Steve Donahue was announced as the 16th head coach of St. Joe’s men’s basketball on September 10, 2025. He had previously been on staff as the associate head coach.
Most recently, Donahue was selected as the 2025-26 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, the Philadelphia Big 5 Coach of the Year and the NABC Region Co-Coach of the Year. In his first year at the helm of the Hawks, he oversaw four All-Atlantic 10 honorees. Justice Ajogbor was the A-10 Co-Defensive Player of the Year. Derek Simpson earned First Team accolades, Jaiden Glover-Toscano was named to the Second Team and Austin Williford was selected as All-Rookie. Ajogbor was also named to the All-Defensive and All-Academic Teams.
From a local perspective, Simpson was the Philadelphia Big 5 Player of the Year and Glover-Toscano was named to the Second Team.
Prior to joining the Hawks, Donahue spent nine seasons as the head coach across the city at Penn. While with the Quakers, he mentored Ivy League Players of the Year AJ Brodeur (2019-20) and Jordan Dingle (2022-23). Overall, he coached 16 All-Ivy League selections, five of them on the First Team. He was named the Ivy League Coach of the Year for the 2017-18 season when he guided Penn to the NCAA Tournament. In 2018-19, the Quakers won the Philadelphia Big 5 for the first time since 2001-02 with a perfect 4-0 record.
In his first head coaching assignment, Donahue took over a Cornell team that went 10-17 the year prior to his arrival and turned it into a perennial power, winning at least 21 games in each of his final three seasons with the Big Red. Cornell went to the NCAA Tournament in all three years, culminating in a 29-5 record in 2009-10, advancing to the Sweet 16 with wins against No. 17 Temple and No. 13 Wisconsin. While with the Big Red, Donahue mentored Ryan Wittman, who was a 2009-10 AP Honorable Mention All-American and a three-time First Team All-Ivy performer. He also coached Ivy League Player of the Year Louis Dale (2007-08), Rookies of the Year Lenny Collins (2002-03), Adam Gore (2005-06), Wittman (2006-07) and Chris Wrobleski (2007-08) as well as Jeff Foote, who was the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
Overall, Donahue mentored nine All-Ivy First Team selections, eight Second Team honorees and four Honorable Mention picks. Also putting an emphasis on the classroom, he guided two Academic All-Americans in Collins (2005-06) and Graham Dow (2006-07) and eight Ivy All-Academic student-athletes.
Following his successful run at Cornell, Donahue spent four seasons as the head coach at Boston College. With the Eagles, he coached ACC Freshman of the Year Oliver Hanlon in 2012-13. He also oversaw five All-ACC selections and an ACC All-Tournament Team pick. In his first year at BC, he made an immediate impact, leading the Eagles to 21 wins, a six-victory improvement over the previous season as Boston College advanced to the Second Round of the NIT.
Among his other accolades, Donahue earned the prestigious Clair Bee Award in 2010, presented to the men’s NCAA Division I basketball coach who has made the most significant positive contributions to his sport during the preceding year. He was selected as the 2008 and 2010 NABC Regional Coach of the Year.
Local to the Philadelphia region, Donahue grew up in Delaware County and is a 1984 graduate of Ursinus College. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Springfield High School and Monsignor Bonner before moving into the collegiate ranks as an assistant at Philadelphia College of Textiles and Sciences (now Jefferson University) working under legendary head coach Herb Magee. In two seasons with the Rams, the team went 46-15.
Following Textile, Donahue had his first stint in University City as an assistant coach at Penn, working with another storied coach in Fran Dunphy. From 1990-2000, the Quakers went to the NCAA Tournament five times and were ranked as high as 21st in the AP poll. In 1994, Penn downed sixth-seeded Nebraska, 90-80, for its first NCAA Tournament win since 1980 and just its second since its Final Four run in 1979.
