Saint Peter’s has found its next head coach, one who the Peacocks hope can follow up their historic run in the NCAA tournament.

Saint Peter’s will reportedly hire Wagner’s Bashir Mason, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello. The school is expected to announce the hire officially on Wednesday.

Sources: Saint Peter’s is hiring Wagner coach Bashir Mason as the school’s next coach. He went 165-130 in 10 years at Wagner and won three league championship. He’s a Jersey City native with deep ties to the area. w/@jeffborzello. Presser on Wednesday.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 11, 2022

Mason will replace Shaheen Holloway, who was hired by Seton Hall last month.

Holloway led the Peacocks to a wild run in the NCAA tournament this spring, taking the No. 15 seed all the way to the Elite Eight — the first time in tournament history that a No. 15 seed had done so. Saint Peter’s was eliminated by North Carolina.

Since its run, however, Saint Peter’s has seen five of its top six players enter the NCAA transfer portal.

Mason has spent the past 10 seasons at Wagner, where he compiled a 165-130 overall record and won three Northeast Conference regular-season titles. Mason, 38, was the youngest head coach in the country when he was first hired to replace Dan Hurley. His program has finished in the top two in the conference in six of his 10 seasons there.

Though the Jersey City native has his work cut out for him to keep the Peacocks competitive, the university clearly thinks he’s the man for the job. Returning to his hometown to lead the program with one of the best stories in March Madness history is an opportunity he’s going to run with.

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