St. Louis-native Marc Stricker was named head coach of the Saints’ men’s basketball program in the spring of 2017. He graduated from CBC High School and returns to his hometown after spending the 2016-17 season at Oral Roberts University. Stricker previously worked two seasons for the Maryville basketball program as an assistant coach.
“This is a dream come true for me to become the head coach at a top-notch university that competes in the best Division II league in the nation, right here in my hometown of St. Louis,” Stricker said. “Under the direction of Dr. Mark Lombardi, Maryville University has become one of the most innovative and progressive institutions in the nation, and I am humbled for the opportunity to lead this basketball program."
In his first season as head coach of the Saints in 2017-18, Stricker guided the program to its first Great Lakes Valley Conference division title and finished with a record of 20-8 overall, 12-6 in the league. He helped the Saints engineer the second-largest turnaround in the country as he inherited a team that had nine wins the previous season and improved the victory total by 11 games. Stricker helped center Nolan Berry earn All-American honors from two outlets and the GLVC Player of the Year award. Berry signed a contract to play professionally in Switzerland. In addition, Stricker guided Robin Thompson as he garnered second-team All-GLVC recognition.
The 2018-19 campaign saw Stricker help Casey Teson earn first-team All-GLVC honors and Bobby Harvey voted to the GLVC All-Freshman team. Teson finished with a 19.2 scoring average, the highest of the Division II era for the Saints, and he signed a professional contract with a team in Germany.
Stricker coached the team to an unbeaten mark in the division and to the school's best record after 10, 15 and 20 games. Under his leadership, the Saints fashioned a season-best seven-game winning streak and over one stretch, won 12 of 13 games. Stricker helped the Saints post a 10-game home winning streak, the longest since 1997-98. In addition to setting a single-game scoring mark of 134, the Saints surrendered just 43 points to Quincy, the fewest scored by a Division II opponent. Maryville made an impact in the preseason as the Saints posted an 84-80 victory at Miami (Ohio), the school's first win over an NCAA Division I team.
At Oral Roberts, Stricker coached and helped Emmanuel Nzekwesi become The Summit League Freshman of the Year. Prior to ORU, he was an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois under head coach Jay Spoonhour. While at EIU, Stricker helped the Panthers win 18 games during the 2014-15 campaign, only the second winning season since 2001 as Eastern Illinois earned a ranking in the Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Eastern Illinois recorded a program-record nine-game winning and posted an undefeated mark against the Ohio Valley Conference West Division for the first time. The team capped the season with a berth in the CIT and recorded the program’s first postseason victory with a win over Oakland.
Stricker’s first stint with the Saints began with the 2011-12 season. The next year, he helped Maryville notch a school-record 23 wins and a runner-up finish in the Great Lakes Valley Conference West Division. Stricker was a part of the staff when the Saints defeated No. 4 Bellarmine, Maryville’s first win over a nationally-ranked opponent.
Prior to his time at Maryville, Stricker served one season as head coach of the St. Louis Pioneers of the ABA. His team finished the season ranked No. 16 in the ABA Power Rankings and qualified for the playoffs after posting a 13-3 record with eight straight wins to close out the season.
Stricker played basketball at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2002. He also graduated with a master's degree in higher education administration in 2005 from UMKC. Stricker finished his playing career at UMKC ranked in the top 10 in 3-point field goals and assists, and in the top 10 for single-season 3-point field goal percentage. He still holds the school record for most assists in a half (10) and in a game (13), and he remains 10th in program history with 226 assists and 110 made 3-pointers. Stricker was an Academic All-Conference selection, and was a three-time UMKC Dean's List member. He was the recipient of the school's David B. Milner Award given to the student-athlete who "through persistence and determination, has been an inspiration to others."
During his standout prep career at CBC, Stricker was captain of the 1997 Missouri Class 4A state championship team that included standouts Larry Hughes and Justin Tatum. Stricker was an All-State selection and MCC Conference MVP in 1998.
