SUNY Old Westbury Athletics

Over the course of 19 seasons as SUNY Old Westbury’s head women’s basketball coach, Michael Krasnoff has steered the Panthers to new plateaus featuring multiple highlights.  But none have resonated quite the way the 2015-16 season unfolded as Old Westbury captured its first-ever Skyline Conference Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance.

Now entering his 17th season at the helm on campus with a career record of 257-165, Krasnoff is Old Westbury’s winningest coach in program history.  The Panthers have emerged as a program known for its ability to produce high energy on both ends of the court for an exciting brand of basketball.  

Last season, Old Westbury posted their fourth-straight 20-win season and returned to postseason play, where the Panthers were defeated at home by the sixth-seeded Farmingdale State College, 60-59. Old Westbury finished the season as the NCAA statistical leader in rebound margin (23.3), rebounds (1,497), rebounds per game (57.58) and offensive rebounds per game (24.0).  The Panthers were recognized with second-team All-Met selection and collected Skyline Defensive Player of the Year honors along with three all-conference nods. Additionally, Old Westbury was recognized with Google Cloud Academic All-District 3 honoree.

Krasnoff registered a program-best .852 winning percentage (23-4 overall record) in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 campaigns to tie Old Westbury’s season record for wins (23) for the third-straight season. 

During the 2017-18 season, Old Westbury captured its second Skyline title in program history with a 53-47 road win over top-seeded Mount Saint Mary College.  The Panthers then advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history before ending their season with a 90-69 loss to No. 22 Montclair State University.  Old Westbury led the nation in rebound margin (+26.3), rebounds (1,598), rebounds per game (59.19), defensive rebounds per game (34.0) and offensive rebounds per game (26.0).  The Panthers were honored with a second-team D3hoops.com All-Atlantic Region selection, and garnered a pair of All-Met selections.  Old Westbury collected Skyline Defensive Player of the Year honors along with two all-conference nods.  Additionally, Old Westbury was also recognized with Skyline Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a first-team 2018 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Awards honoree.  

In 2016-17, Old Westbury won the Skyline Conference Regular Season Championship, and returned to the championship game, where the Panthers were defeated at home by the third-seeded The Sage Colleges, 72-62.  Old Westbury finished the season as the NCAA statistical leader in rebound margin (19.9), rebounds (1,534), rebounds per game (56.81) and offensive rebounds per game (25.0).  The Panthers were recognized with third-team D3hoops.com All-Atlantic Region and All-Met selections, in addition to a pair of All-Skyline Conference honorees.    

During a historical 2015-16 season that saw Old Westbury post a 23-6 overall record, the third-seeded Panthers defeated No. 1 Sage on the road with a 57-43 victory to hoist the 2016 Skyline Conference Championship trophy.  On the national scene, Old Westbury led the nation in rebounds (1,532) and rebounds per game (52.83).  The magical season saw Jasmine Robinson, the program’s most recent 1,000-point scorer, earn D3hoops.com All-Atlantic Region and Skyline Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors.  In total, Old Westbury collected a pair of All-Skyline Conference selections in 2015-16.

Krasnoff was named the Skyline Conference Coach of the Year twice in his career, during the 2012-13 and 2007-08 seasons.  In 2008-09, Old Westbury recorded a then program best 18-10 mark, making its seventh consecutive Skyline Conference Championship Tournament appearance and second ECAC Metro Region Championship Tournament appearance.  In 2010-11, Old Westbury set a new single-season program record with a 20-8 mark, followed by an 18-9 campaign in 2011-12.  Old Westbury made two straight ECAC Metro Region Championship Tournament appearances in 2011 and 2012.    

The key to Krasnoff’s success has been his ability to attract and develop talent. Krasnoff's recruiting efforts have paid huge dividends in recent seasons, earning Skyline Conference Player of the Year honors in 2013 after producing back-to-back-to-back Skyline Conference Rookie of the Year laurels (2010-12).  In 2016, the program was honored with their first-ever Skyline Conference Defensive Player of the Year selection.

From 2008-11, Krasnoff produced four scorers that ranked among the nation’s best. In 2007-08, Pamela Robinson averaged 23.7 points per game to rank second in the nation, and followed in 2008-09 in sixth (21.8 points per game).  Over the course of two seasons, Old Westbury had a pair of freshmen that ranked in the top 12 in points per game as Krystina Agard ranked sixth (23.2 points per game) in 2009-10, and Kim Weathers averaged 20.5 points per game to rank 12^th in 2010-11. 

Krasnoff's success at Old Westbury was built upon prior coaching experiences; first as a head coach at Valley Stream North High School and later as a head coach for the Long Island Silver Bullets, where he spent six seasons coaching highly competitive AAU basketball and helped usher a number of players to the college ranks. In addition, Krasnoff's teaching skills and knowledge of the game were cultivated during many years spent as an instructor at the prestigious Eastern Invitational Basketball Camp, where he worked with some of the best minds in basketball.

Krasnoff and his wife reside in Franklin Square, New York, and have one daughter and three sons.