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Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Assistant Coach and Port Arthur Native Steve Roccaforte is set to be inducted into the Assistant Coaches Hall of Fame Class of 2025. 

“I think it’s a tremendous honor,” Roccaforte said.” Whenever you dedicate yourself to something and you work at it every single day, to receive an honor like that is a tremendous blessing

Roccaforte has been a part of college basketball since 1987 and has worked with multiple coaches of the year, including John Calipari, Perry Clark and Billy Tubbs, to develop talent and achieve high levels of success in every program he has been a part of. 

Roccaforte began his career as a student manager in 1987 at Lamar University only to leave in 1989 and return in 2003 as an assistant coach under Billy Tubbs. Roccaforte attributes his former Lamar University Head Coach Tom Abatemarco for teaching him everything he needed in his short stint with Abatemarco.

“I learned everything I needed to learn from him,” Roccaforte said “Those first couple of years, I tried to be around him as much as possible. Watch him, listen, learn. And I learned everything that I needed to know from him to last me these 40 years.”

Roccaforte became head coach at Lamar in 2006 after Tubbs decided to become the school’s athletic director. During his first season as head coach at Lamar, Roccaforte took the Cardinals to the Southland Conference Tournament semifinals. In his second season, he led the team to their first SLC regular-season championship in over 20 years, achieving an impressive 13-3 conference record. Over his time at Lamar, Roccaforte coached nine all-conference selections.

During his career, Roccaforte recruited such players as Amare Stoudemire and Kendrick Perkins. Roccaforte believes in emphasizing graduation for players and building strong relationships with players. Relationship so strong that he has had players ask to have him stand in as their father during Seniors Night. 

Roccaforte continues his work at University of Maryland for the 2025-2026 basketball season following Head Coach Buzz Williams who received the offer from the University. Roccaforte hopes to continue his journey developing young players and competing for a national championship.

The 2025 Hall of Fame class will be inducted May 21 in Charlotte N.C. at Queens University.