Men's Basketball
Schwartz, Michael
Michael Schwartz
- Title:
- Head Coach
Michael Schwartz enters his fourth season as head coach of the East Carolina men's basketball program after being appointed the 24th head coach in program history on March 16, 2022.
The Pirates achieved their first winning season in over a decade in Schwartz's third season, posting an overall record of 19-14, while recording a 10-8 mark in American Athletic Conference play. The 19 victories for the Pirates are the second-most wins in a campaign in program history and the Pirates' 10 conference wins are a season-high for the program since joining the American and mark the first time since 1974-75 that East Carolina has tallied double-digit conference victories. RJ Felton finished his Pirate career as the third all-time scorer in program history and was the first ECU men's basketball player to be unanimously selected All-AAC First Team. C.J. Walker joined Felton as an all-conference first team member, marking the first time in the program's Division I era that two Pirates were all-conference first team members. ECU also won a game in the AAC Tournament for the third consecutive season under Schwartz while Jordan Riley led the conference in steals per game with two. Schwartz helped guide the Pirates to their most conference road wins in a season since 2012-13 and ECU was 5-1 in games decided by five points or less with three of those victories decided by just a single point. Schwartz was also named as a finalist for the Red Auerbach Coach of the Year Award.
Schwartz led the Pirates to their most wins in conference play as a member of the American Athletic Conference with seven league victories in his second season and the Pirates won three consecutive AAC contests for the first time since joining the league. ECU also recorded a win the AAC Men's Basketball Championship in consecutive seasons for the first time with the Pirates' 84-79 win over Tulsa in the second round. RJ Felton was named to the AAC All-Conference Third Team and NABC All-District 24 Second Team after enjoying a career year in multiple statistical categories including his 17.3 points per game and six rebounds per contest. Under Schwartz's tutelage, Felton also became the first Pirate to record back-to-back 30 point games since Blue Edwards in 1989 and he became the 34th player in program history to record 1,000 career points. The Pirates finished the campaign top five in scoring defense in the American, allowing 70.3 points per game, were one of the league's best ball clubs in recording steals, tallying the third-most in the conference at 7.8 per game and finished fourth in turnover margin.
In Schwartz's first season at the helm, the Pirates posted a 16-17 overall record and a 6-12 mark in conference play. The 16 wins were the most for the Pirate program in nearly a decade (2013-14) and the six conference victories tied for the most since the Pirates joined the American prior to the start of the 2014-15 season. ECU defeated South Florida 73-58 in the first round of the AAC tournament to win its first game in the tournament since 2017. Under Schwartz's guidance, Ezra Ausar led all AAC freshmen in field goal percentage at 56 percent (5th best in AAC) to become the first Pirate freshman since 2019 to be unanimously selected to the All-AAC Freshman Team. The Pirates were also one of the league's top offensive rebounding clubs at 12.2 per game and in rebounding margin at +2.1, led by Brandon Johnson's 8.1 rebounds and 10 double-doubles.
Schwartz currently serves as one of 31 Division I head men's basketball coaches on the USA Today Sports Coaches Top 25 Poll and is a current member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
Considered one of the most versatile and well-rounded assistant coaches in college basketball, Schwartz spent six seasons on staff at the University of Tennessee – including three as the associate head coach. In the fall of 2019, Schwartz earned feature placement on The Athletic's list of the nation's top-25 up-and-coming college basketball coaches.
Â
Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes has entrusted Schwartz with the role of defensive coordinator for each of the last five seasons, a move that has yielded extraordinary results, as the Vols own a 118-45 record dating to the start of the 2017-18 campaign. During the 2020-21 season, Tennessee posted the nation's fourth-best defensive efficiency rating, per KenPom.com—its second top-10 finish in four years. Additionally, Schwartz's schemes resulted in the Vols leading the Southeastern Conference in scoring defense in 2018 (65.7), 2021 (63.5) and 2022 (62.8)
Â
Schwartz's leadership was instrumental in helping guide the Big Orange to the 2022 SEC Tournament title, 2018 regular-season SEC Championship, an appearance in the 2018 SEC Tournament Championship Game and a No. 3 seed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament where the Vols advanced to the second round.
