Pitt Retains Jeff Capel For a Ninth Season

PITTSBURGH — In a surprising turn of events, the Pitt Panthers are retaining men's basketball coach Jeff Capel for a ninth season.

Director of Athletics Allen Greene released a statement, expressing his vote of confidence in Capel moving forward.

"After that comprehensive evaluation, I have made the decision that Jeff Capel will continue to lead our men's basketball program," Green said. "I believe our best path forward is leadership continuity paired with clear expectations and a willingness to evolve."

The decision to retain Capel comes after On3's Pete Nakos and PantherLair.com's Chris Peak reported that Pitt was financially prepared to move on from Capel, but the decision would ultimately rest with Greene.

In a rare media appearance in January, Greene discussed the state of the men's basketball program.

"We have high expectations for our men's basketball program, and we haven't lived up to those expectations this year," Greene said. "Obviously, coach [Capel] knows that, the staff is aware of that, the players are aware of that. They want more out of what we got going on, and I know they're working their tails off to try to fix it."

Pitt finished 13-20 this season after a 98-88 loss to NC State in the ACC tournament. The Panthers entered the tournament as the lowest-seeded team, and it took a 71-69 overtime win against Syracuse on March 7 to secure that spot, and a 64-63 upset over Stanford just before the buzzer to advance to the second round.

This was the fifth losing season overall and the sixth losing season in conference play under Capel. The long-time Pitt head coach is now 127-127 (60-92 ACC) during his time with the Panthers.

Although Greene decided to retain Capel, he fired women's basketball head coach Tory Verdi on March 3.

Pitt Decides to Keep Capel

Feb 10, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Jeff Capel reacts on the court against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half at Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Keeping Capel means the Pitt will very likely keep its top 2026 recruiting class of four-stars Chase Foster, Anthony Felesi and Jermal Jones Jr. Pitt's class currently ranks 12th in the nation on 247Sports and 15th on Rivals. The class is currently the highest-rated class Capel has ever recruited.

It also likely means that there will be a stronger financial commitment to the program this next season. Instead of spending cash on Capel's reported eight-figure buyout and hiring a new coach on top of that, those funds could be used to retain talent and build a stronger roster for 2026-27.

Capel received a three-year contract extension in July 2024, moving the expiration date of his deal to the 2029-30 season. The extension came after a strong 20-11 season in 2023-24. Pitt made its only NCAA tournament appearance under Capel the year prior.

"Jeff is an outstanding leader well beyond the court and we are highly fortunate to have him representing the University of Pittsburgh. I'm incredibly pleased to announce this extension of his contract and look forward to the continued ascendance of Pitt basketball under his direction," former Director of Athletics Heather Lyke said at the time.

Since Capel's extension, Pitt has a record of 30-35 and is 13-25 against the ACC.

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