When the 2024-25 athletics year begins, Zach Settembre will return for his second season as an assistant coach for Tarleton men’s basketball.
Settembre joined the Texan staff in the 2022-23 season, before departing at the end of the season to join two-time Tarleton graduate and former Texan assistant coach under Lonn Reisman, Jason Hooten at New Mexico State. In his one season on the Aggies bench, Settembre helped guide the squad to a 13-19 record, while earning a 12-3 record at home. Settembre helped the defense be one of the toughest CUSA. NMSU ranked second in league in fewest turnovers averaging 11.9 per game and held opponents to shoot 42.1 percent from the floor, the third lowest in the conference.
In Settembre’s first season with the Texans, he helped guide the squad to the most wins in their Division I era at the time, posting a 17-17 record. In his first season at Tarleton, the team posted a 12-2 home record and played at four Power Five schools including Michigan, Gonzaga and Kansas. The Texans earned their first bid to the WAC Tournament as the seventh seed. The Texans knocked off 10th-seeded UTRGV, 74-70, before falling to second-seeded Utah Valley, 72-58. The squad earned its first non-WAC Tournament postseason berth in their D1 era, earning the seventh seed in the CBI. Tarleton dropped to the 10th-seeded Radford Highlanders, 72-70 in overtime.
The Texan defense led the WAC in both steals per game and turnover margin. Settembre helped guide Shamir Bogues and Jakorie Smith to lead the defense and rank first and third in the league in steals. Freddy Hicks was tabbed Preseason All-WAC and earned Second Team All-WAC at the end of the year. Bogues was named to the WAC’s All-Defensive Team.
The Louisville, Kentucky native was instrumental in engineering one of the most successful seasons in Coastal Carolina men’s basketball history during his year in Myrtle Beach. The Chanticleers posted a 19-14 overall record and won three postseason games to advance to the finals of The Basketball Classic. Settembre also coached Vince Cole to All-Sun Belt Conference second team accolades. The senior guard led the Chanticleers in scoring and ranked fifth in the Sun Belt at 15.4 points per game while connecting at a 41.2 percent clip from downtown, which ranked 27th among all D1 players.
Settembre led TCC to unprecedented success during his two-year run as head coach. He led the Eagles to back-to-back Panhandle Conference Championships and a 46-9 overall record while at the helm. Settembre was named the Panhandle Conference Coach of the Year in both seasons.
The 2019-20 season was historic for TCC and highlighted Settembre’s knack for developing Division I talent. A school-record nine players went on to sign National Letters of Intent with D1 schools and all 15 players on the roster accepted scholarships with four-year programs. Settembre also facilitated a clean sweep of Panhandle Conference postseason awards. He coached El Ellis to both conference Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year accolades. Ellis, who went on to sign with Louisville, became just the fourth freshman since 1997 to receive Panhandle Conference Player of the Year recognition. Settembre also coached Tariq Silver (Oregon State) to conference Newcomer of the Year honors. In total, seven Eagles were named to the all-conference first and second teams
The Eagles finished with a 27-6 overall record and 9-3 mark in conference play en route to the outright Panhandle Conference Championship – their first since 2001. The team’s march toward the conference crown was foreshadowed by a 16-2 record in nonconference action that featured victories over traditional Texas junior college powers Odessa College and Trinity Valley CC. TCC then advanced to the championship game in the NJCAA Region VIII/FCSAA State Tournament and secured an at-large bid to the NJCAA National Tournament for the first time in school history.
Settembre’s squad was one of the most efficient offensive teams in the D1 junior college ranks. The Eagles shot 40.2 percent from deep to the tune of 362 made 3-point field goals, setting school records in both categories.
He joined current D1 head coaches Chris Jans (Mississippi State), Steve Forbes (Wake Forest) and Greg Heiar (New Mexico State) as one of four coaches to claim Panhandle Conference Coach of the Year honors in their first season as head coach.
Settembre’s leadership was on full display during the COVID-19-condensed 2020-21 campaign. The Eagles did not miss a beat in Settembre’s final year in Tallahassee, as they posted a 19-3 overall record and 13-3 conference record to earn a share of the Panhandle Conference Championship. The consecutive conference championships were the first in program history since 1996 and 1997. The 13 conference victories signified a school record.
He again mentored Ellis to conference Player of the Year accolades and coached both Ellis and current Prairie View A&M forward Jeremiah Kendall to conference Newcomer of the Year honors. Both Ellis and Kendall were named to the FCSAA All-State men’s basketball team, marking the first time TCC had two members named to the all-state team in more than a decade.
Settembre’s climb up the D1 ranks was in part facilitated by one of the sport’s legends. He is a 2012 graduate of Syracuse and served as a student manager under Jim Boeheim.
Following his college graduation, Settembre returned home to Kentucky and worked as a freshman head boys basketball coach at Iroquois High School (2012-13) and Ballard High School (2013-14).
He then pivoted to the college game, as he joined legendary coach Happy Osborne’s staff at Kentucky Wesleyan College.
Following two more seasons as a varsity boys basketball assistant coach, he received his first head coaching job as the lead man at Louisville Collegiate School. Settembre guided the program to a school-record 23 victories and a trip to the All “A” State Tournament. He was named the KABC (Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches) and Courier-Journal Seventh Region Boys Basketball Coach of the Year.
Settembre is a 2009 graduate of St. Xavier High School in Louisville. He currently resides in Stephenville.
