Brother Rice High School (Chicago) Director of Athletics Michael Fahey announced that, effective immediately, Conte Stamas will helm the basketball program as the new Varsity Head Coach. With 22 years of head coaching experience and fifteen years at the collegiate level, Stamas looks to continue the recent success of a Crusader team that went 24-7 last season and is returning many of their players.

Stamas will serve as only the sixth Varsity Basketball Head Coach in Brother Rice’s storied history.

“I’m extremely excited,” Stamas says. “I can’t wait to get started, to get to know the players, and to learn more about Brother Rice. [Outgoing Head Coach] Bobby Frasor did a great job, and we should be able to get rolling immediately. I want to build upon the Crusader tradition and take Brother Rice to the next level.”

Crusaders AD Fahey shares that excitement. “We are really fortunate to have Conte Stamas on the staff. Our players will love him and the knowledge and basketball IQ he brings with him.  We had a number of qualified candidates to choose from, but Coach Conte’s varied experience was the difference.  We believe that this hiring is a slam dunk.”

Stamas’s coaching credits include his most recent of two stints at Hinsdale Central High School, as Assistant Varsity Coach (2016-2022; 2009-10); Morton Junior College, as Head Basketball Coach (2011-16); Lyons Township High School, as Varsity Head Coach (1999-2008); and Evanston High School, as Varsity Head Coach (1994-99). Before that, Stamas held the position of Assistant Head Coach at Xavier University for five years, working with a Musketeers team that reached the NCAA Tournament three times during his tenure, with a notable Sweet Sixteen appearance in 1990 after beating a Georgetown team that included Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo. Other experiences at Stetson University (NCAA D1), Thornton Community College, Morton Community College, Elmhurst College (NCAA D3), and Morton East High School round out his coaching résumé.

Sharing such expertise, Stamas will offer a new perspective through which his players will have a chance to enhance their skills. “Doing this for so many years, I get so much enjoyment and satisfaction from seeing players improve, not just on the court, but academically and socially, as well,” Stamas says. “It’s the whole reason I got into coaching and teaching.”

For more information about the Crusader Basketball Program, please contact Coach Conte Stamas at cstamas@brrice.org.