NEWARK, NJ - NJIT Men's Basketball Head Coach Grant Billmeier has announced the addition of Pete Lappas to his coaching staff on Wednesday. Lappas will serve as an Assistant Coach.

The hire is the second for Billmeier, who announced RaShawn Stores as his top assistant coach earlier in the week. Billmeier also announced he will retain Mike Hamlin, who served as the program's Director of Basketball Operations last season.

Lappas comes to NJIT after spending the 2022-23 season at Wagner and the eight previous seasons at FDU. At Wagner he served as an Assistant Coach and at FDU Lappas was the Director of Basketball Operations for three seasons before being promoted to Assistant Coach for his final five.

"I'm thrilled to be working with Pete again," said Billmeier, who was announced as the 12th Head Coach in NJIT Men's Basketball history earlier this month. "In our time working together, he had a phenomenal work ethic. His perspective and insight will help our program get better every day. To have someone with his experience in this area was huge for me. "He will do a terrific job in the development of our players on and off the court."

At FDU, Lappas helped coach the Knights to a pair of NEC Championships and NCAA Tournament berths. The 2019 team won the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament game. Lappas also helped recruit and develop five NEC All-Rookie selections and the 2022 NEC Rookie fo the Year, Anquan Hill.

Lappas' first coaching job was as a Graduate Assistant Manager at Temple, where he helped the Owls win 24 games and qualify for the NCAA Tournament. 

"I met Coach Billmeier nine years ago when we worked on the same staff at FDU and he has been a mentor and someone I've looked up to since," explained Lappas. "His success everywhere he has coached speaks for itself. I am excited to join his staff and I am ready to build NJIT into a winning program that is respected nationally."

A native of Pennsylvania, Lappas earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications from Boston College and a Master's Degree in Sport and Recreation Management from Temple. 

Lappas' father, Steve, was a Division I Head Coach for 17 seasons, making stops at Manhattan (1988-92), Villanova (1992-2001), and UMass (2001-04). Steve Lappas currently serves as a a college basketball analyst at CBS Sports. 

Lappas is engaged to his fiance, Emily.