Hewitt amassed a stellar 66-27 record during three memorable seasons guiding Siena (1997-00), highlighted by the program’s first MAAC Tournament Championship and second NCAA Tournament appearance in 1999. Named the 11th head coach in Siena Basketball history on Apr. 7, 1997, he led the program to the MAAC Championship Game in each of his three seasons at the helm, a pair of regular season championships (1999, 2000) and an NIT appearance in 2000.
Hewitt’s .709 overall winning percentage is the highest amongst any Siena Basketball coach during the Division I era, and second overall trailing only Jack Carroll (8-2, .800) who served as the program’s first head coach during the inaugural 1938-39 season. Hewitt also recorded an equally impressive 38-16 (.704) conference record, and led the Saints to a 7-2 mark in MAAC Tournament games.
After guiding Siena to an eight-win improvement and a 17-12 mark during his first season, Hewitt piloted the Saints to a 25-6 overall record and a share of the MAAC Regular Season Championship in 1998-99. Named Siena’s first-ever MAAC Coach of the Year for his efforts, he steered the Saints to an 82-67 triumph over Saint Peter’s on Mar. 1, 1999 at Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo for the program’s first MAAC Tournament Championship. Siena was rewarded with the No. 13 seed in the West Regional of the 1999 NCAA Tournament, where the Saints fell to fourth seeded Arkansas, 94-80 in Denver.
Hewitt led Siena to a second straight 20-win year in his final season with the program in 1999-00. The Saints finished with a 24-9 mark and captured the MAAC Regular Season Championship outright with a 15-3 league record. Siena capped the Hewitt era by advancing to the second round of the NIT, punctuated by a victory over UMass.
Hewitt has totaled 321 wins overall in 18 seasons as a head coach at three Division I institutions, leading his programs to nine national postseason tournament appearances including six trips to the NCAA Tournament. Following his highly successful stint at Siena, Hewitt went on to serve as the head coach at both Georgia Tech (2000-11) and George Mason (2011-15). He is currently a college basketball television analyst.
Named the 2001 ACC Coach of the Year, Hewitt guided the Yellow Jackets to a 190 wins and five NCAA Tournament appearances including a trip to the 2004 National Championship Game against UConn. He added a pair of 20-win campaigns during his four-year tenure at George Mason, highlighted by a CBI Championship Game appearance in 2013.
A collegiate coach for nearly three decades, Hewitt previously served as an assistant at Villanova (1992-97), Fordham (1990-92), USC (1989-90) and C.W. Post (1988-89). A native of Kingston, Jamaica, he was a four-year letterwinner and senior captain at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, where he graduated with his B.A. in Journalism and Economics in 1985.