Now in his 12th season as men’s basketball head coach at Campbell University in 2024-25, Kevin McGeehan leads the Camels through a new era in the second season as members of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA).
McGeehan begins the ‘24-’25 campaign with a 169-182 record in his 11 completed seasons with Campbell.
The Camels posted a 14-18, 8-10 mark in the program’s first season in the CAA, including an 11-6 home record. Anthony Dell’Orso was named second-team all-CAA after averaging 19.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Dell’Orso’s scoring jumped to 21.9 ppg in league play, the third most in the CAA.
Campbell’s season was highlighted by a pair of home wins over in-state rivals on national TV. Campbell beat Elon by 10 points, and downed UNCW 105-100 in 2OT. Dell’Orso scored a career-high 35 in the win over a UNCW team that sat atop the CAA standings at the time. The game was the highest scoring game in Gore Arena history, and finished with the first court-storming of the newly named Wanda Watkins Court inside Gore Arena.
Campbell won 121 games – an average of 17 per year –over a six-season stretch from 2017-2023, the most in a seven-year span in the program’s Division I history (since ‘77-78).
During that span, the Camels claimed four Big South trophies. Campbell won the 2019 Big South regular season title and finished as Big South tournament runner-up in 2017, 2021 and 2023.
The 2022-23 squad came up one win shy of the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Big South championship game after reeling off three straight wins at the conference tournament. The Camels topped Presbyterian, defending champion Longwood, and second seeded Radford to reach the title game for the second time in three years. The Camels fell to top-seeded Asheville 77-74 in the championship.
McGeehan developed Big South freshman of the year Anthony Dell’Orso, who led all league freshmen in scoring (12.5), rebounding (5.8) and free throw percentage (.830). Ricky Clemons earned all-conference honors, while Laurynas Vaistaras was named to the Big South all-academic team.
The Camels won a share of the 2022 Appalachian State MTE, defeating eventual ASUN champ Kennesaw State and Sun Belt member Appalachian. Campbell also played ACC member NC State to a two-possession game (67-73) in Raleigh.
The 2021-22 Camels finished with 16 wins and ranked among the nation’s most disciplined teams – committing the third-fewest fouls and making the sixth-fewest turnovers among 350 programs. CU also led the Big South in assist-turnover ratio and fewest turnovers per game (10.4).
Campbell posted wins over 2021 NCAA tournament team Hartford and Conference USA member Marshall, while taking ninth-ranked Duke to the wire before falling 67-56 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Campbell’s .630 winning percentage (17-10) in 2020-21 marked the program’s highest since the 2009-10 team finished 19-11 (.633).
After the Camels were picked 10th in the 2020-21 Big South preseason poll, McGeehan guided his team to a 3rd-place finish in the regular season (11-6), then CU claimed wins over Gardner-Webb and Radford to reach the league final.
McGeehan guided the Camels to a school Division I era (since ‘77-78) record 9-game win streak to reach the 2021 Big South Championship game.
He coached a pair of Big South all-conference honorees in 2020-21 – Cedric Henderson, Jr. and Jordan Whitfield. Whitfield was joined on the Big South all-tournament team by Ricky Clemons.
The Camels led the Big South Conference – and ranked 10th in the nation – in team field goal percentage in 2020-21. CU’s 58.5 field goal percentage in the Big South semifinal win at Radford set a school mark for highest team FG% in Big South tournament play. The Camels made a season-high 67.1 percent of their shots vs. Florida National (12/10), one day after making 60.5 percent vs. New Orleans. CU hit 62 percent from the floor in an 84-83 loss Dec. 30 at eventual Big South champion Winthrop.
In addition, McGeehan’s squad ranked fourth in the country in points after called timeouts and 25th nationally in 3-point accuracy (.375).
He guided his squad to three consecutive post-season berths from 2017-19 – the first time that has been accomplished in the program’s NCAA Division I era (since 1977-78).
The 2019 Big South Coach of the Year, McGeehan earned his 100th Division I coaching victory on Dec. 29, 2019 at Ohio University. He became the 16th coach in Big South history to reach 100 overall wins. The Camels got off to the program’s best start (9-3) since the 1993-94 season.
