Tournament Championship Game appearance (L, 87-46 vs. Belmont)
- Dec. 3, 2011: First River City Rumble victory vs Jacksonville (80-58)
- Dec. 11, 2011: Took Kansas State to overtime (L, 79-68)
- Dec. 23, 2012: Won Las Vegas Classic vs. Georgia Southern (74-46)
- Dec. 31, 2013: 50th UNF victory vs Lipscomb (84-70)
- Nov. 26, 2014: Won Cancun Challenge vs. Elon (72-65)
- Dec. 6, 2014: Won at Purdue (73-70)
- Jan. 25, 2015: 50th ASUN victory vs Northern Kentucky (74-66)
- Mar. 8, 2015: Won ASUN Championship vs USC Upstate (63-57)
- Mar. 18, 2015: Made program debut in NCAA Tournament vs. Robert Morris (L, 81-77)
- Nov. 13, 2015: Won at Illinois (93-81)
- Nov. 18, 2015: Became winningest coach in UNF history vs Edward Waters (98-69)
- Nov. 27, 2015: 100th UNF victory vs Hartford (81-60)
- Nov. 28, 2015: Won Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational vs. St. Francis (78-65)
- Mar. 15, 2016: Hosted Florida in opening round of NIT
- Mar. 5, 2017: Advanced to ASUN Tournament Championship game
- Nov. 29, 2018: 150th UNF victory vs Florida A&M (81-62)
- Jan. 16, 2020: 200th career coaching win vs Jacksonville (75-68)
- Jan. 30, 2020: 100th win at UNF Arena vs Stetson (78-65)
- Feb. 6, 2020: 100th ASUN victory vs NJIT (82-75)
- Feb. 12, 2022: 200th career win as UNF's head coach at Kennesaw State (W, 74-72)
- Feb. 16, 2023: Set the ASUN record for points in a game during a 114-111 double-overtime win at Lipscomb
- Dec. 16, 2023: 250th win of his heading coach career between his stints at La Roche College and North Florida
- Jan. 20, 2024: Became winningest coach in ASUN Conference history vs Queens (91-75) with 228th career win at UNF
- Nov. 4, 2024: Earned first win of the season, third all-time P4 victory and first SEC win against South Carolina (74-71)
- Nov. 10, 2024: Become first team to ever earn two road P4 wins in first week of season against Georgia Tech (105-93)
SEASON CAPSULES - UNF
2024-25: In his 16th season at the helm for UNF, Driscoll put the Ospreys on the national map with early Power Four wins on the road against both South Carolina and Georgia Tech...UNF also picked up key non-conference wins against Charleston Southern, SIU Edwardsville and UNC Greensboro...the Ospreys went on a tear in the midst of ASUN play with six wins over eight games from Jan. 11 to Feb. 6...Driscoll led UNF to a sweep of the River City Rumble with a clutch 81-78 win across town and a 77-73 victory on its home court...Jasai Miles ended the season earning Third Team All-ASUN honors, while Josh Harris was unanimously awarded ASUN All-Freshman distinction...Jaylen Smith reeled in ASUN All-Academic Team recognition, while also being the only male student-athlete at UNF with a perfect 4.0 GPA...Oscar Berry and Nate Lliteras joined Miles and Smith as the quartet of Osprey selections to the CSC Academic All-District Team.
2023-24: During his 15th season as the head coach of North Florida, the Ospreys continued its impressive tear from range as the leaders of the ASUN Conference in three-pointers made with 383 total and 12.0 3PTM per game...UNF made its 15th appearance in the ASUN Championship once again under Coach Driscoll...the Ospreys went 9-7 in ASUN play to land them as the fifth overall seed in the conference during postseason play...UNF defeated eventual-ASUN champion Stetson, 78-59, in its senior day home finale...they also defeated last season's ASUN champion, Kennesaw State, both at home and on the road...the Ospreys posted an 11-5 home mark during the 2023-24 season, including five of those wins in conference competition...UNF started its ASUN slate hot ripping off five straight victories after dropping its conference opener on the road to Stetson in the final minutes...during non-conference play, the Ospreys hosted the First Coast Classic with wins against Northwestern State and Maine...they also faced five Power Five teams, including in-state opponents, Florida State and Miami (FL)...Coach Driscoll developed one of the most efficient scorers in program history with Chaz Lanier posting 19.7 PPG in his fourth season on the team after only averaging 4.7 PPG in 2022-23...he went on to become First Team All-ASUN, three-time ASUN Player of the Week and NABC First Team All-District, as well as the first player in ASUN history to average 50-40-90 during the regular season...he also became the winningest head coach in ASUN Conference history with his 228th career win at UNF against Queens on Jan. 20...on top of a First-Team All-ASUN selection, Coach Driscoll also ushered Jaylon Smith to an ASUN All-Freshman selection, as well as Dorian James and Lanier to ASUN All-Academic distinctions...Nate Lliteras also joined Lanier and James with CSC Academic All-District honors.