Â
Tennessee's defensive statistics during that 2017-18 season stood among the top programs nationally. The Vols led the SEC in scoring defense and ranked sixth nationally in KenPom's defensive efficiency ratings.
Â
There was no drop-off in 2018-19. Tennessee led the SEC in field-goal percentage defense (.393) and blocks per game (5.4). The team's 199 total blocks stood as a school record. The Vols held 17 opponents to fewer than 70 points and eight opponents to fewer than 60. And three Vols who benefited from Schwartz's tutelage were selected in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Â
For four consecutive weeks—amid a school-record 19-game win streak—Tennessee stood atop the Associated Press Top 25 rankings. During that span, McDonald's All-American Josiah-Jordan James signed with UT, validating Schwartz's years of tireless effort as the elite guard's primary recruiter.
Â
The Vols earned a No. 2 seed for the 2019 NCAA Tournament, advanced to the Sweet Sixteen and finished the season ranked fifth in the coaches' poll.
Â
In 2019-20, Schwartz's defensive schemes saw UT lead the SEC in blocks while ranking second in scoring defense during league play. Junior forward Yves Pons, another standout recruited by Schwartz, was named the 2020 SEC Defensive Player of the Year—the first Tennessee player ever to win the award.
Â
Tennessee finished the 2020-21 season with the nation's fourth-rated defensive efficiency, per KenPom, while ranking 13th nationally in defensive turnover percentage—forcing turnovers on 22.8 percent of its opponents' possessions.
Â
Schwartz has handled the scouting duties for numerous wins over the past five seasons, including triumphs over No. 3 Auburn, No. 15 Kansas and No. 18 Purdue, four wins over Kentucky (two on the road), a pair victories vs. Georgia Tech and a win against Wright State in the NCAA Tournament.
Â
An outstanding scout and floor coach, Schwartz played a key role in the development of Tennessee's 2016-17 freshman class, which was responsible for 44 percent of the team's scoring that season and finished the year as the highest-scoring crop of freshmen in program history (1,040 points). Forward Grant Williams anchored that class and developed into a two-time SEC Player of the Year, a consensus first-team All-American and a first-round NBA Draft pick.
Â
Schwartz spent the 2015-16 season as an assistant coach, offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Tulsa, helping the Golden Hurricane advance to the NCAA Tournament. Prior to that, he spent four seasons as the lead assistant under Rodney Terry (another former Barnes assistant) at Fresno State, including one year as associate head coach.
Â
Shouldering responsibility for Fresno's in-game coordination, recruiting, scouting and skill development, Schwartz helped guide the Bulldogs to their first 20-win season and postseason appearance in seven years—the finals of the College Basketball Invitational—in 2013-14. That same year, Paul Watson was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year and selected to the Kyle Macy Freshman All-American Team.
Â
Fresno State produced an NBA guard during Schwartz's time on staff there, as Tyler Johnson (2011-14) spent four seasons with the Miami Heat. During Johnson's three seasons with Schwartz on staff at FSU, his scoring average, field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage all improved each year.
Â
Schwartz also helped spearhead the assembly of some of Fresno State's highest-rated recruiting classes. The Bulldogs beat out several Pac 12 schools to sign shooting guard Marvelle Harris, who in 2016 became Fresno's all-time leading scorer and the Mountain West Player of the Year as well as earning AP All-American acclaim.
Â
No stranger to the Southeast and East Coast, Schwartz spent six years on staff at Miami (Fla.) in the Atlantic Coast Conference—the first two as coordinator of basketball operations and the final four as a full-time assistant coach.
Â
As an assistant in Coral Gables, Schwartz helped lead the Hurricanes to an 83-52 record, appearances in the Top 25 rankings and three postseason appearances in four years. His impact was immense during Miami's historic 2007-08 campaign, which included the second-most wins in school history (23), a school-record 14 home wins and a program-best fifth-place finish in the ACC.
