Michael Collins is in his first season as a member of the Stevens Institute of Technology women’s lacrosse program. He is a three-year veteran of the Stevens men’s basketball coaching staff and also worked with the women’s basketball program in 2008-09.
Collins will be working with the women’s lacrosse program in a variety of roles such as strength and conditioning, nutrition as well as practice planning and implementation. Collins graduated from Stevens in May of 2007. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Social Science. Collins is also currently pursuing his master’s degree in Sports Medicine with a concentration in Athletic Training at Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus.
As a member of the men’s basketball staff in 2010-11, he helped the Ducks to the second-most wins in program history and a second Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Metro title. Stevens finished with an overall record of 22-7 and was the second seed in the Empire 8 Men’s Basketball Championship. Three Ducks were named All-Empire 8 and junior forward Simon Smith set the new program-record for career and single-season rebounds in addition to being named second-team D3Hoops.com All-East Region.
Collins was also the 2011 recipient of the Edwin “Doc” Farrell Award winner which is given annually to the individual that exemplifies the ideals of integrity, service, conduct and dedication to the athletics program. He volunteered as a member of the women’s basketball staff in 2007-08 and 2008-09 and has been a member of the men’s staff for the last two seasons. He has helped multiple teams with training programs and has truly been a department-wide supporter for the last seven years.
In 2009-10, the Stevens graduate was a member of a coaching staff that helped to engineer a five-win improvement from the previous season. He helped guide the Ducks to the semifinals of the Empire 8 Championship tournament and a berth in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Metro Tournament. Three players were named all-conference, including Ducks' forward Simon Smith.
In 2008-09, Collins was an integral part of a the women's basketball staff that led the team to its first-ever Empire 8 Championship and NCAA Tournament win. He helped guide the Ducks to countless program firsts and saw the team compile an overall record of 47-12 in his two seasons. He also help lead the lady Ducks to the first ECAC Metro title in program history in 2007-08.
As an undergrad at Stevens, Collins appeared in 88 games and made 64 starts for the men’s program from 2002-07. During his career, he amassed 515 points, 452 rebounds, and 173 blocked shots. Collins ranks first all-time at Stevens in career blocks and shot 48.1 percent from the field during his time with the Ducks. He averaged a career-best 9.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game as a sophomore in 2003-04.
In addition to his career mark for blocks, Collins is the Ducks’ single-season record-holder for total blocks (75) and blocks per game (3.00) – both marks were set in 2003-04. He also established a Stevens single-game high with eight blocked shots during that same season.
As a senior, Collins started all 30 games for the Ducks and helped lead the team to an impressive 23-7 overall record. After earning the program’s first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, Stevens went on to win a pair of games to reach the Sweet 16 before losing to eventual national champion Amherst College. Upon completion of his playing career, Collins was awarded the prestigious Frank Partel Basketball Award for dedication and service to the men’s basketball program.
In addition to playing basketball for the Ducks, Collins was very involved in the Stevens community as he served as a tour guide for Undergraduate Admissions and worked for the Office of Residence Life. He was also part of the Stevens Technical Enrichment Program.
Meanwhile, Collins served as a student assistant trainer for the Office of Sports Medicine. He was responsible for performing physical therapy exercises under the supervision of the athletic training staff and arranged a database of student-athlete medical files. Furthermore, Collins worked as an assistant coach with the men’s basketball team while sitting out the 2004-05 season while recovering from a knee injury. Over the course of his five years with the program, Collins also worked as an office assistant to the basketball coach where he distributed marketing material and helped instruct children from the local community at various camps.
