Bio

A championship-winning player and assistant coach at Yale University, Justin Simon was named the head coach of the Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball program in May 2025.

Simon joins the Tartans following a 13-year coaching tenure at Yale, where he most recently served as associate head coach. During that time, the Bulldogs captured five Ivy League regular season championships, three Ivy League Tournament titles, and made eight postseason appearances, including the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament win in 2016 and a memorable upset over Auburn in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

As a coach, Simon has been responsible for recruiting, post player development, and opponent scouting, working with several All-Ivy honorees and Ivy League Players of the Year. He is widely respected for his ability to mentor student-athletes and build sustainable team culture rooted in accountability, excellence, and growth.

Simon also brings experience as a former player at Yale, where he was a member of the university's 2002 Ivy League championship team—Yale's first league title in nearly four decades. He has been part of every 20-win season in the program's modern history, including one as a player and five as a coach.

Simon succeeds longtime head coach Tony Wingen, who announced his retirement in April after 34 seasons at the helm. Under Wingen's leadership, the Tartans advanced to three NCAA Tournaments and captured the program's first-ever UAA title in 2006.

Simon and his wife Tricia are proud parents to two children, Divera and Daniel.