ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team spent the early stages of the offseason retooling its bench and building for the future.
Now, it has a coaching vacancy to address.
Tray Woodall, after serving two years as an assistant under Mark Schmidt, will depart the program to join new head coach Kyle Neptune’s staff at Atlantic 10 rival Fordham, CBS’ Jon Rothstein reported Wednesday. It marks the Bonnies’ first assistant coaching opening since the summers of 2018 and ‘19, when longtime aide Dave Moore and Dwayne Lee departed in consecutive years.
Though his tenure was relatively short-lived, Woodall made a big impact in his two seasons at Bona.
The former Pitt standout, who led the Panthers to a No. 1 seed in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, was instrumental in the development of now-senior guards Kyle Lofton and Jaren Holmes, each of whom earned Atlantic 10 all-conference honors last season. He was also the lead recruiter for, among others, senior forward Jalen Adaway, who emerged as a key figure on the Bonnies’ 2020-21 Atlantic 10 championship squad and earned Atlantic 10 All-Tournament Team accolades.
Overall, Woodall helped Bona to a mark of 35-17 over two campaigns, including both an A-10 regular season tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament last winter. He was named the Atlantic 10 Assistant Coach of the Year by the Minority Coaches Association back in May.
Per multiple sources, Woodall’s decision to leave Bona for the same position at Fordham was made more in the interest of family and being closer to home than it was money. Woodall grew up in Paterson, N.J., before starring at renowned St. Anthony High School (New Jersey) under iconic coach Bob Hurley Sr. He and new Rams boss Neptune, the former Villanova aide who was hired by Fordham in March, are both Brooklyn natives.
However brief his stay, Woodall’s departure figures to leave a legitimate void.
By all accounts, the 2013 Pitt grad was extremely well-regarded by both the players and staff, a rising star in the field who brought some name recognition for what he accomplished in four-plus seasons with the Panthers (he’s one of seven Pitt players all-time in the 1,000-point, 500-assist club).
The Bona assistant coaching opening has since been officially posted online.
