NWF State College’s Steve DeMeo named top junior college coach

DeMeo sits atop the list of over 300 junior college coaches based on his wealth of experience at both the two-year and four-year levels.

Northwest Florida State College Men’s Basketball Head Coach Steve DeMeo has been named the number one coach in junior college by Basketball Times. The rankings were announced in the September issue of the magazine and based on consultation with two-year and four-year coaches across the country.

“Basketball Times is a publication that I grew up on so to be recognized by them is truly an honor,” said DeMeo.  “As we all know, basketball is a team sport, and I’ve been fortunate to have incredible support from my Athletic Director Ramsey Ross, our President Dr. Devin Stephenson and an infrastructure that is the best in the country. That list is filled with incredible coaches and even better people so any of them would be worthy of the top spot.”

DeMeo sits atop the list of over 300 junior college coaches based on his wealth of experience at both the two-year and four-year levels. He enters his sixth season at Northwest Florida State College, where he has amassed an overall record of 142-22 and led the Raiders to the 2015 NJCAA Division 1 National Championship.

After the 2015 season, he was named the Spalding NJCAA Division 1 National Coach of the Year. DeMeo also brought the Raiders a Panhandle Conference Championship four years in a row (2014-18) and three Florida College System Activities Association State Tournament Championships in 2015, 2016 and 2018.

Coach DeMeo led the Raiders to two Elite 8 appearances at the 2016 and 2018 NJCAA Tournaments and a Final Four appearance in 2017. He has coached the Raiders to the first undefeated conference season in program history, going 12-0 in conference play during the 2016-17 season. At the 2017 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Final Four tournament in Phoenix, Arizona, DeMeo received the Red Auerbach Coach of the Year award.

“This is a well-deserved recognition for Coach DeMeo,” said Dr. Devin Stephenson, President of NWF State College. “We are extremely proud of the way that he and his program represent our institution as we continue to strive to be the best in the country in all that we do.”

Prior to his time at NWF State College, he spent 17 years coaching at the Division-I level.  Teams he has coached have participated in four NCAA Tournaments and have made five NIT appearances.  Among his wealth of experiences, Coach DeMeo has served as head coach at Monroe Junior College (1993-1995), assistant coach at Iona College (1995-1998), assistant and associate head coach at Providence College (1998-2008), assistant coach at University of Central Florida (2008-2009), head coach at Newberry College (2009-2010) and associate head coach at Hofstra University (2010-2013).

DeMeo is a native of Bayside Queens, New York and earned a bachelor’s degree in business from State University of New York at Buffalo.