Cory Gensler was named Big South men’s basketball scholar-athlete of the year in 2020 and the Camels ranked among league leaders in free throw percentage, turnover margin, assists, steals and assist-turnover ratio.
In the 2018-19 campaign, McGeehan guided the Camels to a 20-13 overall record and their first league regular season title since 2010 by posting a 12-4 record and earning the top seed in the conference tournament for the first time. CU made a third-straight post-season trip by earning the Big South’s automatic berth to the NIT – another program first – and produced the program’s first 20-win season in a quarter century.
The 2019 Camels ranked among the country’s top 20 schools in turnovers per game, fewest turnovers, turnover margin, assist turnover ratio and free throw percentage.
CU won the Rose Hall Division of the Jamaica Classic and went on to claim 12 league wins, the most by a Campbell squad since 2010.
Big South Conference player of the year Chris Clemons became the first Camel to earn All-America honors on the Division I level after leading the nation in scoring (30.1). Clemons scored a school and Big South single-season record 993 points in 33 outings in ’18-19. He finished his career third all-time among NCAA Division I scorers with a league record 3,225 points and tied the national record by scoring in double figures in 115-straight games. Clemons signed a free agent contract with the Houston Rockets and on Nov. 3, 2019 became the first Camel to appear in an NBA game since 1968.
In addition, center Andrew Eudy earned second-team All-Big South honors, and finished his Camel career with a school-record 199 blocks while also ranking among the program’s top 11 in all-time rebounds, offensive boards and assists.
McGeehan guided the Camels to a 12-4 record at home in 2018-19 and CU fans flocked to Gore Arena to set school single-game (3,351) and single season (2,196 average) attendance records.
The 2017-18 Camels reached the semifinal round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). For the second-straight season, Campbell won two post-season games – defeating Miami (Ohio) of the Mid-American Conference and Sun Belt member New Orleans before dropping a 3-point decision at West Coast Conference member San Francisco.
CU led the Big South Conference (and ranked 33rd in the nation) in field goal percentage (.477) in 2017-18, while rating second in the league in 3-point accuracy (.388, 29th in the country) and free throw shooting (.750, 51st in the nation).
Along the way, McGeehan’s team produced Campbell’s best Big South regular season finish (fourth) since 2012. The Camels finished 14-4 at home, including a 7-2 mark at Gore Arena against Big South foes, and 18-16 overall on the year.
McGeehan’s 2017-18 Camels were led by Chris Clemons (24.9 ppg, fourth in the country), who was named to the Lou Henson All-America team by CollegeInsider.com and to the Big South all-conference first team as well as all-district units from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).
McGeehan’s 2016-17 made the program’s first post-season appearance since 1992 after a run to the Big South Conference Championship game. The Camels won three games to reach the Big South final; then won twice while advancing to the quarterfinal round of the CollegeInsider.com post-season tournament.
CU recorded wins over Southland Conference runner-up Houston Baptist and Ohio Valley runner-up UT-Martin to earn Campbell’s first-ever post-season victories in the Division I era (since ’77-78).
His squad knocked off defending Big South champ and second-seeded UNC Asheville 81-79 in the quarterfinal round of the league tournament behind a league and school-record 51-point performance by sophomore guard Chris Clemons. The Camels defeated Radford in the semis to earn the program’s first berth in a league final since 1994.
Campbell’s 19 victories in 2016-17 are tied for the second most in the school’s Division I history.
The Camels also finished first in the Big South Conference in team free throw percentage (.751), 37th among 347 NCAA Division I schools. Under McGeehan’s guidance, Campbell has improved its national standing in free throw accuracy by 201 places since the 2015 campaign.
Under McGeehan’s tutelage, Clemons scored a school single-season record 904 points in 36 outings, the second-most points tallied in Big South Conference history. Clemons’ 25.1 scoring average ranked second in the nation.
For the second-straight year, Campbell placed seven players on the Big South Conference Presidential Honor Roll.