2022-23: In his 14th season at the helm with the Ospreys, North Florida put together some of the best single game performances in program history as the UNF offense remained potent ... North Florida made an appearance in the ASUN Championship once again, continuing UNF's streak of making the tournament in every season led by Coach Driscoll ... the Ospreys went 9-9 in ASUN play, defeating eventual-ASUN champion Kennesaw State, 88-85, behind a 32-point and 10 three-pointer performance by Jose Placer in the victory ... UNF's 11-2 home record marked the ninth-straight season with a winning record at home as the Ospreys played on the newly updated CSI Companies Court in front of the first year of the Bank of England Suite and John & Gerri Hayt Osprey Outlook ... UNF finished first in the league in three-point attempts per game as well as three-pointers made per game in ASUN competition ... the Ospreys hit 10.7 treys per contest in ASUN games, while also extending their streak of a game with a three-pointer to 809 contests ... not lost in the stat sheet was the prolific rim protecting of the North Florida defense ... UNF ranked second in the conference in blocks per game at 3.9, with Jadyn Parker becoming the sixth Osprey to surpass 100-career blocks ... guards Jose Placer and Jarius Hicklen both surpassed 1,000-career points, while the five-year stalwart Carter Hendricksen concluded his career in the top ten in UNF's DI era in 18 different statistical categories ... Placer and Hendricksen would both earn all-league recognition, while the duo also took home College Sports Communicators Academic All-District recognition.
2021-22: UNF notched the sixth-best three-point shooting percentage and fourth-best free throw percentage of any UNF program in school history, helping produce an explosive offense that generated an extremely hot second half of the season. During that stretch that saw North Florida go 7-3 over its last 10 ASUN regular season games, head coach Matthew Driscoll became the first head men's basketball coach in program history to reach 200-career wins at the helm, doing so with a 74-72 win at Kennesaw State Feb. 12. For the first-time in the program's DI-era, UNF had four-straight games with at least two 20-plus point scorers thanks to the efforts of sharpshooters Jarius Hicklen, Jose Placer and Carter Hendricksen. Hicklen earned ASUN Newcomer of the Week and ASUN Player of the Week honors, while all three landed on the NABC Honors Court squad. Hendricksen reached CoSIDA Academic All-District status, joining Placer on the ASUN All-Academic Team. UNF knocked off top ASUN teams in Jacksonville State and Liberty, while pacing the ASUN in league games for free throws made, blocks per game, field goal percentage defense and three-pointers made. Hendricksen joined the 1,000-point and 500-rebound club while Jadyn Parker set the UNF single game record for blocks with a staggering mark of nine in a win at Stetson in the regular season finale.
2020-21: Despite a season shortened and limited by COVID-19, Ospreys were able to extend the program's .500 or better mark in ASUN play to eight consecutive seasons following their 6-6 finish. In addition, UNF finished in the Top 4 of the ASUN standings for the eighth straight season. North Florida posted an 8-15 overall mark including another winning record at home, boasting a 5-3 mark in UNF Arena. Carter Hendricksen was named first team All-ASUN and second team NABC All-District while also picking up ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Academic All-ASUN honors. Newcomer Jose Placer earned second team All-ASUN accolades and Jonathan Aybar garnered ASUN All-Freshman recognition. For the fourth consecutive season, the #BirdsofTrey led the ASUN in three-point shooting for conference games.
