Head Coach | Jim Zeleznak
Entering his 17th year at the helm of the St. Mary’s Men’s Basketball program, Jim Zeleznak is looking forward to the return of fans to the newly renovated Bill Greehey Arena as the team returns to a full schedule in 2021-22.
A shortened bench the first two seasons in the Lone Star Conference, Zeleznak and the Rattlers expanded the roster and looks to make waves in the talented league.
The team went 4-8 in 2020-21, having several games canceled in the already shortened season and forward Mamady Djikine was named an honorable mention all-conference pick. The 2019-20 team was 12-16 and both Caleb Jordan and Kobe Magee were all-Lone Star selections.
Despite the rash of injuries, the 2018 club posted 12 wins and saw Jordan win the Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year award. It was the seventh time a Rattler won the award.
Zeleznak currently ranks third on the program’s win list with a career record of 237-217, needing 43 wins to move into second past Ed Messbarger (279-139 – 1963-78). The Rattlers earned four-straight national tournament appearances – including their first-ever NCAA Sweet 16 bid in 2013 – and they cut down the nets following Heartland Conference Tournament championships in 2012, 2013 and 2015.
Zeleznak, who earlier in his career coached St. Mary's Softball to the 1986 NAIA National Championship, did not post a losing record in his first 24 years as head coach of either the men's basketball or softball teams. He and the 1986 team were recently named to the St. Mary's Hall of Fame, becoming the first-ever team to be inducted.
Zeleznak and his Rattlers won the Heartland Conference regular-season and postseason championships in 2014-15, and advanced to the South Central Region Tournament for the fourth straight season and the fifth overall. The veteran-led squad saw seniors Marvin Binney and Marvin Whitt earn All-Heartland Conference honors, while Zeleznak won Heartland Conference Coach of the Year honors.
The Rattlers finished the year 20-10, winning 20-plus games for the second time in three seasons.
In 2013-14, after posting a 19-9 overall and 12-6 conference record on the hardwood, the Rattlers advanced to the South Central Region Tournament for the third straight season.