Pete Lappas enters his fourth season as a member of the NJIT men's basketball coaching staff, after being named as an Assistant Coach in April, 2023.
The Highlanders had themselves a remarkable 2025-26 season. Ten conference wins marks the highest win total in program history, passing their win total of nine as a member of the Great West in 2010-11. The six-game winning streak tied the Highlanders longest winning streak in their D-I era, accomplished first in 2011 and matched in 2015. The Highlanders clinched a top-4 seed and hosted an America East quarterfinal game for the first time since joining the conference in 2020. Finally, 16 wins on the season is the most overall wins since the 2018-19 season.
Lappas came 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.
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.
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 and his wife, Emily, were married in May 2024.
