By Colton Pankiewicz, Sports Editor
23 days after confirming that Reggie Witherspoon wouldn’t be returning as head coach, Canisius announced the hire of Jim Christian, making him the 25th head coach in men’s program history.
With 19 years of head coaching experience sprinkled across the ACC, MAC and Big 12, Christian saw most of his success in the MAC. His .700 win percentage across those six years with Kent State are the best in MAC history.
Christian also found success with Ohio, winning 49 games and making appearances to both the NIT and CIT tournament across those two seasons. His success at Ohio lead him to land a job at Boston College, where he was the head coach from 2014-2021.
Most recently, Christian was an assistant with Kent State where the Golden Flashes won 45 games across two seasons, reaching the MAC championship in both seasons and a birth into the national tournament in 2023..
"It is an honor and a privilege for me to be named the next head men's basketball coach at Canisius University," Christian said. "I would like to thank President Steve Stoute and Athletic Director Bill Maher for this tremendous opportunity. I am confident that I will be able to use the things I have learned in my 19 years as a head coach and put those into practice at Canisius on day one. Canisius is a special place. The close, family atmosphere I experienced on my visit there last week just further proved to me that Canisius is the right place for me, both personally and professionally. I am ready to get to Buffalo and I am ready to get to work."
Canisius will host an introductory press conference on Thursday to introduce Christian.