Phil Pellegrino was named head coach for Houghton women's basketball in May 2020. He is the 12th coach in the history of the program.
In his initial season the Highlanders played an abbreviated schedule due to Covid-19 restrictions, finishing with a 3-0 record. Since that time, Pellegrino has accelerated the rebuilding process.
After finishing 9-16 in his first full season, Pellegrino and the Highlanders bounced back to a 18-11 overall record in 2022-23, earning the program's second Emire 8 postseason berth, and first-ever home playoff game, and their first National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Championships appearance, their first since transitioning to NCAA DIII, and first Houghton team to accomplish the feat since 1988-89.
At the conclusion of the season, Crysta Lacrosse become the first Houghton women's basketball player selected for an individual yearly award by the Empire 8, earning conference Rookie of the Year.
As impressive as that season was, it would only set the stage for another record-breaking year in 2023-24.
Last season the Highlanders started the season with 14 consecutive victories (a program record), before finishing the season 23-5 (most wins and highest winning percentage in DIII-era program history). The women also made their second consecutive Empire 8 conference tournament appearance, finally bowing out in the championship game.
Houghton's women finished 2023-24 ranked #6 in the NCAA Region III, and #3 in the NCCAA National Poll. They allowed only 48.8 points per game, a new program record, and saw multiple players earn conference, regional and even national awards, including Trinity Copeland, who was named Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year, and Kayla Camacho, who among her many awards, garnered NCAA All-America Honorable Mention, NCCAA Midwest Player of the Year, and NCCAA First Team All America.
A 2017 Houghton graduate, Pellegrino returned to the Highlanders after three seasons as a men’s assistant, and most recently as interim head coach, for the women’s program at Elmira College.
At Elmira, Pellegrino was responsible for practice planning and player development, and led recruiting efforts for the Soaring Eagles. In his first season at EC in 2017-18, he assisted with the installation of a new offensive system that saw the team increase its scoring production by an average of 20 points per game. That year, Elmira logged 82.1 points per game, the fourth-highest average in team history, and they came close to that mark again in 2018-19 with 78.3 points per game.
A former Empire 8 All-Conference student-athlete, Pellegrino spent his freshman season at Alfred University before finishing the last three years of his collegiate career at Houghton. He paced the Highlanders in scoring as a junior and eclipsed the 1,000-career-point mark during his senior campaign.
The Rochester, New York, native was also a proficient 3-point shooter, as he finished his career with 162 3-point field goals. With Pellegrino on the court, Houghton experienced its winningest season in over two decades, reaching double-digit wins for the first time since the 1995-96 season.
Pellegrino holds a bachelors degree in Biology from Houghton and recently earned his master's degree in Health Services Management from Elmira College. He and his wife, Esther (Houghton women's soccer coach), were married in the summer of 2023 and currently reside in nearby Fillmore, NY.
