BALTIMORE – Coppin State men's basketball head coach
Larry Stewart announced today that
Stephen Stewart and
Sidney Raikes will join his staff as assistant coaches. Stewart and Raikes both had standout playing careers at Coppin and bring nearly 30 years of combined Division I coaching experience to the Eagles' roster.
Stewart will make his third coaching stint at his alma mater with previous tenures from 2001-04 under legendary head coach Ron 'Fang' Mitchell and from 2016-17 under Michael Grant. Raikes also spent eight seasons as an assistant for Coppin's women's basketball team under CSU Hall of Fame coach Derek Brown.
The duo of Stewart and Raikes were also teammates at Coppin where the Eagles went 80-39 overall and 56-8 in the MEAC during those four years. CSU went 47-1 in conference play during the last three seasons with three-straight MEAC regular season titles.
The 1994 and 1995 MEAC Player of the Year, Stewart was the 1993 Rookie of the Year and earned First Team All-Conference honors in each of his last two seasons. As a freshman, Stewart was named the MEAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, leading the Eagles to their second conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. In 2015, Stewart led CSU to the NIT where it earned it's first-ever postseason victory with a first-round victory at Saint Joseph's.
Stewart is a member of the Coppin and MEAC Hall of Fame and currently ranks ninth in school-history in both scoring (1,393) and rebounding (546), and third in free throws despite playing just three seasons (1993-95) due to NCAA regulations.
Beginning his coaching career at Coppin where he spent three seasons, Stewart spent time at Albany, La Salle and Loyola Maryland before assisting University of Delaware for four years. He returned to Coppin for a season in 2016 before serving as an assistant at Delaware State from 2018 to 2021.
Raikes played four seasons for the Eagles (1992-95) and ranks just ahead of Stewart on Coppin's all-time scoring list with 1,412 points. He also places second in school-history in steals, fifth in free throws and sixth in assists. Raikes, who earned First Team All-MEAC honors in 1994 and 1995, also holds CSU's single-game school-record by going 19-of-19 at the free throw line in a win over North Carolina A&T on February 18, 1995.
Prior to returning to Coppin as an assistant coach, Raikes served as an assistant coach for the girls basketball team at Woodrow Wilson High School in Camden, N.J. He helped Woodrow Wilson win four consecutive Olympic National Conference Championships and three straight South Jersey Group 3 titles. During the 2005 season, Raikes and Woodrow Wilson won a state championship, a New Jersey Tournament of Champions title, a South Jersey Group 3 Championship and an Olympic National Conference Championship, while earning the number one ranking in the state.
Returning to his alma mater as an assistant in 2007, Raikes was responsible for recruiting, scouting, player development along with practice and game preparation. In his last season, Raikes helped guide the Eagles to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championship game while Janelle Lane earned Third Team All-MEAC accolades. Under Raikes' tutelage Genesis Lucas earned a spot on the MEAC All-Rookie Team during the 2014-15 season while Larrisa Carter was named the MEAC Rookie of the Year in 2011. Coppin State, led by MEAC Players of the Year Rashida Suber and Shalamar Oakley, also won the MEAC Championship during Raikes' first season when the Eagles went 22-12 in 2008.
Raikes then spent a season at Towson (2016-17) before spending the last six seasons as an assistant and associate head coach at Maryland Eastern Shore. During his time with the Hawks, three players earned All-MEAC honors with a pair receiving All-Rookie or Defensive Team accolades.
Coppin State opens the season on November 6 at Virginia Tech before welcoming Towson to PEC Arena on November 9.
