U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Men's Basketball

Rob Pryor was named the Head Men’s Basketball Coach at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017.  The 2021-22 season was Pryor's best thus far at the academy. He led the Mariners to a 15-10 overall record, including a 12-4 mark in Skyline Conference action. USMMA finished atop the Skyline North Division and earned the #2 seed in the Skyline Tournament. The Mariners were selected to the ECAC Tournament, which was the first postseason tournament for the program in 12 years (2009-10). Merchant Marine garnered two major postseason awards from the Skyline Conference, as sophomore Bryce Bristow earned Skyline Defensive Player of the Year accolades and Pryor was named the 2021-22 Skyline Conference Co-Coach of the Year. The Mariners also took home USMMA's Academic Dean's Award for a small team for the 2021-22 school year. USMMA played just four games in 2020-21, a season severly impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic. However the Mariners produced a winning record of 3-1. In 2019-20, Pryor brought USMMA back to a postseason conference tournament for the first time in six seasons (2013-14), as the Mariners dramatically came from behind on the road to defeat Skyline-rival SUNY Maritime, 85-80, in the last regular season game to steal the final playoff spot from the Privateers. Merchant Marine earned double-digit wins for the first time since 2015-16. Under Pryor's mentorship, James Walsh '21 was selected as the 2017-18 Skyline Conference Rookie of the Year. No stranger to the way of life at a federal academy, Pryor is a 1997 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. He also coached as an assistant with the Falcons’ men’s basketball team for five seasons. This will help him understand the unique learning situations and regimented lifestyles that the Midshipmen at USMMA experience here at Kings Point.  Pryor comes to the Mariners after spending the past six seasons at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va., where he was just the second full-time head coach in Hornets’ program history. He oversaw the program’s move from the USA South Athletic Conference to the very competitive Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Under his tenure between the two conferences, Pryor coached four student-athletes that were honored as All-Conference players and had an impressive 25 student-athletes earn Academic All-Conference accolades.  Pryor has extensive NCAA Division I coaching experience. In addition to his five years with the Falcons, Pryor was an assistant to University of Iowa coach Fran McCaffery for one year at Siena – 2006-07.  The Saints had a 20-12 record and made an appearance in the championship game of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament during Pryor's one season at the Loudonville, N.Y. school and McCaffery was named the MAAC Coach of the Year.  In 2005-06, under former Wake Forest coach Jeff Bzdelik, Pryor helped Air Force return to the NCAA Tournament as an assistant varsity and head junior varsity coach. The Falcons had their best-ever season that year, finishing 24-7, and led the nation in scoring defense while finishing fourth in 3-point shooting percentage.  This coaching stint came at the end of a three-year period in which Pryor coached at the USAFA Preparatory School as both a volunteer and then the program's head coach. The Prep School was 74-27 in his three years there, including a 31-3 campaign in 2003-04.  His volunteer coaching experience occurred as he was teaching in the behavioral science department at the Academy. In his final season at the Prep School (04/05), he headed up that program.  After graduating from the Academy in 1997 with a degree in human behavior, Pryor earned a master's degree in education with an emphasis in counseling in 1998 from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Following his schooling, he began his first Air Force assignment as a contracting officer at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.  During his four-year stint at Langley, Pryor earned an MBA degree at the College of William & Mary before returning to the Academy in 2002.  Pryor and his wife, Ashleigh, are the proud parents of four sons: Salem, Seth, Sion and Amare.

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy head men's basketball coach Rob Pryor announced the addition of Reed McLean as a full-time assistant coach for the Mariners ahead of the 2025-26 season. McLean officially came on board at KP on May 4.   McLean is no stranger to Kings Point, as he served as a volunteer assistant coach during this past 2024-25 season. He made an immediate impact from the moment he stepped on campus, helping lead the team to a victory over arch rival Coast Guard for the first time since the 2016-17 season and tutoring two 1,000-point scorers in Drew Zalescik (1,394) and Isaac Vencel (1,060). He was responsible for player development, recruiting, providing scouting reports and video highlights of opponents to prepare the team for their games, while also assisting with travel operations.   "Reed did an outstanding job as a volunteer for our program, so I am excited that he will now be our full-time assistant coach," said Pryor. "He has connected with our players and truly cares for them on and off the court. His passion and positivity are infectious and will have an immediate and lasting impact on our program."   Before working at Kings Point, McLean was an assistant coach for Manhattanville University men's and women's basketball programs for two seasons from 2022-2024 while completing Master's Degrees in both Sports Business and Education. During his time, he helped lead the men's team to consecutive postseason appearances, including in the Championship Game in 2022-23, and the women's program to a 44-8 combined record, including a conference final appearance in 2023-24. He worked with the Valiants in a basketball operations capacity, assisting with player development, travel operations, scouting, and the recruiting application process.   McLean, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Sport Management from Springfield College in 2016, enjoyed an excellent run as the Director of Basketball Operations for the Pride's men's basketball program under head coach Charlie Brock, leading them to three NCAA Tournament appearances. He assisted with player development, travel operations, scouting, and video editing. He was also a sports communication intern for the Springfield Athletic Communications staff in 2015, helping them with game day operations and website management.   McLean, a member of Harborfield High School's first-ever New York State title in school history in 2012, returned to Greenlawn, N.Y., as the assistant for the varsity boys basketball team and head coach of the boys' junior varsity program from 2018 to 2024. In 2020, McLean was Junior Varsity League 5 Coach of the Year.   "I am beyond grateful and excited to embark on this opportunity at the United States Merchant Marine Academy," said McLean. "I want to thank Athletic Director Kristofer Schnatz and Coach Pryor for the opportunity to be a part of his staff and help the USMMA men's basketball program compete for championships year-in and year-out. I am honored to teach and coach at Kings Point, crafting future leaders who will not just navigate the seas, but embody the very essence of determination and integrity."   He currently resides in Huntington, N.Y.