Â
Miami earned a No. 7 seed in the 2008 NCAA Tournament and defeated St. Mary's before falling to Barnes' No. 2-seeded Texas squad in the second round.
Â
In Schwartz's operations role at Miami, he handled video responsibilities, film breakdown, opponent scouting, oversight of recruiting mailings and served as a liaison with the program's managerial staff.
Â
Schwartz's tenure in southern Florida was preceded by a one-year stint as an assistant coach at the University of Texas at San Antonio, a position he attained after working as Barnes' video coordinator at Texas for two seasons.
Â
While working in a full-time capacity alongside Barnes at Texas, Schwartz was a part of a Longhorns program that posted a two-year record of 51-15, produced a pair NBA Draft picks (guards T.J. Ford and Royal Ivey) and advanced to the 2003 Final Four and the 2004 Sweet Sixteen.
Â
Following his prep career at Beverly Hills High School, Schwartz played two seasons of college basketball at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California. He then transferred to Texas where he concluded his playing career and was a member of Barnes' 1999 Big 12 championship team. After Schwartz earned his degree in speech communication studies from Texas in 1999, Barnes appointed Schwartz to a graduate assistant position, which he held from 1999-2001.
Â
Schwartz also boasts valuable experience with USA Basketball, having served in a support capacity for the 2000 USA Youth Development Festival, the 2000 USA National Select Team—coached by Mike Jarvis and Bob Huggins and featuring future NBA stars Shane Battier and Jason Richardson—and the 2001 Young Men's World Championship Trials.
 The Pirates achieved their first winning season in over a decade in Schwartz's third season, posting an overall record of 19-14, while recording a 10-8 mark in American Athletic Conference play. The 19 victories for the Pirates are the second-most wins in a campaign in program history and the Pirates' 10 conference wins are a season-high for the program since joining the American and mark the first time since 1974-75 that East Carolina has tallied double-digit conference victories. RJ Felton finished his Pirate career as the third all-time scorer in program history and was the first ECU men's basketball player to be unanimously selected All-AAC First Team. C.J. Walker joined Felton as an all-conference first team member, marking the first time in the program's Division I era that two Pirates were all-conference first team members. ECU also won a game in the AAC Tournament for the third consecutive season under Schwartz while Jordan Riley led the conference in steals per game with two. Schwartz helped guide the Pirates to their most conference road wins in a season since 2012-13 and ECU was 5-1 in games decided by five points or less with three of those victories decided by just a single point. Schwartz was also named as a finalist for the Red Auerbach Coach of the Year Award.
Schwartz led the Pirates to their most wins in conference play as a member of the American Athletic Conference with seven league victories in his second season and the Pirates won three consecutive AAC contests for the first time since joining the league. ECU also recorded a win the AAC Men's Basketball Championship in consecutive seasons for the first time with the Pirates' 84-79 win over Tulsa in the second round. RJ Felton was named to the AAC All-Conference Third Team and NABC All-District 24 Second Team after enjoying a career year in multiple statistical categories including his 17.3 points per game and six rebounds per contest. Under Schwartz's tutelage, Felton also became the first Pirate to record back-to-back 30 point games since Blue Edwards in 1989 and he became the 34th player in program history to record 1,000 career points. The Pirates finished the campaign top five in scoring defense in the American, allowing 70.3 points per game, were one of the league's best ball clubs in recording steals, tallying the third-most in the conference at 7.8 per game and finished fourth in turnover margin.
In Schwartz's first season at the helm, the Pirates posted a 16-17 overall record and a 6-12 mark in conference play. The 16 wins were the most for the Pirate program in nearly a decade (2013-14) and the six conference victories tied for the most since the Pirates joined the American prior to the start of the 2014-15 season. ECU defeated South Florida 73-58 in the first round of the AAC tournament to win its first game in the tournament since 2017. Under Schwartz's guidance, Ezra Ausar led all AAC freshmen in field goal percentage at 56 percent (5th best in AAC) to become the first Pirate freshman since 2019 to be unanimously selected to the All-AAC Freshman Team. The Pirates were also one of the league's top offensive rebounding clubs at 12.2 per game and in rebounding margin at +2.1, led by Brandon Johnson's 8.1 rebounds and 10 double-doubles.
