Coach Settembre leaving TCC basketball for Coastal Carolina University
Photo by St. Clair Murraine
By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook staff writer
Zach Settembre’s record-setting era at Tallahassee Community College is over, leaving the men’s basketball program in search of a new head coach.
TCC athletic director Rob Chaney made the announcement Sunday afternoon in a news release about Settembre’s departure from the program after two winning seasons. Settembre resigned to take an assistant coaching position at Coastal Carolina University.
“I appreciate the time, effort and energy Zach gave, not only to Tallahassee Community College but to his assistant coaches and the young men who represent our athletics program. I wish him the very best as he begins a new opportunity at Coastal Carolina,” Chaney said in a statement. “The team has much to be proud of over the last two seasons – 46 wins, two Panhandle Conference championships, an invitation to the NJCAA Tournament.
“Most importantly, the student-athletes are earning the opportunity to continue their academic and athletic careers at the four-year level.”
Since rising from an assistant position with the program to become head coach in March 2019, Settembre has kept the Eagles in the national ranking. The team also won consecutive Panhandle Conference championships, including this year when the Eagles finished the regular season with a share of the title.
Settembre’s replacement will become the Eagles’ third men’s basketball coach in six seasons. He said in a Sunday tweet that he informed TCC on Friday of his decision to move on, calling himself an Eagle for life.
He also pointed out that 19 players have committed to four-year programs during his tenure.
“Since March of 2018, I have called Tallahassee Community College and the City of Tallahassee my home,” Settembre wrote in the tweet. “I have made lasting relationships that will endure for life and I am beyond proud of our accomplishments during my three seasons at TCC, including the last two as head coach.”
When the Eagles took a share of the conference title with a 19-3 record this past season, it marked the first time since the 1996 and 1997 seasons that the team won back-to-back titles.
TCC was No. 14 in the NJCAA national ranking when the season ended. The team also was consistently in the rankings during the 2020 season.
The Eagles went 27-6 when they won their first outright conference championship under Settembre during the 2019-20 season, a first for the program since 2001. The 27 wins were the most in 13 seasons.
The Eagles received an at-large bid to the 2020 NJCAA Tournament before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down college programs across the country. The Eagles were ruled ineligible for this year’s state tournament because of a post-game melee following their final regular season game.
A state title win would have put the Eagles back in the national championship tournament.
