Sean Miller, the Sedler Family Men’s Basketball Head Coach, returned to Xavier in 2022 after 12 seasons (2009-21) as the head coach at Arizona. His first season back he led Xavier to one of the top five winningest seasons in school history at 27-10, tied the school record for BIG EAST wins in a season at 15-5 and led the Musketeers back to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.

Xavier University announced a contract extension for Miller in October, adding two years to the previous deal. The new contract runs through the 2028-29 season.

Miller, who earned a spot on the 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year Late Season Watch List, owns a 449-166 (.730) on-court record in 18 seasons as a head coach. In his first 18 years as a head coach, including six at Xavier (2004-09 and the 2022-23 season), Miller has eight Regular Season Conference Championships, four Conference Tournament Championships and 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, including four Elite Eights and four Sweet 16s. 

Miller holds a 147-57 (.721) mark in six seasons leading Xavier. His 147 wins at XU rank him fourth on Xavier’s all-time wins list. The late Skip Prosser is third (148 wins in seven seasons from 1994-01).

Miller has now taken Xavier to at least the Sweet 16 in each of his last three seasons as the Xavier head coach (2023 Sweet 16, 2009 Sweet 16 and 2008 Elite Eight). Miller was the Xavier head coach previously for five seasons from 2004-09 and XU has now made the NCAA Tournament in five of his six years as the XU head coach.

In 2023, Miller coached in his 12th NCAA Tournament as a head coach, including his fifth at Xavier. He served as a head coach in his eighth Sweet 16, including his third at Xavier. He reached five Sweet 16s (three that advanced to Elite Eights) in 12 seasons at Arizona. Miller has a 21-12 on-court record as a head coach in NCAA Tournament play, including 13-7 at Arizona and 8-5 at XU.

SECOND STINT AS XAVIER HEAD COACH Xavier, 27-10 overall for the 2022-23 season, tied the 2008-09 Sweet 16 team coached by Miller for the fifth-best win total in Xavier history. The school record of 30 wins was set by the 2007-08 Elite Eight team, also under Miller. Xavier finished 15-5 and in second place in the BIG EAST Conference, tying the school record for most BIG EAST wins.

Xavier led the nation in assists for the 2022-23 season at 19.1 apg., while ranking in the top 10 in scoring offense (10th at 80.9 ppg.), field goal percentage (seventh at .492) and 3-point percentage (fifth at 39.0). XU led the BIG EAST Conference in all four categories.

Xavier, which reached the 2023 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, has made the NCAA Tournament in each of Miller’s last five seasons at the helm (including his first stint from 2004-09 that ended with the Elite Eight in 2008 and the Sweet 16 in 2009). That gives him three straight years making at least the Sweet 16 as the XU head coach. Miller won four Atlantic 10 Championships, including three regular season titles and one tournament title, during his first stint at XU. XU won a school-record 30 games in 2008 on the way to the Elite Eight. Miller was named the 2007-08 Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year after leading Xavier to a 14-2 record and a second straight A-10 Regular Season Title. The National Association of Basketball Coaches named Miller as its 2008 NABC District 10 Coach of the Year and he was a finalist for numerous National Coach of the Year awards.

WINNING AND POSTSEASON SUCCESS Miller’s teams he has been a part of at XU and Arizona since 2001 have appeared in 15 NCAA Tournaments. In 12 of those 15 years, the team advanced beyond the NCAA Tournament’s First Round, with four trips culminating in the Sweet 16 and five others in the Elite Eight. 

As a head coach, Miller’s teams have made it to 12 NCAA Tournaments since 2006. In nine of those 12 years, the team advanced beyond the NCAA Tournament’s First Round, with four trips culminating in the Sweet 16 and four others in the Elite Eight. #

BEFORE XAVIER Miller came to Xavier for the first time in 2001 as Associate Head Coach under Thad Matta after coaching stops at North Carolina State, Pittsburgh, Miami (Ohio) and Wisconsin.

