Baker Dunleavy is primed to lead Quinnipiac to a MAAC Tournament title
HAMDEN, Conn. (BVM) — Every player and coach has a journey. Before becoming Quinnipiac’s men’s basketball head coach, Baker Dunleavy was playing college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats from 2003-06.
Now, Coach Dunleavy isn’t the only one from his family to have success in basketball. His brother, Mike Dunleavy Jr. had a long-lasting career as an NBA player, as he played 15 years in the league from 2002-2017. Following his brother’s success, Coach Dunleavy decided to take an alternative route and pursue coaching instead of continuing his career as a basketball player beyond college.
Despite a short-lived career as a player, Coach Dunleavy seemed pretty content and adamant about coaching basketball instead of playing in the NBA like his brother did. Although Dunleavy Jr. had extended success in the NBA, Mike Dunleavy Sr. is ultimately the one who influenced Coach Dunleavy to follow in his dad’s footsteps as a basketball coach.
After taking a four-year hiatus from basketball, Coach Dunleavy took a job for his alma mater and helped coach the Wildcats for seven full seasons. From 2010-13 he was one of the assistant coaches and director of basketball operations. Following that he became associate head coach up until 2017.
“Baker was one of the leaders of our 2006 Big East championship team and he’s developed into an outstanding coach,” Villanova head basketball coach Jay Wright said in a release. “Baker has a great understanding of what it takes to succeed at this level and an instinctive feel for this program’s core values. He serves as a great example of what a successful Villanova Basketball player can become.”
Little did Coach Dunleavy know that winning a National Championship as the associate head coach for the Villanova Wildcats in 2016 would land him a head coaching job with another college basketball program. Thus, Dunleavy became the head coach for the Quinnipiac University men’s basketball program on March 27, 2017.
In his first year (2017) with the Quinnipiac Bobcats, Coach Dunleavy’s team went 12-21 overall and 7-11 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC.) However, Quinnipiac exceeded expectations in the MAAC Tournament, upsetting No. 2 seed Canisius in the quarterfinal round. The Bobcats lost the MAAC semifinal game to No. 6 Fairfield, but it was evident that Dunleavy had a positive influence on the team from the get-go.
With one year under his belt, Coach Dunleavy made a much larger impact in his second year (2018-19). The Bobcats finished with an overall record of 16-15, which was the program’s first winning season since the 2013-14 season. The team also finished 11-7 in the MAAC, which was tied for second in conference play. The Bobcats fell short in the quarterfinals but continued to make significant progress under Coach Dunleavy.
In year three with the Bobcats, Coach Dunleavy finished with a similar record as he did in his second year, with an overall record of 15-15. They finished 10-10 in the MAAC, which gave them the No. 5 seed in the MAAC Tournament and a first-round bye. However, the MAAC Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After two straight seasons where the team was at least .500 or better, Coach Dunleavy’s Bobcats hit a wall in 2020-21, where his team went 9-13. In a season where the Bobcats were decimated by COVID-19 cases and cancellations, this season seemed to be an outlier for Dunleavy and his Bobcats.
In their current season, Coach Dunleavy has the Bobcats sitting at fourth in the MAAC, with a 6-5 record in conference play and an 11-8 record overall. After an underwhelming record last season due to COVID-19, Coach Dunleavy and the Bobcats are ready to capture an elusive MAAC Tournament title.
Now, with nine games left in the season, Coach Dunleavy is ready to get the Bobcats over their MAAC Tournament hunt. It’ll be a daunting task, but it is one the Bobcats and Coach Dunleavy are up for.
