After mentoring the Seahawks to their best-ever season, winning the Capital Athletic Conference Championship, advancing to the school's first ever NCAA tournament, and leading the charge to the Sweet Sixteen last March, the bar has been raised for 2008-09, and head coach Chris Harney is undoubtedly looking forward to the challenge. The progress has been undeniable in the three seasons that Harney has been at the helm of the men's basketball program. With just three years of coaching the Seahawks under his belt, he is already fifth in wins (44) in the program's 42-year history.
Prior to last season's success, Harney guided the 2006-07 Seahawks to a 16-11 mark, including a 9-7 log in CAC play, marking the first time since the 2000-01 season that SMCM boasted a winning season. The 16-11 record was a six-game improvement from the 9-16 mark posted in Harney's first season as head coach. In the four years prior to his arrival, St. Mary's averaged only 7.75 wins per season.
Harney returned to St. Mary's after a three-year stint as the head varsity boys' basketball coach at Bel Air HS in Maryland. He led Bel Air to a program-best 21-3 record during the 2003-04 season and was voted the Harford County Coach-of-the-Year by the Baltimore Sun. In his three seasons at Bel Air, Harney compiled a 41-27 record and led the team to its highest area ranking in three decades. Before becoming the varsity head coach, he served as an assistant for the 2000-01 season.
Prior to Bel Air, he spent five seasons as the head junior varsity coach at various high schools in Southern Maryland.
Harney played for the Seahawks from 1993-95 after transferring in from Ocean County College in New Jersey. He graduated from SMCM in 1997 with a degree in history as well as teacher certification.
Dan Vélez is embarking on his fourth season as an assistant men's basketball coach at St. Mary's in 2008-09.
Vélez's primary responsibilities will include recruiting, advance scouting of opponents, practice preparation, the development of the perimeter players, and on-the-court coaching. He will also be the primary contact for film exchange.
The Arecibo, Puerto Rico native also serves as the director for The Chris Harney Basketball School and works in close contact with the Hoop Group, one of the nation's premier exposure groups for high school basketball players.
Vélez joined the Seahawks after four successful seasons (2001-05) as the second assistant at NCAA Division II Kutztown University in Pennsylvania under the tutelage of head coach Bernie Driscoll. He was primarily responsible for fundraising and assisting with film exchange as well as with all other facets of Golden Bears basketball.
While at Kutztown, Vélez was part of the most successful three-year run in school history as the Golden Bears reached the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) playoffs for three consecutive years, including the PSAC Championship game in 2004.
During the 2004-05 season, KU achieved a ranking of No. 17 in Division II and finished with 15 wins. The Golden Bears finished with 18 wins as well as an appearance in the PSAC title game for the first time in 16 years in 2003-04.
The 2002-03 season was one of historic proportions as Kutztown garnered the second most wins in school history with 18. The Golden Bears also made their first PSAC Tournament appearance since 1999.
Vélez is a 2004 graduate of Kutztown with a degree in secondary education. He currently teaches Spanish at Chopticon HS in Morganza and resides in Hollywood. Vélez is also working on his Masters of Science in Sports Management from West Virginia University with an expected completion date of July 2010.
Nick Wilson will be entering his second season on Seahawk sidelines in 2008-09.
Prior to St. Mary's, Wilson served as the head junior varsity coach at Calvert Hall College High School in Baltimore.
He was the head boys' basketball coach at Stemmers Run Middle School in Essex, Md. from 2004 to 2006 before arriving at Calvert Hall. While at Stemmers Run, Wilson instituted the "Middle School to McDaniel" program in 2005 as a tool to inspire his players to pursue a college education. The program included academic tutoring and basketball drill sessions with athletes and coaches from McDaniel College as well as Saturday trips to the McDaniel campus.
He served as a student assistant for the men's basketball program at Towson University for five seasons (1999-2004). Wilson assisted with in-season and out-of-season individual skill improvement as well as strength & conditioning workouts for perimeter and post players. He also assisted the coaching staff with film exchange, scouting, game stats, team travel and meal plans.
Wilson earned a bachelor of science in physical education from Towson in May of 2004 and then completed a master of science in athletic coaching education at West Virginia University in May of 2007. He is currently a physical education and health teacher at Patuxent High School in Lusby, Md.
Wilson and his wife, the former Katie Kuhn, currently reside in Saint Leonard and are expecting their first child in March.
One of the new faces on the Seahawk sidelines will be that of Kyle Harmon, who brings his playing experience as a former men's basketball player in the Capital Athletic Conference to the program this season.
Prior to joining the SMCM coaching staff, Harmon spent two years as the assistant boys' varsity coach at Mardela High School in Mardela Springs, Md. He also served as the Sea Gulls' men's basketball strength & conditioning coach from March to May 2008.
Harmon has also provided personalized training for various middle and high school basketball players on the Eastern Shore.
He fine-tuned his coaching skills by working various camps such as the Keystone State Invitational Camp in Reading, Pa. and the Hoop Group Elite Campin Ewing, N.J.
A 2007 graduate of Salisbury University, Harmon was a three-year starter on Salisbury men's basketball team. He was also the 2003 Mason Dixon Track & Field/Cross Country Conference Champion in the high jump while at Salisbury.
The Salisbury, Md. native excelled while at Parkside High School, earning Bayside Conference Athlete-of-the-Year for all sports as well as All-Bayside Conference First Team men's basketball honors as a senior in 2002. He captured the 2002 Maryland State Championship in high jump also.
Harmon graduated from Salisbury with a B.S. in physical education and is currently working towards his M.S. in applied health physiology with a concentration in strength & conditioning from SU as well.
During the day, he works as a wellness instructor at Asbury-Solomons Island Home, a continuing care retirement community in Solomons.
Another new addition to Coach Harney's staff this season is Yony Kifle.
Kifle was a four-year letterwinner at Milligan College, a small Christian college in Tennessee. He played in 110 games for the Buffaloes, averaging 4.8 points, 2.6 assists and 2.1 rebounds. Kifle left Milligan with a career .449 field goal percentage and a .725 free throw percentage.
In addition to his Milligan playing experience, he has developed his coaching skills at Coach Morgan Wooten's Basketball Camp in Frostburg, Md. and The Hoop Group Top 100 Clinic in Chantilly, Va.
Born in Ethiopia, Kifle is a 2008 graduate of Milligan with a B.S. in psychology. He currently works as a safety assistant at Leonardtown High School.
Mike Smelkinson will be a familiar face on the sidelines as Smelkinson returns to St. Mary's after a stellar Seahawk career. He will be recruiting and working with the guards, while aiding in developing offensive and defensive principles with Coach Harney this season.
As the starting point guard and team captain, Smelkinson led the Seahawks to the program's second Capital Athletic Conference championship title as well as their first-ever trip to the ‘big dance' as a senior in 2008, helping the team advance to the ‘Sweet Sixteen.' He registered a career 12.3 points per game and amassed 257 assists in two years after transferring in from Division II California University of Pennsylvania.
Smelkinson has coached his alma mater, Long Reach High School (Columbia, Md.), in ‘The Rock' Summer League at High Point High School for three years. He has also worked numerous camps and clinics in the Baltimore area such as the Bob Flynn Memorial Camp and the Chris Harney Basketball School.
Smelkinson graduated in 2008 from St. Mary's
with a B.A. in human studies and is currently working as a special
education teacher at Chopticon High School in Morganza.
