After learning that 21 wins on Selection Sunday (somehow) wasn't enough for an NCAA Tournament bid, Seton Hall men’s basketball head coach Shaheen Holloway was faced with a decision—to play or not to play in the College Basketball Crown Tournament, in which the Pirates had a spot waiting for them.
But Holloway, the unanimous BIG EAST Coach of the Year, wasn’t the one who would make that decision.
“I left it up to the players, like I always do," Holloway told Asbury Park Press’ Jerry Carino. “I put it on them, what they wanted to do, and as a coach I respect it either way. [And] they decided not to do it.”
Holloway took a similar approach the last time The Hall were snubbed from March Madness in 2024, when the team’s five senior starters made the unanimous decision to play in the NIT, which they eventually won.
But this time, rather than a select few, Holloway let the whole team decide on their postseason future—which turned out to be more like the end.
“The group didn’t want to do it,” Holloway said. “So they decided if the whole team didn’t want to do it, we weren’t going to do it.”
Hence, not long after the NCAA revealed their 68-team bracket, SHU’s athletics department put out a statement announcing their decision to “decline non-NCAA postseason tournament invitations for this year.”
As surprising as the statement was, it becomes much more of a surprise considering how several of SHU’s players expressed a desire to continue postseason play after falling to the eventual champs St. John’s in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals last Friday.
“We’ve still got some things to solve given the opportunity, so the feeling is high to come back and continue proving ourselves," said graduate guard AJ Staton-McCray. "It’s always fun to play basketball games. We’re all basketball players—we love to hoop, NCAA championship or not.”
Holloway, who was not in the room while the players made their decision, suggested that the team must have had a change of heart from Friday to Sunday.
“I think everybody thought we had a chance to make the (NCAA) tournament; everybody was disappointed and maybe let their emotions take over," Holloway said. "I don’t know what happened between then and now.”
“I’m sure they’re disappointed with emotions all over the place,” Holloway added. “Like I said, it was their decision, and whatever the decision they made, I was going to go with it.”
Although he left the decision up to the players, Holloway did express disappointment that it even came to such a decision, believing that the Pirates “did enough” to get in the NCAA Tournament.
“Obviously [I’m] disappointed that certain things didn’t fall our way—I thought we did enough (to get in the NCAAs), Holloway said. “It’s crazy to think that for me, two of my four years here, we won 20-plus games and normally in this league when you do that, you’re a lock. I can’t believe it man.”
Bubble teams that got in over SHU as the “First Four In” include Texas (18-14, 9-9 SEC), SMU (8-10, 20-13 ACC) and Prairie View A&M (18-17, 9-9 SWAC), among others.
“To win 20 games in my second year and 13 games in the league, and to win 21 games this year and 10 games in the league, and then you’ve got guys in the (NCAA) tournament who are not even .500 in their league, think about it: What are we doing?” Holloway said.
SHU’s athletics department included in their statement that the Pirates’ intention is to “turn their focus to the 2026-2027 season,” with Holloway sharing his offseason goals.
“The goal is to retain as many [players] as possible,” Holloway told New Jersey Advance Media’s Adam Zagoria. “That’s going to be the No. 1 priority when the season’s over.”
While player retention is the main priority, Holloway also hopes to add players who can help the Pirates shoot better than 30.5% from 3-point range (333rd nationally) next season when the transfer portal opens up from April 7-21.
“My priority is going to be shooting the basketball,” Holloway also said. “Get some shooters, just bring guys in that fit me and fit the program, but definitely shooting is going to be a big priority.”
Zachary Mawby is the head editor of The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at zachary.mawby@student.shu.edu.
