Borough of Manhattan Community College Athletics

Hired in October 2021, Thomas Keenan enters his fifth season as Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Borough of Manhattan Community College.
 

Season	Overall Record	Region XV Record	CUNYAC Record	CUNYAC Playoffs	Region 15 Playoffs	Playoff Record	Awards
2021-22	2-15	2-14	1-7		Region XV Quarterfinals	0-1
2022-23	11-13	9-9	7-3	CUNYAC Championship	Region XV Quarterfinals	1-2	CUNYAC Championship Runner-Up
2023-24	11-17	10-8	6-4	CUNYAC Championship	Region XV Quarterfinals	1-2	CUNYAC Championship Runner-Up
2024-25	8-16	6-12	5-5	CUNY Semi-Finals	Region XV Quarterfinals	0-2
Totals	32-61 (.344)	27-43 (.385)	19-19 (.500)			2-7 (.222)

During Keenan’s threes seasons at BMCC, he has done an outstanding job leading the program back out of the pandemic with a nine-win turnaround during 2022-23 and leading the program to its first double-digit winning season since 2019-20 before the pandemic while winning seven conference games for the first time since 2018-19. His current record stands 24-45 (14-14 CUNYAC).

During his third season in 2023-24, Keenan guided the Panthers to 10 Region XV victories, the program’s most in five seasons, with two against NJCAA Division III nationally-ranked opponents in No. 15 Nassau Community College and No. 8 Dutchess Community College. BMCC finished 11-17 overall and 6-4 in CUNYAC play, defeating the defending league champion Queensborough Community College in the Community College Men’s Basketball Conference semifinals to make their second straight Conference Title appearance, where they finished as the runner-up for the second straight season after falling to Hostos Community College in double overtime.

Keenan also helped tutor two CUNYAC CC All-Stars, nine CUNYAC weekly selections (Five Conference Honorable Mentions and four CUNYAC Rookies of the Week), and two Region 15 All-Region 15 Second Team selections for the first time in four seasons. Keenan also hit another program mark, producing the program’s third-ever Conference Rookie of the Year, Khalil Black. Black, CUNYAC All-Star, and Region 15 All-Region Second Team selection was the program’s first Rookie of the Year in seven seasons. Black was a four-time CUNY Rookie of the Week and knocked down a team-best 59 three-pointers, the eighth most in a single season and ninth all-time in school history, including two or more three-pointers in 19 of 28 games. Black was also the seventh player in school history to post 400 points in a season and registered a career-high 33 points against Suffolk Community College on February 3, 2024. Keenan also developed another fine guard over the last two seasons in Ysaia Marte, who became the program’s all-time leader in steals with 101 passing Ariel Joseph during a 63-57 defeat of NJCAA Division III No. 14 nationally ranked Dutchess Community College. Marte also was the first player in five seasons to record a 40-point scoring effort with a career-high 42 points during a 91-76 victory against Kingsborough Community College on November 28, 2023. Marte, a two-time CUNYAC All-Star and 2023-24 All-Region 15 Second Team selection, finished his BMCC career second all-time in program history with 771 career points. His 495 points last season were also the sixth most in a single season. 

During his second season in 2022-23, with just one sophomore on the roster for the entire season, he helped the program take major steps towards contending in the CUNYAC and Region 15 with a bounceback 11-13 season and 7-3 CUNYAC record defeating defending conference champion Hostos C.C. in the 2023 CUNYAC CC Men’s Basketball semifinals and on the road during the regular season for the first time since 2019.

He also tutored three CUNYAC CC All-Stars and eight CUNYAC weekly selections (six CUNYAC Rookies of the Week and two CUNYAC Players of the Week), with the program placing three players on the CUNYAC All-Star for the first time in 21 years. Jeremiah Cardi led the way grabbing back-to-back CUNYAC All-Stars and Region 15 All-Region 15 Second Team selections while finishing his career 15th all-time in program history with 501 career points with 25 career double-figure scoring performances and ninth in school history with 54 career three-pointers made, which passes Shahrod Drumond and 19th in program history in career assists with 103 passing Shayne Smith. Keenan also coached some outstanding freshmen on his roster, including Ysaia Marte, a four-time CUNYAC Rookie of the Week and back-to-back winner on December 19 and 27, who led the Panthers in total points with 276 and steals with 52, which were seventh most in a single season while underclassman Daniel Laffitte led the team in scoring average (12.1) and big men Leverson Tulien and Jayden Jarrett finished one and two in rebounds (186 and 162) and rebounding average (8.9 and 7.0). Tulien also led the Panthers in blocks with 36, while Jarrett was third with 22.

During his first season at BMCC, Keenan tutored Jeremiah Cardi, a CUNYAC CC All-Star and an All-Region 15 Second Team All-Region 15 selection. Cardi led the Panthers in scoring average (14.5 PPG), points (232), field goals made (86), assists (32), and tied tops for another in three-pointers made (25) while dropping a career-high 31 points in the season opener during an 87-69 victory over Kingsborough Community College.

No stranger to the CUNY Athletic Conference, Keenan comes to BMCC after a three-year stint at Medgar Evers under Head Coach Brian Nigro. At Medgar, Keenan recruited integral talent both in and out of state, implemented daily skill development drills, created tailored conditioning programs in the weight room, and conducted individual film sessions with student-athletes for critical development.

Leading up to his arrival at BMCC, Keenan spent 2020-2021 working with Under Armour West Coast Elite Basketball, the premiere AAU/Grassroots organization on the West Coast. He participated in events in Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix, Sacramento, Las Vegas, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Albuquerque.

Before his time at Medgar Evers, Coach Keenan spent two seasons at Brooklyn College under former Head Coach Rich Micallef. At Brooklyn, Coach Keenan helped develop scouting reports and game plans, assisted in on-the-floor coaching, and recruited academically inclined student-athletes that would thrive both on the court as well as in the classroom.

In between college coaching stints, Coach Keenan was the Assistant Varsity Basketball Coach at Xaverian High School. He led the Clippers to back-to-back NYSCHSAA Class AA City Tournament appearances in 2015 and 2016. The 2016 Squad clinched the Championship and appeared in the NYS Final Four.

He also had Assistant Coaching stints at the College of Mount Saint Vincent from 2006-2007 and at his alma mater, Nazareth University, from 2000-2003.

Keenan earned his bachelor’s degree in History from Nazareth University in 2001. While at Nazareth, Keenan scored 1048 career points. He was also in the top-15 in Nazareth program history with 148 career three-point field goals and led the Empire 8 conference in scoring for the 1999 season.

Keenan was a 2011 Canisius High School Hall of Fame Inductee, where he was team MVP from 1994-1996 and led his team to an NYSCHSAA Class C State Championship. He has been a National Association of Basketball Coaches member since 2016.

Throughout his coaching career, Keenan has coached camps and clinics at many colleges and universities, including Michigan State, BYU, Purdue, Providence, Georgia Tech, UCLA, Georgetown, Maryland, North Carolina State, Davidson, Syracuse, Stanford, Loyola Marymount, Alabama, UPenn, Buffalo, and Louisville. Keenan’s father, Thomas Keenan Sr., was an accomplished Division 1 Assistant men’s basketball coach with stints at St. Francis of Brooklyn and Niagara University. 

Keenan Sr. also spent time at the helm of CUNYAC Men’s Basketball programs, including the College of Staten Island and Kingsborough Community College.

Coach Keenan resides in Marine Park, Brooklyn, with his wife, Beth, and their dogs, Walter and Winston.