Morris Named Head Coach of Phoenix Men’s Basketball

Queens, NY – Vaughn College is proud to announce the hiring of Patrick Morris as the new Head Men's Basketball Coach. With over 15 years of collegiate coaching experience and a proven record of developing high-level talent, Morris will lead the Phoenix as the program looks to return to its winning tradition. This marks his first collegiate head coaching role, taking the helm after years of success as an assistant at the NCAA Division II level.

Morris joins Vaughn after a successful tenure at Molloy University, where he helped shape one of the East Coast Conference's most competitive men's basketball programs. He brings championship experience, a strong recruiting network, and a passion for student-athlete development—both on and off the court.

Coaching Background and Accomplishments

Pat Morris served as an assistant coach with the Molloy men's basketball team for over 15 years, starting prior to the 2008-09 season. In that time, he has helped to lead the Lions to over 120 victories, making nine East Coast Conference Tournament appearances.

Under his guidance, Morris has seen over 30 All-East Coast Conference selections, including a number of Player or Rookie of the Years. Numerous members of the men's basketball team have gone on to appear in the G-League, the developmental league of the National Basketball Association, including his son, Jaylen, who was drafted by the Erie BayHawks in 2017 and signed a multi-year deal with the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA, appearing in six games in 2018.

Morris hails from ECC rival University of Bridgeport, where he played four years of basketball on a full athletic scholarship. During his career as a Purple Knight, Morris started and played in every game of his career, en route to scoring 1,800-plus points and appearing in two televised NCAA Division II National Championship games. He was dubbed an All-New England and All-NYCAC player, and was inducted into the University of Bridgeport Hall of Fame.

Morris played three years of varsity basketball at near-by South Side High School, where he is a member of the Wall of Fame. Throughout his career, he amassed over 1,000 points, and was named First-Team All-County and Second-Team All-Long Island. He helped his team to the Nassau County and Long Island Championships as well.

Aside from his years at Molloy, Morris has spent time coaching at Half Hollow Hills High School East, as the head coach of the junior varsity squad, and as the JV Head Coach and Varsity assistant at Garden City High School.

Try-outs for walk-ons are scheduled to begin Thursday, October 9th. Students or prospective student-athletes interested in joining the men's basketball program may email patrick.morris@vaughn.edu.