Cocozziello out as St. Joseph basketball coach

After five seasons as head basketball coach at St. Joseph of Metuchen, Jan Cocozziello is out.

In a post on the school’s website, new Athetic Director Bill Tracy announced Cocozziello would not return next season, saying “We thank Coach Cocozziello for his contributions to the storied Saint Joseph basketball program and wish him much success in his future endeavors.”

After two seasons as an assistant, Cocozziello took over the program as head coach for the 2019-20 season, prior to the COVISD-19 pandemic. He had an overall record of 88-40, never finishing below .500, with his best season coming in 2021-22, when the Falcons went 21-7.

But after making 12 straight Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament finals from 2008 through 2019 under Dave Turco and Mike Thompson – winning nine of ten from 2010 through 2019, seven of which were won by Turco – the Falcons failed to make any of the four GMCT title games played during his tenure. (There was no full tournament in 2021 due to the pandemic.

Cocozziello sent several student-athletes on to the next level, the most recent and prominent of which was Josh Ingram, who is at Lehigh. Jeremy Clayville, who just finished his senior year, is going to St. Francis. Elijah Barlow, who played the 2021 season in Metuchen, is now at Ramapo, and Ethan Simmon – whose last season was 2021-22 – is now at Haven.

The post on the school’s website says a search was immediately under way.