Steph Barrie led Queen’s Men’s Basketball to their second straight OUA Wilson Cup appearance and fourth straight trip to the U SPORTS Men’s Basketball Final 8 Championship in 2024-25. The Gaels finished the regular season second in the OUA East Division with a 16-6 record before advancing to the Wilson Cup and earning the conference silver medal.
A year earlier, Barrie led Queen’s to their first OUA Wilson Cup Championship in nearly 70 years in the 2023-24 season, as well as their third consecutive trip to the U SPORTS Men’s Basketball Final 8 Championship, the first three national appearances in program history.
Barrie was named OUA Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year for the second straight season, as well as OUA Men’s Coach of the Year for the 2023-24 season.
The Gaels finished with a program-best 19-3 record in the regular season in 2023-24, and capped the historic year with their best finish on the national stage, earning the silver medal at the U SPORTS Men’s Basketball Final 8 Championship.
In 2022-23, Barrie led the Gaels to finish with a 17-5 record, tied for the second best record in the conference, before earning an at-large berth into the U SPORTS Men's Basketball Final 8 Championship in the playoffs.
In 2021-22, Barrie led Queen's to the OUA Wilson Cup and the U SPORTS Men's Final 8 Basketball Championships for the first time ever. Queens finished the regular season 9-5 before defeating the Carleton Ravens in the OUA semifinals for the first time since 1998. At the U SPORTS Men's Final 8, Queen's opened the tournament with a win and finished fourth overall.
Queen's has qualified for the OUA Playoffs in eight straight seasons.
In his first season with Queen's, Barrie endured a difficult 2-20 campaign. He quickly put his own stamp on the program with his first recruiting class in 2012, bringing in 10 new players. He then established an up tempo style of play and allowed the Gaels to be one of the best offensive teams in the OUA despite regularly playing seven freshmen. The Gaels finished the 2012-13 campaign with an impressive turnaround, going 10-10 in conference play and earning a playoff berth before bowing out on the road to the Laurentian Voyageurs in the first round.
The 2013-14 season saw the team put up their second straight 10-win season before falling in first round of the OUA Playoffs.
Queen's was back in the playoffs in 2015-16 after Barrie lad the Gaels to an impressive 11-8 record which included the teams best start in program history. This marked the beginning of their current five-year playoff run that saw them finish the 2017-18 season with 11 wins while averaging their highest offensive output during Barrie's tenure averaging 80.7 points per game.
Barrie joined Queen’s in 2011 after five years as head coach of the Western Mustangs Women's Basketball team. During his tenure at Western, he transformed the Mustangs into a nationally ranked contender, producing an 87-23 (.790) conference record, the top mark in the OUA over his five seasons.
Under Barrie, the Mustangs earned their first playoff victory since 2002 and their first appearance in the OUA Semifinals since 2000. The program also returned to the CIS Top Ten for the first time since 2000 and finished his last two seasons nationally ranked, finishing 2010-11 ranked No. 5 in Canada.
Barrie had two players attain All-Canadian status (Amanda Anderson and Bess Lennox), as well as 18 players achieving OUA All-Star or All-Rookie team honours during his tenure. He has also recruited three national team and 14 provincial team players into the Mustangs program.
Before joining Western, Barrie served as an assistant coach with the Toronto Varsity Blues Men’s Basketball team. While with the Blues and working closely with long-time national team assistant coach Mike Katz, Toronto improved from a 6-16 record in 2004 to 16-6 in 2006.
Barrie began his extensive coaching career in women’s basketball at M.M. Robinson High School in Burlington, Ont., where he taught French, Geography and Physical Education beginning in 2000.
Barrie is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario, earning his Bachelor of Education in 2000. As a player, he was a key member of a Mustangs team that captured an OUA Championship in 1999 and challenged for a national championship in 2000. In 2000, Barrie led the nation in three-point shooting percentage, hitting 55 per cent of his shots beyond the arc. He also led Humber College to the CCAA National Championship final and a silver medal in 1996-97.
He is currently certified as a Level 3 NCCP coach.
Awards
OUA Men's Basketball Coach of the Year: 2023-24, 2022-23
OUA Men's Sports Coach of the Year: 2023-24
Career Record at Queen's
|
Regular Season |
OUA Playoffs |
U SPORTS Final 8 |
| Year |
W-L |
W-L |
W-L |
| 2024-25 |
16-6 |
2-1 |
0-2 |
| 2023-24 |
19-3 |
3-0 |
2-1 |
| 2022-23 |
17-5 |
2-1 |
1-2 |
| 2021-22 |
9-5 |
3-1 |
1-2 |
| 2020-21 |
Season cancelled due to COVID-19 |
|
|
| 2019-20 |
14-8 |
0-1 |
|
| 2018-19 |
12-11 |
1-1 |
|
| 2017-18 |
11-12 |
0-1 |
|
| 2016-17 |
7-12 |
0-1 |
|
| 2015-16 |
11-8 |
1-1 |
|
| 2014-15 |
5-14 |
|
|
| 2013-14 |
10-12 |
0-1 |
|
| 2012-13 |
10-10 |
0-1 |
|
| 2011-12 |
2-20 |
|
|
| Overall |
143-126 |
12-10 |
4-7 |
