Coppin State University, on May 2, 2023 named Larry Stewart (’06) as the new Head Men’s Basketball Coach. Stewart returned to his alma mater after spending 14 years as an assistant coach at the three other Historically Black Colleges and Universities in Maryland. Stewart served as an assistant at Bowie State for six seasons (2009-15) with the last three as associate head coach, Morgan State (2015-19, 2022-23) and Maryland Eastern Shore (2019-21) with one season as associate head coach.
In his first year as a head coach in the 2023-24 season, Stewart guided one of the Nation's youngest teams and his freshman class scored nearly half of the team's points. First-year guard Ryan Archey earned Third Team All-MEAC honors, leading the team in scoring and assists during conference play, and he joined fellow freshman Camaren Sparrow on the conference's All-Rookie Team. Stewart picked up his first win as a head coach on November 30, 2023 with a 89-70 victory over UMBC, the team's first over their local rivals in ten years.
Stewart is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in Coppin State history and is one of two Eagles (Joe Pace) to play in the NBA, where he played five seasons with the Washington Bullets, Vancouver Grizzlies and Seattle Supersonics. He was a two-time MEAC Player of the Year, earning the honor in back-to-back seasons (1990, 1991), and was a three-time All-Conference selection (1989, 1990, 1991). After going undrafted, Stewart averaged 10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds in his 1991-92 rookie season with the Bullets and became the first undrafted player in league history to make an NBA All-Rookie Team.
Leading Coppin to its first MEAC Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 1990, Stewart and the Eagles earned a 15-seed before falling to Syracuse in the first round, where he outscored Derrick Coleman, the first overall selection of that year’s NBA Draft. In the following season, Stewart averaged 23.9 points and 13.4 rebounds, both of which are school records, and led Coppin to the NIT.
Stewart ranks third all-time in scoring at Coppin and is the only player in program history to score at least 1,000 points (1,824) and grab 1,000 rebounds (1,052), a school record. Stewart is also the all-time leader in field goal percentage (64.6) and ranks second in field goals (676), free throws (471) and blocks (149). As the MEAC celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021, Stewart was named to the conference’s All-Time Team.
His Coppin State jersey (42) was retired at a ceremony in 1993 and hangs in the rafters of PEC Arena, and he has been inducted into both the Coppin State and MEAC Halls of Fame (2005).
From 1997 to 2008, Stewart played overseas in Spain, Turkey, Greece and France before starting his coaching career as an assistant coach at Bowie State in 2009. In his six seasons at BSU, the Bulldogs won 113 games, went to a pair of NCAA Tournaments (2011, 2013), won the 2013 CIAA Tournament and saw Cameron Knox win the 2015 CIAA Player of the Year award.
Following his tenure at Bowie State, Stewart spent four seasons in his first stint at Morgan State, under head coach Todd Bozeman. With Stewart on the sideline, Tiwian Kendley and Phillip Carr combined to receive three First Team All-MEAC awards, with Carr being named the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year, and both went on to play professionally.
He returned to the Bears’ bench for the 2022-23 campaign as an assistant after two seasons at Maryland Eastern Shore, which included the canceled 2020-21 docket where he was the Hawks’ associate head coach under Jason Crafton.
A Philadelphia native, Coach Stewart is the son of Lois and Larry Stewart Sr., and has three siblings, Latanya, Stephen and Lynard. Stephen is also a graduate of Coppin State, who was selected as the MEAC Player of the Year in 1994 and 1995, and an inductee into the Coppin State and MEAC Halls of Fame.
Coach Stewart resides in Baltimore County with his wife, Toi, daughters Lexis, Laryn, and son, Tai.
