Pete Pena

Bio

Pete Pena begins his 17th season as the Pirates Head Baskeball Coach. The Pirates are coming off a remarkable season in which they won the Panhandle Conference Tournament as the No. 6 seed and advanced to the NJCAA National Tournament for the first time under Coach Pena’s leadership. Five players earned Panhandle All-Conference honors: Dimitri Clerc, Will Vasser, and Amarion Savage were named to the First Team, while Dylan Colon and Isaiah Sutherland received Second Team recognition.

Coach Pena has sent over 50 players to the Division 1 level in his 16 years as Head Coach of the Pirates. "The level in which our young men go to is not as important as the right place for them," says Coach Pena.

The graduation rate for student-athletes who spent two years in the program at PSC is 96%. Pensacola State has averaged 15 wins per season during his tenure with three State Tournament appearances and a Panhandle Conference Championship in 2013-14. In his tenure, Coach Pena holds a 231-201 record.

On the upcoming season Coach Pena says, "We take pride in trying to recruit not only a quality player but also a quality person. This is a very special community and it's important to involve our guys in as many community service projects as possible. This school has done so much for so many, it's our small way of giving back. We return six players off last year's team and the mesh with our newcomers has been great to watch. Hopefully, it will be an outstanding season."

Coach Pena celebrated his 37th wedding anniversary on August 1st to the former Brenda Nye, a Pirate Hall of Famer. The couples' daughter, Rebecca, is a graduate of NYU.