2019-20: For the third time in six seasons, North Florida climbed to the top of the ASUN standings and earned a share of the regular season crown, finishing with a 13-3 league record to extend the program's .500 or better mark in the ASUN to seven consecutive seasons. Overall, UNF finished with a 21-12 record and featured a lineup that saw all five starters average in double digits. Wajid Aminu (15th), Ivan Gandia-Rosa (16th) and JT Escobar (17th) all became members of the UNF 1,000-Point club during the season. The Ospreys, who led the nation in three-pointers for the second time with 391, set a program record with 21 treys made against Trinity Baptist and holding them to a record low 39 total points. Aminu became the program's all-time leader in blocked shots, while Gandia-Rosa claimed the top spot for career assists at UNF. Garrett Sams and Gandia-Rosa garnered All-ASUN 1st-team honors along with selections to NABC All-District list. Carter Hendricksen picked up an All-ASUN 2nd team honor to go along with being named ASUN All-Tournament. Aminu, Hendricksen and Escobar were all chosen for the Academic All-Conference list. UNF earned and accepted an invitation to the COVID-19 canceled CollegeInsider.Com Invitational Tournament (CIT)
2018-19: With a starting five of all juniors, UNF finished with a 16-17 overall tally, highlighted by a 9-7 mark in ASUN play and posted a .500 or better league record for a sixth consecutive year. Wajid Aminu matched a school record with 7 blocks at Minnesota while the team swatted program record matching 11 shots in a pair of games. Garrett Sams became the 14th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. Ivan Gandia-Rosa topped the ASUN in assists and ranked among the nation's Top 20. Aminu was named ASUN Defensive Player of the Year and 2nd team All-Conference. JT Escobar claimed the ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was joined by Aminu on the Academic All-Conference list. Sams earned his second consecutive ASUN All-Tournament honor.
2017-18: North Florida started five sophomores in a rebuilding season that saw the Ospreys finish 14-19 overall, including a 7-7 mark in ASUN play to earn a .500 or better league record for a fifth consecutive year. UNF concluded the season ranked Top 10 nationally for 3PM, 3PA and 3PT%. Noah Horchler set a program single season record with 285 rebounds while Ivan Gandia-Rosa matched UNF season mark with 205 assists. Horchler earned the team's first ASUN Newcomer of the Year award along with claiming All-ASUN (2nd team) honors. Trip Day collected ASUN All-Freshmen recognition and Garrett Sams picked up ASUN All-Tournament accolades.
2016-17: Ospreys conclude the most successful four-year run in program history, collecting 76 victories and featuring UNF's second appearance in the ASUN Tournament Championship game in the last three years. Driscoll led the program to an 8-6 mark in conference play (15-19 overall), marking the fourth consecutive winning season in ASUN competition. Dallas Moore capped his career with a second straight ASUN Player of the Year honor while also becoming UNF's first 2,000-Point scorer and the state of Florida's all-time leading scorer in Division I play. Freshman Wajid Aminu was named ASUN Freshman of the Year and joined on the All-Freshman squad by teammate Garrett Sams.
2015-16: North Florida captured back-to-back Atlantic Sun regular season titles and participated in a second straight national postseason tournament, hosting Florida in the opening round of the NIT. The Ospreys also recorded the most regular season wins (21) in program history and boasted a fourth straight winning record (10-4) in league play. Driscoll and his staff earned ASUN Coaching Staff of the Year while several players were honored by the league including Dallas Moore (Player of the Year/1st team All-ASUN), Demarcus Daniels (Defensive Player of the Year), Beau Beech (1st team All-ASUN).
2014-15: UNF captured the program's first Atlantic Sun Conference regular season title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in history, after claiming the Atlantic Sun Tournament crown. The Ospreys finished the year with record win totals overall (23-12) and in conference play (12-2), while also ending the season ranked 20th in the CollegeInsider.com Top 25 Mid-Major poll. Driscoll and his staff earned the ASun Coaching Staff of the Year award and also shared the yearly honor for District 3 of the NABC. Dallas Moore was named to the NABC District 3 second-team, marking the second such honor in UNF program history. The championship squad featured a pair of first-team All-Atlantic Sun performers (Beau Beech, Moore) along with the Defensive Player of the Year (Demarcus Daniels). A trio of players garnered ASun All-Tournament honors led by Daniels, the MVP, and joined by Moore and Jalen Nesbitt. The Ospreys ranked among the nation's leaders in three-point shooting, earning the moniker of "Birds of Trey", and also enjoyed some other historic victories including a program first win over a Power 5 program (Purdue) and a second tournament title at the Cancun Challenge.
