Travis Steele has been promoted to head coach of Xavier men's basketball program, becoming the Musketeers' 18th head coach.
"As we completed our national search process, it became clear that the best head coach for our program is the person we knew the best, Travis Steele," athletic director Greg Christopher wrote in a statement . "Travis brings passion, personality and organizational leadership skills to our head coaching position, which is really the CEO of our basketball program. He has earned a reputation as one of the brightest young offensive minds in the game and one of the future stars in this profession."
The announcement comes just days after Chris Mack left to become Louisville's coach. Steele has spent the last 10 seasons on the Xavier staff and was associate head coach for the past two. He worked under Mack for nine of those seasons.
Mack sent his congratulations to the new head coach via Twitter writing, "My man Steele! So happy for him and his family!"
Steele, 36, spent two seasons at Indiana and one season at Wabash Valley College before arriving at Xavier. Steele has been a part of nine NCAA Tournament teams since joining the Musketeers, and five of those teams reached at least the Sweet 16.
"I am excited about the opportunity to build on the success that we've enjoyed in the Xavier basketball program," Steele said. "I want to thank the Xavier administration and everyone involved in the search process, especially Greg Christopher."
The Musketeers won the Big East regular-season title and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament this season. Xavier fell out of the tournament in the second round after a 75-70 loss to Florida State.