His 2015-16 club opened the year with the program’s best start since 2011-12. CU went 2-0 against Southern Conference schools. In four years, Campbell stands 7-3 vs. SoCon members under McGeehan’s guidance. The Camels also won at Conference USA member Charlotte in the 2015-16 campaign.
The Camels also posted the program’s largest road winning margin in league play since re-joining the Big South in 2011-12 with a 30-point victory at Presbyterian. CU set a school Division I era for field goal accuracy (74.5) in a game by making 38-of-51 shots in a 110-66 dismantling of Allen.
McGeehan and his staff landed the 2015-16 Big South Conference freshman of the year Clemons, who ranked seventh among the nation’s freshman scoring leaders (18.5 points per game) and set a school freshman scoring record with 556 points.
Among Campbell’s victims in McGeehan’s second year (2014-15) was Colonial Athletic Association regular season champion UNC Wilmington.
In his first season (2013-14), McGeehan guided his squad to the most league wins ever by a CU coach in his first year at the Division I level. While implementing a “spread motion attack” on offense, Campbell finished 14th in the nation in 3-point field goals made and 13th in 3-pointers attempted. In the regular season, Campbell was second among 349 Division I school in 3-point attempts.
Campbell assisted on nearly 60 percent of its baskets, supporting the spread motion’s emphasis on spacing, ball movement and unselfish play. Campbell shot 66.7 percent from the floor in its win at Appalachian State, marking the program’s third-highest single-game accuracy rate at the Division I level (since 1977-78).
Also in McGeehan’s first season in Buies Creek, the Camels went 3-0 against Southern Conference members, had three victories against teams that moved on to post-season play and set a new single-game attendance record at Gore Arena.
A greater-than-capacity crowd of 3,220 filled 3,095-seat Gore Arena on Feb. 1, 2014 for the first-ever nationally-televised game from Buies Creek. ESPNU aired Campbell’s contest against eventual Big South champ Coastal Carolina.
McGeehan spent eight years (2005-13) on the staff of head coach Chris Mooney at Richmond, where the Spiders advanced to the NCAA tournament twice and three times to the College Basketball Invitational tournament. He was promoted from assistant to associate head coach prior to the 2008-09 campaign.
Among the highlights for the Richmond program during McGeehan’s time on staff was consecutive NCAA tournament berths, including a trip to the 2011 NCAA Sweet 16. The Spiders were ranked in the national top-25 polls in 2010 and set a school record with 29 victories one year later when they won the Atlantic-10 Conference championship.
Richmond’s senior class in 2012 tied a school record with 91 victories over a four-year span. The 2013 team advanced to the CBI quarterfinals after matching a school standard with 15 home victories.
Teamed with Coach Mooney from the mid-90s until accepting the Campbell job in April 2013, McGeehan played a vital role in the resurgence of the basketball fortunes at the Air Force Academy and Richmond.
Mooney and McGeehan started coaching together at Lansdale Catholic High School in the mid-1990s, before moving to Beaver College (now Arcadia University). When Mooney left Beaver College to go to Air Force, McGeehan took over the head coaching duties for two years before moving to Springfield High School in Erdenheim, Pa., where he was also a guidance counselor.
After Mooney became the head coach at Air Force in 2004-05, McGeehan joined him Colorado Springs. He helped lead Air Force to an 18-12 overall record in 2004-05, which marked the second most wins in school history. The Falcons led the entire nation in scoring defense and finished second in the country in fewest turnovers per game in 2004-05.
A 1995 graduate of Gettysburg, McGeehan was the captain of the men’s basketball team his senior season. He received his bachelor’s degree in psychology and then earned a dual master’s degree in secondary and higher education and counseling from West Chester in 1999.
In addition to being the head coach at Beaver College and Springfield High School, McGeehan has been director of Summer Basketball Camps for Upper Dublin Township, Springfield Township and Beaver College.
McGeehan and his wife, Melissa, were married in 2004 and have two sons, Jack and Connor, and a daughter Grace.
