Austin Carroll enters his seventh season as an assistant with Eastern Men's Basketball, and the former Eagle has seen his role expand consistently as the program has grown and found success. In his early days on staff, he was heavily involved in operations, player development, and recruiting. In recent years he has taken on leadership in scouting and defensive game planning.
When the team won its MAC Commonwealth opener against Stevenson this year, it was the 100th win for the program since Carroll joined the staff.
With his scouts and game-planning in the 2023-'24 season, he played an instrumental role in helping the Eagles to claim the program's first Conference Championship with away wins over a pair of NCAA Tournament qualifying teams in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament. The Eagles earned an 86-72 win at Hood before rallying from a 15-point first-half deficit to race past 13th ranked Widener in the MAC Commonwealth Championship game. The 98-69 win in the final came after the Pride had handed the Eagles a pair of losses in the regular season.
The Eagles then beat TCNJ to claim the first NCAA Tournament win in program history. Zubair Lee was named MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year. The 21 wins tied the number of wins the team recorded in 2021-22 as the most by an Eastern team since the school joined the NCAA.
The Eagles wen 18-9 in 2022-'23 after a 21-6 season in 2021-'22.
While playing at Eastern, Carroll started 75 games as a point guard over his four seasons and finished with a 1.71 assist to turnover ratio over his four seasons. He shot 38 percent from 3-point range in his senior season and scored a career-high 20 points in an 81-65 win at Ursinus.
The Eagles made the MAC Freedom Tournament in each of his four seasons.
He has certification as a personal trainer and a Performance Enhancement Specialist with the NASM. He is the sole proprietor of The Ace Grind Fitness and Wellness company where he works with a variety of clients to help them achieve their fitness or athletic performance goals.
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