Damian Buckley aims to lead his alma mater to national glory
As interim head coach, Damian Buckley hopes to lead the Stingers men’s basketball team to the same heights he led them to as a player. Photo Caroline Marsh
The Concordia University Stingers men’s basketball team has announced the appointment of Damian Buckley as the interim head coach of the team for the 2025-26 season.
The announcement follows a successful preseason run in which the Stingers went 5-3, highlighted by a win over the 2025 national runner-up University of Calgary and a revenge victory against the University of Ottawa—the team that eliminated them from the 2025 U Sports men’s basketball Final 8.
A Concordia legend on the court, Buckley was named a three-time Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) First Team All-Star and the 2008-09 RSEQ Player of the Year. The six-foot-one point guard made both the Canadian Interuniversity Sport’s first- and second-teams, and is a two-time recipient of the Dr. Robert J. Brodrick Award as Concordia Male Athlete of the Year.
Following a professional stint with the National Basketball League of Canada’s Montreal Jazz, Buckley transitioned to the coaching ranks. He joined former Concordia head coach Rastko Popovic’s staff for the 2015-16 season, and saw success with an RSEQ championship and U Sports Final 8 berth in 2018-19.
From 2022 to 2024, Buckley served as assistant coach for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees men’s basketball team, contributing to back-to-back third-place national finishes and an Ontario University Athletics championship in 2023.
Buckley takes over from the previous interim head coach, Aleksandar Mitrovic, who stepped in when Popovic went on leave during the 2025 winter semester. Mitrovic remains on the staff as interim associate head coach.
The Stingers head into the RSEQ season hoping to build upon a 2024-25 campaign in which the team went 14-2 and finished second in the conference. After earning the final wild-card bid to the U Sports Final 8, the Stingers beat the RSEQ champion Bishop’s University Gaiters before taking down the University of British Columbia 87-80 in the fifth-place consolation final.
Concordia opens its conference schedule on Nov. 6, when the Université du Québec à Montréal Citadins visit John Dore Court. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.
This article originally appeared in Volume 46, Issue 4, published October 21, 2025.
Samuel Kayll is The Link’s Vol. 46 sports editor. His love for Korean barbecue is surpassed only by his love for the San Antonio Spurs.