Hector Blaise was named head women's basketball coach at Queensborough Community College in August 2021. He arrives in Bayside after serving as an assistant girls varsity basketball coach at Long Island Lutheran High School for the 2020-21 season. Prior to his stint at LuHi, he was an assistant women's basketball coach at NCAA Division II Molloy College.
Coach Blaise comes to Queensborough from LuHi, where he spent one season as an assistant coach for a national powerhouse in girls basketball. Though they had an abbreviated season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he assisted in the development of UCLA commit Paris Clark, and Adelphi University commit Sydney Rosenoff.
Prior to LuHi, Blaise was an assistant coach at Molloy College, working under area coaching legend, Joe Pellicane. In his four seasons at Molloy, the Lions won the 2017 East Coast Conference Championship and made two NCAA Tournament appearances, including a run to the 2017 Sweet Sixteen. They were also selected to participate in the 2020 NCAA Tournament, but the tournament that year was cancelled by the NCAA due to the pandemic. Coach Blaise started as a coaching intern for the 2016-17 season and was promoted to assistant coach the following year.
Blaise began his career in women's basketball in 2013 as a student team manager at NCAA Division I St. John's University under current head coach, Joe Tartamella. In his three seasons with the Red Storm, he was part of a program that enjoyed historic success, which concluded in winning the 2016 Big East Conference Championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament. The Red Storm also advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the 2015 NIT Tournament, and well as earning a bid to the 2014 NCAA Tournament and advancing to the second round. The Red Storm won 23 games in each of the three seasons in which he was on the bench, and two players were selected in the 2016 WNBA Draft.
Blaise has worked numerous basketball camps including the New York Knicks Junior Knicks Camp, the Miami Heat Basketball Camp, and the Long Island Lutheran Basketball Camp.
He received his bachelor's degree from St. John's University in 2017, and his MBA from Molloy College in 2019.
What They Are Saying About Hector Blaise
"Hector has always prioritized the most important attribute in coaching, and that is the welfare of the student-athletes. He is a rising star in the coaching profession with unlimited potential."
--Joe Pellicane, Molloy College Head Women's Basketball Coach
"Hector is the definition of a caring individual. Although his time at LuHi was short, the impact he made was tremendous. Coach is detail oriented and genuinely cares about the well-being of our student-athletes. Every time Coach walks into one of our gyms, he is intentional about greeting each and every player. He asks each player how her day was and intently listens to each response. Coach cares about the full player. For him, it's bigger than a player's performance on the court. It's about preparing his players to be the best young women on the court, in the classroom, and in life."
--Christina Raiti, Long Island Lutheran Head Girls Varsity Basketball Coach
"Coach Blaise is a terrific young coach who will energize the Queensborough women's program with the type of enthusiasm and work ethic that will excite the whole campus. He's a terrific teacher of the game, is very innovative in his offensive and defensive philosophies, and is great at communicating with people. Not only do players want to play for him, but they get better under his tutelage. I commend Queensborough for a tremendous move in getting Coach Blaise to lead their program."
--Steve Podias, former Brooklyn College Head Men's Basketball Coach
Courtesy of Queensborough Athletics