2013-14: Driscoll led the Ospreys to a 16-16 overall record including a 10-8 mark in Atlantic Sun play with both win totals equalling then program records. UNF qualified for their fifth consecutive conference tournament while also posting a regular season sweep over league champion and NCAA Tournament participant Mercer. Freshman Dallas Moore earned the program's first A-Sun Freshman of the Year honor, while senior teammate Travis Wallace garnered second-team All-Atlantic Sun accolades. The team topped the 100-point mark in a game for the first time in the Division I Era and also bettered the program's four-season win total mark to 60 victories.
2012-13: Marked the first set of Driscoll recruits to complete their careers. The group helped guide the Ospreys to a 13-19 overall record (8-10 A-Sun) and fourth consecutive appearance in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament. In addition, UNF compiled the most victories (57) in a four-year span in program history sending the senior class out as the winningest Osprey basketball group ever, before the group in 2013-14 topped the mark. Senior Parker Smith collected the program's first-ever All-Atlantic Sun Conference first-team honor while Beau Beech earned inclusion on the All-Freshman list. Smith and fellow senior Will Wilson both finished the season ranked among the Nation's Top 20 in several statistical categories.
2011-12: Driscoll led the Ospreys to unprecedented heights as UNF finished with a then program record 16 victories including a 10-8 mark in A-Sun play. North Florida boasted a record high 11 home victories, highlighted by a perfect 5-0 mark against non-conference foes along with a program best six league home wins. UNF collected its first ever regular season sweep of rival Jacksonville and Lipscomb while also tallying sweeps of A-Sun foes FGCU and Kennesaw State. The Ospreys earned their best finish in league play tying for fourth. Parker Smith named the All-Atlantic Sun (2nd team) marking just the third postseason honor for UNF in its Division I history.
2010-11: Driscoll followed up his solid debut campaign at the helm of the Ospreys with even more historic success in his second season including an appearance in the 2011 Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament championship game. UNF’s run to the title contest was highlighted by victories over cross-town rival Jacksonville and an upset of second-seed ETSU.Ospreys finished in sixth place in the Atlantic Sun (ahead of their preseason picks of 7th-9th) and posted a 15-19 overall record including a 10-10 mark in conference play. The 10 A-Sun wins marked a then program best and the 15 overall victories were the most in North Florida’s Division I history and matched the then single season program high. The Ospreys captured the title at the Cancun Challenge (Mayan Division) marking a second consecutive in-season tournament crown while also matching a program record with a five-game win streak late in the season. Against A-Sun foes, Driscoll guided his 2010-11 group to more road wins (6) than the previous five seasons combined, while collecting program first victories at Mercer and Campbell. Andy Diaz and Jerron Granberry were both named to the A-Sun All-Tournament team, marking another first for the UNF program.
2009-10: Picked to finish last in the Atlantic Sun Conference's preseason polls in his inaugural season, Driscoll made an immediate impact leading UNF to a 13-18 overall record (8-12 in Atlantic Sun), a seventh-place finish and an ASUN Tournament appearance in the program's first year of eligibility for the event. In addition, Driscoll led the Ospreys to a five-win improvement ending the year just two victories shy of the program record and posted the best debut season ever by a UNF men's basketball coach. UNF also captured the tournament title at the Southern Mississippi Christmas Classic, becoming only the second Atlantic Sun team in league history to win a three-game, regular-season tournament.
PRIOR TO UNF
In 2009, Yahoo! Sports called Driscoll’s hiring at UNF a “Home Run.” In May of 2008, Driscoll was voted as one of the top-10 assistant coaches in the nation in a national survey of coaching professionals conducted and published by FoxSports.com.
