Point By Point

A New Leader for Men’s Basketball

Grant Billmeier, a longtime assistant coach at universities such as Seton Hall University and University of Maryland, is the new head coach of men’s basketball at NJIT.

“My staff and I will strive daily for excellence in every aspect of our program, do things the right way and compete for championships,” Billmeier said.

Billmeier arrives after one season on the staff at Maryland, where he followed Kevin Willard from Seton Hall in April 2022. The Terrapins were 22-13 in 2022-23 and earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament, where they defeated West Virginia before bowing out to Alabama, the top seed.

Before Maryland, Billmeier served on Willard’s staff at Seton Hall for seven seasons, culminating with the 2021-22 season when he was promoted to associate head coach. Billmeier helped lead the Pirates to the 2016 Big East Tournament Championship and 2020 Big East Regular Season Championship during his second stint on the coaching staff in South Orange.

Billmeier’s first collegiate coaching experience also came at Seton Hall, from 2010-14, when he served as director of basketball operations. He then spent one season as an assistant coach at Fairleigh Dickinson before returning to Seton Hall as an assistant coach in 2015.

The 2007 Seton Hall graduate played four seasons for the Pirates, serving as a captain twice and helping lead the team to NCAA Tournaments in 2004 and 2006. He went on to play professionally in Germany and Portugal before beginning his coaching career.

In welcoming Billmeier to NJIT, Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Lenny Kaplan described him as a “tireless worker, great recruiter and very much a champion of student-athlete success on and off the court.”

Women’s Soccer Adds 5 to the Fall Squad

NJIT women’s soccer Head Coach Ally Nick is adding five key players to her squad this fall.

The new Highlanders — Julia Bullock, Sydney Burlingame, Madison Miller, Victoria Terranova and Kennedy Westbrook — come from Ontario, Arizona, California, New York and Pennsylvania, respectively.

“They all bring something different but also wanted to be part of the tradition of what it means to be an NJIT women’s soccer player on and off the field,” Nick said. “We have a lot of America East playoff experience returning within our team and look forward to this class coming in to add
a spark and compete.”

• Bullock, a forward from Toronto, plans to major in applied physics or environmental science.
• Burlingame, a midfielder from Phoenix, plans to study engineering.
• Miller, a goalkeeper from San Jose, CA, plans to major in law, technology and culture.
• Terranova, a defender from Staten Island, NY, plans to major in biology.
• Westbrook, a defender from Sayre, PA, plans to major in sports management.  

Pictured above: Kennedy Westbrook