Phil Martelli Jr. is the head coach of Virginia Commonwealth University men's basketball in Richmond, Virginia. He was named the 14th head coach in program history on March 26, 2025, and quickly produced one of the school's strongest seasons. In his first year at VCU, he led the Rams to a 28-8 record, a share of the Atlantic 10 regular-season title, the conference tournament championship, and an NCAA Tournament first-round overtime win over North Carolina, the program's first NCAA Tournament victory in 10 years. His debut VCU team averaged 80.8 points per game, the school's highest mark in 50 years, and featured All-Atlantic 10 first-team selections Lazar Djokovic and Terrence Hill Jr. along with All-Defensive Team pick Brandon Jennings.
Martelli arrived at VCU after two seasons as Bryant's head coach. He guided the Bulldogs to a 43-25 overall record and a 25-7 mark in America East play, including back-to-back 20-win seasons. In 2024-25, Bryant won both the America East regular-season and tournament championships and earned the program's second NCAA Tournament appearance since moving to Division I in 2008-09. That team finished 23-12 overall and 14-2 in league play, and Martelli was recognized as the 2025 America East Coach of the Year and NABC Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year. Before becoming Bryant's head coach, he joined the staff in 2018-19 as an assistant coach and was elevated to associate head coach in 2020. He was also part of the 2021-22 Bryant staff that captured the Northeast Conference regular-season and tournament titles and secured the school's first Division I NCAA Tournament berth.