Driscoll came to UNF after spending six seasons as the top assistant at Baylor University. Along with BU head coach Scott Drew, Driscoll helped transform the Bears into Big XII contenders, leading them to the 2008-09 NIT finals and the 2007-08 NCAA Tournament.
The NCAA Tournament appearance in 2007-08 was Baylor’s first since 1988. Baylor came up one game shy of making a second-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament after falling in the final to Missouri at the 2009 Big XII Tournament. The Bears captured a win over top-seeded Kansas in that tournament before getting an invitation to the NIT. Baylor rode its hot streak all the way to the NIT finals at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The dream run included wins against Georgetown, Virginia Tech, Auburn and San Diego State, before falling to Penn State in the championship game.
Driscoll spent seven weeks on Drew’s staff at Valparaiso before making the move to Baylor. Prior to his brief stop at Valparaiso, Driscoll served as an assistant at Clemson from 1998 to 2003 under Larry Shyatt, current University of Wyoming head coach and former University of Florida assistant. He also worked as an assistant during Shyatt’s first tenure at Wyoming for the 1997-98 season. Driscoll helped guide both Clemson and Wyoming to berths in the NIT, before assisting with the rebuild of the Baylor program.
While at Clemson, Driscoll helped the Tigers to the 1999 NIT championship game. During the 1998-1999 campaign, the Tigers won 20 games, including four in the NIT, before losing to California by one point in the championship on the final possession. Driscoll also played a part in Clemson's three victories over North Carolina during a five-year period, including an upset over the top-ranked Tar Heels.
At Wyoming, the Cowboys recorded a 19-9 mark and earned a berth in the NIT. Wyoming won two games against top 10 teams that year, including an upset of national finalist Utah.
His basketball coaching experience began in 1988 when he served as the head coach of his high school alma mater at Pittsburgh’s Northgate High School. He served in that role from 1988-90 before stops at Butler (Pa.) County Community College (1990-91) and Seneca Valley High School (1991-93), where he served as an assistant coach at both schools. From 1993-97 Driscoll served as the head coach at LaRoche College in Pittsburgh. Driscoll’s experience also includes a stint as a volunteer assistant coach at Slippery Rock.
He also served as the president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Assistant Coaches Board of Directors, and has been a member of the organization since 1994, including a board member since 1998.
YEAR-BY-YEAR RECORD (Head Coach)
| Year |
School |
Overall |
Conference |
Postseason Tournament |
| 1993-97 |
LaRoche College |
26-77 |
-- |
-- |
| 2009-10 |
North Florida |
13-18 |
8-12 (ASUN) |
ASUN |
| 2010-11 |
North Florida |
15-19 |
10-10 (ASUN) |
ASUN |
| 2011-12 |
North Florida |
16-16 |
10-8 (ASUN) |
ASUN |
| 2012-13 |
North Florida |
13-19 |
8-10 (ASUN) |
ASUN |
| 2013-14 |
North Florida |
16-16 |
10-8 (ASUN) |
ASUN |
| 2014-15 |
North Florida |
23-12 |
12-2 (ASUN) |
ASUN | NCAA |
| 2015-16 |
North Florida |
22-12 |
10-4 (ASUN) |
ASUN | NIT |
| 2016-17 |
North Florida |
15-19 |
8-6 (ASUN) |
ASUN |
| 2017-18 |
North Florida |
14-19 |
7-7 (ASUN) |
ASUN |
| 2018-19 |
North Florida |
16-17 |
9-7 (ASUN) |
ASUN |
| 2019-20 |
North Florida |
21-12 |
13-3 (ASUN) |
ASUN | CIT (Canceled by COVID) |
| 2020-21 |
North Florida |
8-15 |
6-6 (ASUN) |
ASUN |
| 2021-22 |
North Florida |
11-20 |
7-9 (ASUN) |
ASUN |
| 2022-23 |
North Florida |
14-17 |
9-9 (ASUN) |
ASUN |
| 2023-24 |
North Florida |
16-16 |
9-7 (ASUN) |
ASUN |
| 2024-25 |
North Florida |
15-17 |
8-10 (ASUN) |
ASUN |
| Overall |
|
274-341 |
144-118 |
|
