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Camels introduce new men’s basketball coach

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Campbell Athletics formally introduced 2025 national champion and former Florida assistant John Andrzejek as its head men’s basketball coach Wednesday afternoon in the lobby of the John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center.

A packed audience filled with Campbell administration, coaches, faculty, staff, supporters, community members and media heard from University President Dr. J. Bradley Creed, Director of Athletics Hannah Bazemore and Andrzejek during the gathering.

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“It’s another exciting time for Campbell Athletics, and i couldn’t be more thrilled to introduce the next leader of our men’s basketball program, John Andrzejek,” said Director of Athletics Hannah Bazemore. “We wanted a leader who would develop student-athletes, inspire a winning culture, and help us achieve our vision of competing for CAA championships and making a mark in the NCAA postseason. From the very beginning, John stood out as the right fit for Campbell University. He understands what it means to embrace the place at Campbell and is committed to doing just that. What separated John from many other great candidates was his proven system of evaluating recruits, which will get the student-athletes here who will take this team to great heights.”

“I could not be more excited to be your new head basketball coach,” said Andrzejek. “During this process I’ve fallen in love with this great University, its passionate fans and the Buies Creek community. Everywhere I’ve gone I’ve been greeted with a warm smile and a word of encouragement. This is the kind of place where you meet people you’ll never forget and make friendships that last a lifetime.”

Andrzejek was officially announced as the sixth head coach in Campbell’s D1 history (since 1977-78) on March 20.

The Hamilton, N.Y. native comes to Buies Creek after spending the last two seasons at Florida, helping the Gators win the 2025 National Championship.

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Among his accomplishments, Andrzejek was named to ESPN’s 40 Under 40 list, the youngest in the 2020 class, representing the best young coaches in college basketball. He is also a three-time participant in the TopConnect program, connecting the best assistant coaches in NCAA Division I college basketball.

Andrzejek helped guide Florida to a 60-16 record over the last two seasons, including a 36-4 mark this year, highlighted by the Gators’ third national title, after adding an SEC tournament championship. Both teams punched a ticket to the NCAA Tournament, this year as a 1-seed and last season as a 7-seed.

This season, Andrzejek coached Walter Clayton Jr. as he swept first-team all-America honors from all major outlets and collected Final Four Most Outstanding Player accolades. Clayton Jr. is the first Gator to ever earn first-team all-America honors from any outlet, while the 2024-25 Gators rank among the nation’s best in scoring offense (84.8, 5th), fast break points (15.58, 5th) and defensive field goal percentage (16th, 40.0).

“His passion for the game, his ability to develop players, and his relentless drive to build a championship-caliber program align perfectly with our mission and values,” said Bazemore. “He understands that success is not measured solely by wins and losses but also by the growth of our student-athletes as leaders on and off the court. John brings a wealth of experience, a sharp basketball mind, and a strong commitment to developing a program that our students, alumni, and fans will be proud of. His leadership and vision will push us to new heights, and i have no doubt that he is the right person to lead our program forward.”

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This year, the Gators knocked off eight top-25 teams prior to the NCAA tournament, including the No. 1 team in the nation twice, winning against No. 1 Tennessee 73-43, and on the road against No. 1 Auburn 90-81.

In 2023-24, he helped the Gators earn four top-25 wins during the season and post 85.7 ppg as a team, the highest-scoring team in program history. That team also ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense, rebounds per game, offensive rebounds per game and offensive rebounding percentage.

Prior to his stint in Gainesville, Andrzejek spent four seasons (2019-23) as an assistant coach with Washington State, working under Kyle Smith. During his time in Pullman, he helped the Cougars earn a pair of top-10 wins over No. 8 Oregon and No. 5 Arizona State.

Andrzejek was instrumental in recruiting a number of notable players at Washington State, including Gueye, Pac-12 All-Freshman Efe Abogidi, second-team All-Pac-12 honoree Michael Flowers and four-year starter DJ Rodman, son of NBA star Dennis Rodman.

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Prior to WSU, he spent one season as an assistant at Dartmouth in 2018-19, and another at Johns Hopkins (2017-18). He also served as a director of basketball operations at San Francisco in 2016-17.

Andrzejek graduated in just two and a half years with a degree in philosophy from Columbia in 2013. Andrzejek served as the Lions’ team manager during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 campaigns before being hired as the director of basketball operations in July of 2014.

Andrzejek is a native of Hamilton, N.Y., and is engaged to his fiancée, Zule. The couple plans to marry this August.

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