Photo by: Wesley Bowers/Texas A&M Athletics
Roccaforte Named to Assistant Coaches Hall of Fame Class of 2025
Apr 03, 2025 | Men's Basketball
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Veteran basketball assistant coach Steve Roccaforte has been named to the Assistant Coaches Hall of Fame Induction Class of 2025, A STEP UP, Inc., founded by Johnny and Felicia Allen, announced on Thursday.
Roccaforte is a collegiate coaching veteran of nearly 40 seasons who has worked with some of the top collegiagte coaches in the profession and has recruited some of the top talent in the country. He has served with multiple national coaches of the year in John Calipari, Perry Clark and Billy Tubbs to develop multiple nationally-ranked recruiting classes.
No stranger to the postseason, Roccaforte served on the staff of 14 teams that extended their seasons with appearance in the NCAA Tournament or the National Invitational Tournament. He has been to eight NCAA tournaments at five different schools and coached six teams in the NIT. He helped Memphis win an NIT Championship in 2002 and 20 years later was a part of the Texas A&M squad that advanced to the 2022 NIT Championship game at Madison Square Garden.
Roccaforte's presence on Texas A&M's bench under Buzz Williams made an immediate impact with 20 or more wins in each of the past four seasons. The 94 wins since his arrival in Aggieland in 2021 rank as one of the winningest four-year spans in school history. He helped lead the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament for three straight years from 2023-25, which hadn't been done in over a decade, as well as the finals of the SEC Tournament in back-to-back years (2022 and 2023) for the first time.
During his 37 seasons as a collegiate coach, "Coach Rocc" has served stints at Texas A&M, East Carolina, Virginia Tech, South Florida, Lamar, Memphis, Wyoming, Tulane and Centenary. He also was head coach at his alma mater Lamar from 2006-11, where he guided the Cardinals to their first Southland Conference regular-season championship in nearly 30 years in 2007-08 when he earned SLC Coach of the Year honors.
According to former ESPN Senior Recruiting Analyst Dave Telep, Roccaforte is one of the 25 hardest-working coaches in the nation as well as one of the top 15 recruiters in the country. During his career, Roccaforte has coached, signed or received commitments from 37 future NBA players including six-time All-Star Amare Stoudemire and 2008 NBA Champion Kendrick Perkins, along with first-round draft picks Dejuan Wagner, Antonio Burks, Qyntel Wood, Rodney Carney, Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
The Class of 2025 will be inducted into the A STEP UP Assistant Coaches Hall of Fame on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. at Queens University during the 15th Annual A STEP UP Assistant Coaches Professional Development Symposium from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm ET. For more information regarding A STEP UP, Inc. or tickets to attend the A STEP UP Assistant Coaches Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Presented by Worth Advisors on May 21, 2025 in Charlotte, N.C. please visit: www.astepuplive.com.
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A STEP UP ASSISTANT COACHES HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2025
Orlando Antigua | Illinois
Fred Applin | UNC Greensboro
Kelly Curry | Alabama
Shannon LeBeauf | UCLA
Ernie Nestor | Wake Forest (Honoring Posthumously)
Jerry Norman | UCLA (Honoring Posthumously)
Steve Roccaforte | Texas A&M (also: East Carolina, Virginia Tech, South Florida, Lamar, Memphis, Wyoming, Tulane and Centenary)
Kurtis Townsend, University of Kansas
Roccaforte is a collegiate coaching veteran of nearly 40 seasons who has worked with some of the top collegiagte coaches in the profession and has recruited some of the top talent in the country. He has served with multiple national coaches of the year in John Calipari, Perry Clark and Billy Tubbs to develop multiple nationally-ranked recruiting classes.
No stranger to the postseason, Roccaforte served on the staff of 14 teams that extended their seasons with appearance in the NCAA Tournament or the National Invitational Tournament. He has been to eight NCAA tournaments at five different schools and coached six teams in the NIT. He helped Memphis win an NIT Championship in 2002 and 20 years later was a part of the Texas A&M squad that advanced to the 2022 NIT Championship game at Madison Square Garden.
Roccaforte's presence on Texas A&M's bench under Buzz Williams made an immediate impact with 20 or more wins in each of the past four seasons. The 94 wins since his arrival in Aggieland in 2021 rank as one of the winningest four-year spans in school history. He helped lead the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament for three straight years from 2023-25, which hadn't been done in over a decade, as well as the finals of the SEC Tournament in back-to-back years (2022 and 2023) for the first time.
During his 37 seasons as a collegiate coach, "Coach Rocc" has served stints at Texas A&M, East Carolina, Virginia Tech, South Florida, Lamar, Memphis, Wyoming, Tulane and Centenary. He also was head coach at his alma mater Lamar from 2006-11, where he guided the Cardinals to their first Southland Conference regular-season championship in nearly 30 years in 2007-08 when he earned SLC Coach of the Year honors.
According to former ESPN Senior Recruiting Analyst Dave Telep, Roccaforte is one of the 25 hardest-working coaches in the nation as well as one of the top 15 recruiters in the country. During his career, Roccaforte has coached, signed or received commitments from 37 future NBA players including six-time All-Star Amare Stoudemire and 2008 NBA Champion Kendrick Perkins, along with first-round draft picks Dejuan Wagner, Antonio Burks, Qyntel Wood, Rodney Carney, Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
The Class of 2025 will be inducted into the A STEP UP Assistant Coaches Hall of Fame on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. at Queens University during the 15th Annual A STEP UP Assistant Coaches Professional Development Symposium from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm ET. For more information regarding A STEP UP, Inc. or tickets to attend the A STEP UP Assistant Coaches Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Presented by Worth Advisors on May 21, 2025 in Charlotte, N.C. please visit: www.astepuplive.com.
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A STEP UP ASSISTANT COACHES HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2025
Orlando Antigua | Illinois
Fred Applin | UNC Greensboro
Kelly Curry | Alabama
Shannon LeBeauf | UCLA
Ernie Nestor | Wake Forest (Honoring Posthumously)
Jerry Norman | UCLA (Honoring Posthumously)
Steve Roccaforte | Texas A&M (also: East Carolina, Virginia Tech, South Florida, Lamar, Memphis, Wyoming, Tulane and Centenary)
Kurtis Townsend, University of Kansas
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