Schwartz currently serves as one of 31 Division I head men's basketball coaches on the USA Today Sports Coaches Top 25 Poll and is a current member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
Considered one of the most versatile and well-rounded assistant coaches in college basketball, Schwartz spent six seasons on staff at the University of Tennessee – including three as the associate head coach. In the fall of 2019, Schwartz earned feature placement on The Athletic's list of the nation's top-25 up-and-coming college basketball coaches.
Â
Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes has entrusted Schwartz with the role of defensive coordinator for each of the last five seasons, a move that has yielded extraordinary results, as the Vols own a 118-45 record dating to the start of the 2017-18 campaign. During the 2020-21 season, Tennessee posted the nation's fourth-best defensive efficiency rating, per KenPom.com—its second top-10 finish in four years. Additionally, Schwartz's schemes resulted in the Vols leading the Southeastern Conference in scoring defense in 2018 (65.7), 2021 (63.5) and 2022 (62.8)
Â
Schwartz's leadership was instrumental in helping guide the Big Orange to the 2022 SEC Tournament title, 2018 regular-season SEC Championship, an appearance in the 2018 SEC Tournament Championship Game and a No. 3 seed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament where the Vols advanced to the second round.
Â
Tennessee's defensive statistics during that 2017-18 season stood among the top programs nationally. The Vols led the SEC in scoring defense and ranked sixth nationally in KenPom's defensive efficiency ratings.
Â
There was no drop-off in 2018-19. Tennessee led the SEC in field-goal percentage defense (.393) and blocks per game (5.4). The team's 199 total blocks stood as a school record. The Vols held 17 opponents to fewer than 70 points and eight opponents to fewer than 60. And three Vols who benefited from Schwartz's tutelage were selected in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Â
For four consecutive weeks—amid a school-record 19-game win streak—Tennessee stood atop the Associated Press Top 25 rankings. During that span, McDonald's All-American Josiah-Jordan James signed with UT, validating Schwartz's years of tireless effort as the elite guard's primary recruiter.
Â
The Vols earned a No. 2 seed for the 2019 NCAA Tournament, advanced to the Sweet Sixteen and finished the season ranked fifth in the coaches' poll.
Â
In 2019-20, Schwartz's defensive schemes saw UT lead the SEC in blocks while ranking second in scoring defense during league play. Junior forward Yves Pons, another standout recruited by Schwartz, was named the 2020 SEC Defensive Player of the Year—the first Tennessee player ever to win the award.
Â
Tennessee finished the 2020-21 season with the nation's fourth-rated defensive efficiency, per KenPom, while ranking 13th nationally in defensive turnover percentage—forcing turnovers on 22.8 percent of its opponents' possessions.
Â
Schwartz has handled the scouting duties for numerous wins over the past five seasons, including triumphs over No. 3 Auburn, No. 15 Kansas and No. 18 Purdue, four wins over Kentucky (two on the road), a pair victories vs. Georgia Tech and a win against Wright State in the NCAA Tournament.
Â
An outstanding scout and floor coach, Schwartz played a key role in the development of Tennessee's 2016-17 freshman class, which was responsible for 44 percent of the team's scoring that season and finished the year as the highest-scoring crop of freshmen in program history (1,040 points). Forward Grant Williams anchored that class and developed into a two-time SEC Player of the Year, a consensus first-team All-American and a first-round NBA Draft pick.
Â
Schwartz spent the 2015-16 season as an assistant coach, offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Tulsa, helping the Golden Hurricane advance to the NCAA Tournament. Prior to that, he spent four seasons as the lead assistant under Rodney Terry (another former Barnes assistant) at Fresno State, including one year as associate head coach.
