Mike Farrelly 2023-24 Men's Basketball Staff

Mike Farrelly (pronounced FAIR-uh-lee) rejoins Micah Shrewsberry’s staff and will roam the Irish sidelines for the first time for the 2023-24 season.

“My family and I are thrilled to come to South Bend and become part of the Notre Dame community. Working for Coach Shrewsberry for the last two years has been unbelievably rewarding and I am really excited to help him continue to build on the great tradition of Notre Dame basketball. Notre Dame is a special place and I can’t wait to get started,” Farrelly said. 

Farrelly was instrumental in the two-year turnaround that occurred in Happy Valley. In year one, Farrelly helped guide the Nittany Lions to the best scoring defense in the Big Ten, as the squad only allowed just 65.0 points per game. It was Penn State’s best defensive mark in 11 years.

After a year adjusting to the new system, the Nittany Lions took off in 2022-23, achieving just their 12th 20-win season in the 127-year history of the program.

The Nittany Lions were one of the nation’s hottest teams down the final stretch, reaching the Big Ten Championship game as the No. 10 seed. It not only marked the program’s second-ever Big Ten title game appearance, but also just the third double-digit seed to do so and the first since 2008. Penn State then made its first NCAA Tournament since 2011 and later earned its first tournament victory since 2001. 

Farrelly was integral in signing the highest-ranked recruiting class in Penn State men’s basketball history in November of 2021, less than eight months into Shrewsberry’s tenure in Happy Valley. The 2022 signing class ranked as a consensus top-30 class in the nation by all major recruiting services. A year later, the same result, marking the first time in program history that the Nittany Lions had signed back-to-back top-30 recruiting classes.

“Mike was a big part of the success that we were able to have at Penn State,” Shrewsberry explained. “Mike’s energy and drive are unmatched. One of Mike’s greatest strengths lies in his ability to build relationships and connect both with his current players and recruits. I know Mike will be a great leader and great addition to our program. We are happy to welcome Mike, Gina, MJ, and Ryan Farrelly to the Notre Dame family.”

Prior to Penn State, Farrelly served eight years on the bench at Hofstra, which included a stint acting head coach for the 2020-21 season. Under Farrelly’s watch as acting head coach, the Pride defeated No. 23 Richmond on the road and won 13 games during an abbreviated season, a total that included eight league wins and a CAA Tournament semifinal appearance. 

Farrelly was instrumental to the success of the Pride as he helped rebuild a program that had only seven wins in the season prior to his arrival in 2013. Hofstra’s 24 wins in 2015-16 were its most in a decade and that season’s CAA regular-season title was its first since joining the conference in 2001. 

Over Farrelly’s last six years, Hofstra averaged 20 wins per season, including a program-best 27 wins in 2018-19. It also included four postseason tournament appearances (1 NCAA, 2 NIT, 1 CBI). Farrelly helped lead Hofstra to back-to-back CAA regular-season championships in 2019 and 2020, plus a 2020 CAA Tournament title which resulted in their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2001. He also helped develop three CAA Player of the Year recipients.

Prior to his time at Hofstra, Farrelly spent two seasons at Niagara, where he helped guide the Purple Eagles to a 2013 NIT appearance and a regular-season Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title. In the short timeframe, the Purple Eagles improved their overall win total by double digits from nine to 19 and compiled 13 MAAC wins in 2012-13, tying the program’s second-highest mark.

Farrelly spent the 2010-11 season as an assistant coach at Mount Saint Mary’s where he worked with the Mountaineers in all positions and oversaw academics, compliance and recruiting schedules. Before rejoining the collegiate coaching ranks, Farrelly served as the director of Hoop Group Elite, one of the nation’s largest and most prestigious basketball camps from 2007-10. 

In 2020, Farrelly was named one of the top 50 mid-major assistants by Silver Waves media and to Jeff Goodman’s list of top CAA assistants. He was also invited to participate in TopConnect 2020, the national networking program for top assistant coaches.

Originally from New City, New York, Farrelly played for three years under Phil Martelli at St. Joseph’s and graduated with a degree in finance in 2003. Farrelly worked in the financial services sector following his graduation from St. Joseph’s, but remained involved in coaching.

Farrelly and his wife, Gina, have three sons, Michael (MJ), Ryan and Kevin.