Through highs and lows in Year One at St. Joes, Steve Donahue found a place that fits him

On Nov. 17, 2025, Steve Donahue took the podium following an 83-74 loss to Penn at the Palestra. Eight months earlier, Donahue was fired by the Quakers after nine seasons leading the program. He thought he’d never become a college head coach again.

However, an abrupt departure from Billy Lange to join the New York Knicks as an assistant jostled Donahue into the St. Joseph’s head coaching role two months before the season began.

So, he was back in the Palestra’s press room.

Donahue fielded questions about the game — one the Hawks expected to win — and his lackluster return to Penn. He explained to reporters that he told himself the matchup was just a “blue-and-white scrimmage” in an attempt to take his emotions out of it, but the wound was fresh. He opened up about his dismissal.

“It wasn’t a great time for me, honestly,” Donahue said after the game. “But [new Penn coach Fran McCaffery] is a friend, and I hold nothing, no ill feelings toward him.”

» READ MORE: Report: St. Joe’s gives Steve Donahue five-year contract extension

After losing to Penn, the Hawks went into a free fall. Star point guard Deuce Jones II, the team’s top scorer, left the program on Dec. 23. Two weeks later, the Hawks had an 8-7 record and an 0-2 start in the Atlantic 10.

Then, things turned around.

The Hawks won13 of their final 16 games of the regular season. After falling to Virginia Commonwealth in the A-10 tournament semifinals, they accepted a bid to the National Invitation Tournament — where the team picked up their first NIT win in two decades. Following the season, Donahue was awarded A-10 and Big 5 coach of the year honors.

“It’s pretty dramatic lows and incredible highs for sure,” Donahue said at A-10 media day on Monday. “I hope people look at my situation, I know coaches do. Never lose confidence in yourself, and stuff is going to be thrown your way, and your ability to move on [is important]. So I’m doing great. I’m fortunate. Obviously, I’ve been through a lot in coaching some great highs and great lows. But right now, I’m in a great spot. Kind of feel like I found, after all these years, a place that fits me the most in St. Joe’s.”

The feeling goes both ways. On Tuesday, 247Sports reported that Donahue has received a contract extension through the 2030-31 season. The school could not confirm specific contract terms.

“It’s the grittiness of St. Joe’s, the Catholic, the Jesuit, the A-10 — all those things,” Donahue said. “Kind of what I’ve always looked for in coaching, and here I got a place that just really supports basketball, and I’m so fortunate to be here.”

St. Joe’s opens its season against Longwood at Hagan Arena on Nov. 4 (7 p.m., ESPN+). The Hawks were selected to finish sixth in the A-10 preseason poll of coaches and media.

Throughout his career, Donahue never shied away from sharing his personal experiences — good and bad — with his players. When Donahue replaced Lange,, he spoke to his new team about his complex emotions the year brought.

Donahue, 64, sees similarities with junior guard Jaiden Glover-Toscano in their journey to Hawk Hill.

Glover-Toscano, a New York City native, played in a limited role his freshman year at St. John’s. After one season in the Big East, Glover-Toscano transferred to St. Joe’s. He was a major part of the Hawks’ resurgence last season, averaging 15.7 points.

The sharpshooter received preseason all-conference first-team honors on Monday.

» READ MORE: St. Joseph’s women picked first, men sixth in preseason Atlantic 10 polls

“The biggest thing I learned about myself is how mentally strong I am,” Glover-Toscano said. “I’ve grown a lot mentally just through everything that I’ve been through, especially last year, playing all season, coming from a place where I didn’t play that much.”

Added Donahue: “We got done talking about my transition, and for him as a young player to go to St. John’s and it not work out, his ability to turn the page. … I think he was trying to prove how good he was. Now, he’s just helping the team win, and he’s so impactful in so many aspects of the game. He rebounds, he defends. I think his ability to get to the basket and then make really good plays for others, his improvement there is going to be pretty apparent.”

There was significant buzz that Glover-Toscano would enter the portal, but the 6-foot-6 guard opted to stay at Hawk Hill. St. Joes, who lost starting wing Dasear Haskins to Ole Miss, retained seven players from last season.

“I try to put myself in their shoes and try to be as clear of what my vision is for them if they came back,” Donahue said. “All those guys that came back, I really felt this was the best situation for them individually in terms of role definition, the culture, the relationships off the court, and most importantly, their development as players would be greater here at St. Joe’s if they stay.

There are a few new names to know on the Hawks’ roster.

Transfer center Sean Logan, a Westfield N.J. native, was recruited by Donahue out of high school, but opted for Davidson over Penn. The 6-11 center was named to the A-10 all-defensive team after averaging a conference-best 2.4 blocks last season. Logan will start in place of Justice Ajogbor, who graduated in the spring.

“You can really run an offense through [Logan], he’s a great facilitator,” Donahue said.” Reads screens well, so he gets in and out of them quickly. Knows how to deliver drill handoffs. Can rescreen well and kind of swallow the guy. Defensively, his discipline has to come that he can’t try to block every shot, and he’s growing into that.”

Another intriguing transfer is senior guard Logan Carey, who starred at Maine. Last season, Carey was named to the America East all-defensive team and recorded a team-high 50 steals.

BJ Ranson, one of three freshmen on the roster, could make an immediate impact.

Ranson was ranked as the No. 30 point guard nationally by 247Sports and was named the 2025-26 Maryland player of the year by MaxPreps. Donahue expects Ranson to contribute to the Hawks’ effort from long range, an area where the team struggled last season.

“His emotional intelligence is so off the charts,” Donahue said about Ranson. “He loves college basketball. He eats and breathes it. It’s everything that he’s always wanted. He’s like that in every drill, every practice. So you put that together with incredible skill. He’s just so ready for this moment. I’ve only had a few freshmen that I was as confident in — maybe two. Those two turned out like I thought, and I know he’s going to have not only a great freshman year, but he has a great career ahead of him.”