Â
Shouldering responsibility for Fresno's in-game coordination, recruiting, scouting and skill development, Schwartz helped guide the Bulldogs to their first 20-win season and postseason appearance in seven years—the finals of the College Basketball Invitational—in 2013-14. That same year, Paul Watson was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year and selected to the Kyle Macy Freshman All-American Team.
Â
Fresno State produced an NBA guard during Schwartz's time on staff there, as Tyler Johnson (2011-14) spent four seasons with the Miami Heat. During Johnson's three seasons with Schwartz on staff at FSU, his scoring average, field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage all improved each year.
Â
Schwartz also helped spearhead the assembly of some of Fresno State's highest-rated recruiting classes. The Bulldogs beat out several Pac 12 schools to sign shooting guard Marvelle Harris, who in 2016 became Fresno's all-time leading scorer and the Mountain West Player of the Year as well as earning AP All-American acclaim.
Â
No stranger to the Southeast and East Coast, Schwartz spent six years on staff at Miami (Fla.) in the Atlantic Coast Conference—the first two as coordinator of basketball operations and the final four as a full-time assistant coach.
Â
As an assistant in Coral Gables, Schwartz helped lead the Hurricanes to an 83-52 record, appearances in the Top 25 rankings and three postseason appearances in four years. His impact was immense during Miami's historic 2007-08 campaign, which included the second-most wins in school history (23), a school-record 14 home wins and a program-best fifth-place finish in the ACC.
Â
Miami earned a No. 7 seed in the 2008 NCAA Tournament and defeated St. Mary's before falling to Barnes' No. 2-seeded Texas squad in the second round.
Â
In Schwartz's operations role at Miami, he handled video responsibilities, film breakdown, opponent scouting, oversight of recruiting mailings and served as a liaison with the program's managerial staff.
Â
Schwartz's tenure in southern Florida was preceded by a one-year stint as an assistant coach at the University of Texas at San Antonio, a position he attained after working as Barnes' video coordinator at Texas for two seasons.
Â
While working in a full-time capacity alongside Barnes at Texas, Schwartz was a part of a Longhorns program that posted a two-year record of 51-15, produced a pair NBA Draft picks (guards T.J. Ford and Royal Ivey) and advanced to the 2003 Final Four and the 2004 Sweet Sixteen.
Â
Following his prep career at Beverly Hills High School, Schwartz played two seasons of college basketball at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California. He then transferred to Texas where he concluded his playing career and was a member of Barnes' 1999 Big 12 championship team. After Schwartz earned his degree in speech communication studies from Texas in 1999, Barnes appointed Schwartz to a graduate assistant position, which he held from 1999-2001.
Â
Schwartz also boasts valuable experience with USA Basketball, having served in a support capacity for the 2000 USA Youth Development Festival, the 2000 USA National Select Team—coached by Mike Jarvis and Bob Huggins and featuring future NBA stars Shane Battier and Jason Richardson—and the 2001 Young Men's World Championship Trials.
The Schwartz File
Full Name: Michael Leon Schwartz
Born: Sept. 25, 1976, in Los Angeles, Calif.
Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.
Alma Mater: Texas, '99
High School: Beverly Hills High School
Wife: Stephanie
Children: Sydney and Samantha
Â
Coaching Experience
2022-present: East Carolina, head coach
2019-21: Tennessee, associate head coach
2016-19: Tennessee, assistant coach
2015-16: Tulsa, assistant coach
2014-15: Fresno State, associate head coach
2011-14: Fresno State, assistant coach
2007-11: Miami (Fla.), assistant coach
2005-07: Miami (Fla.), coordinator of basketball operations
2004-05: Texas-San Antonio, assistant coach
2002-04: Texas, video coordinator
2001-02: Long Beach State, operations/video assistant
1999-2001: Texas, graduate assistant
Mike Schwartz Presser
Thursday, October 10
Inside Pirate Athletics (Feb. 26, 2024)
Tuesday, February 27
ECU Presser vs Charlotte
Saturday, February 03
Inside Pirate Athletics (Jan. 29, 2024)
Tuesday, January 30