SUCCESS AT ARIZONA In his 12 seasons in Tucson from 2009-21, Miller recorded a 302-109 (.735) mark. Arizona made seven NCAA Tournament appearances, including three Elite Eights and two Sweet 16s. Miller, who guided Arizona to five regular season Pac-12 Conference Championships and three conference tournament titles, was named Pac-10/12 Coach of the Year three times, receiving the honor in 2011, 2014 and 2017. In 12 years under Miller’s direction, the Arizona program produced a total of 13 NBA Draft picks, including five lottery picks among a total of nine first-round selections.

INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS Recruiting has evolved into a worldwide effort for Sean Miller and staff. During his 12 seasons at Arizona, Miller signed a total of 13 international players. This group included six that would go on play in the NBA - highlighted by the first pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Deandre Ayton (Bahamas), 2023 NBA All-Star and the 2023 NBA Most Improved Player Award winner Lauri Markkanen (Finland) and Bennedict Mathurin (Canada). Nine of Miller's international signees would be named All-Conference including 2022 Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year Bennedict Mathurin (Canada) and 2018 Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year Deandre Ayton (Bahamas).

MILLER PLAYERS IN THE NBA With the exception of only Kentucky’s John Calipari, no other active head coach can claim a deeper roster of NBA players than Sean Miller. Over the last 18 seasons as a head coach, Miller has seen 26 players that he has signed and/or coached move on to play professionally in the NBA, including Colby Jones, a 2023 NBA Draft second round selection (34th overall selection). Of these 26, 12 were selected in the First Round of the NBA Draft, including six NBA Lottery picks. The Lottery selections include the first overall pick in 2018 (Deandre Ayton), the second overall pick in 2011 (Derrick Williams) and the fourth overall pick in 2014 (Aaron Gordon).

2023-24 active players in the NBA (10): Aaron Gordon (Denver Nuggets), Bennedict Mathurin (Indiana Pacers), Christian Koloko (Toronto Raptors), Dalen Terry (Chicago Bulls), Deandre Ayton (Portland Trailblazers), Josh Green (Dallas Mavericks), Lauri Markkanen (Utah Jazz), T.J. McConnell (Indiana Pacers), Zeke Nnaji (Denver Nuggets) and Colby Jones (Sacramento Kings). Gordon and Nnaji won the 2023 NBA World Championship with the Nuggets.

SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM Since becoming the Xavier head coach in 2004, every single player Sean Miller coached that has exhausted their eligibility has gone on to graduate. Standing at 52 straight graduates, this streak is comprised of 20 straight graduates from Xavier University and 32 straight graduates from the University of Arizona. 

In 2023 Jack Nunge became the first Xavier player ever named BIG EAST Conference Men’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year. In 2005, Xavier’s Brian Thornton (now Commissioner of the Western Athletic Conference) was named the Atlantic 10 Conference’s Student-Athlete of the Year in addition to being recognized as a CoSIDA Academic All-American. In 2020, Arizona’s Stone Gettings was named the Pac-12 Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

USA BASKETBALL SUCCESS Miller made his mark with USA Basketball as well. Miller was elevated from assistant coach to head coach of the U.S. Men's U19 National Team in 2015, leading the United States to the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship in Crete, Greece, and was named the 2015 USA Basketball National Co-Coach of the Year. Miller's first gold medal with USA Basketball came as a player in 1991, when he helped propel the U.S. to gold in men's basketball at the World University Games in Sheffield, England.

BIG EAST SUCCESS AS A PLAYER Miller, a 1992 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, was the 1987-88 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and helped lead Pitt to the 1988 BIG EAST regular-season title, as well as three NCAA Tournament appearances. A member of the Pitt All-Centennial Team that was convened in 2005, Miller ranks in the top 20 on the program’s career scoring chart with 1,282 points. He also ranks in the top 30 on the NCAA Division I free throw shooting list (.885), fourth in career free-throw percentage in BIG EAST games (.909) and stands fourth on the BIG EAST career assists chart for league play with 401. A legend at Blackhawk High School in the Pittsburgh area, Miller was inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League Hall of Fame in 2012.

PERSONAL Miller and his wife, Amy, have three boys, Austin (27), Cameron (24), Braden (21). Miller, 54, is a native of Beaver Falls, Pa. He celebrated his 54th birthday on Nov. 17.