First Year as Head Coach: 1997-1998

Recent Highlights:

2023-24:   Sutter led led the Owls to a tie for second place in the MASCAC standings with a 9-3 record against league foes. Senior Brendon Hamilton was named the MASCAC defensive player of the year for the second straight season, while newcomer Juju Omot joined Hamilton on the first team.  The Owls won a first round conference tournament game before falling in the league semifinals.

2022-23 Season: For the fourth straight season, Coach Sutter led the Owls to the MASCAC Championship game after defeating second-seeded Bridgewater State in the conference Semifinals 89-79. The Owls finished with an 8-5 record in conference play, winning nine of their final ten games entering the championship game. Westfield played an incredibly challenging non-conference schedule, including three games against top-ten nationally ranked opponents. Sutter helped coached a pair of players to the All-Conference First Team in Brendon Hamilton and JT Thompson.  Coach Sutter picked up his 350th career coaching win (all at Westfield State) in the conference semifinal win.

2021-22 Season: Under Coach Sutter, the Owls boasted a 22-5 record and a conference best 10-2 record on their way to a second consecutive MASCAC Tournament championship victory over Worcester State. Westfield was named the top seed, granting them a bye for the first round of the tournament. In the Semifinals, Sutter's Owls comfortably defeated Fitchburg State with a final score of 80-58. In the championship game, Westfield continued their dominance, securing an 80-66 win against Worcester. The Owls proceeded to the NCAA Tournament, where they experienced a narrow 78-71 defeat at the hands of Nazerath College. Tournament MVP Brendan Hamilton was named as the Defensive Player of the Year, and had a spot on the All-Conference first team, accompanying teammate Justin Rennis. Sutter was honored as the Coach of the Year for the conference.

2019-20 Season: Sutter led the Owls to a 20-8 overall record and their first MASCAC Tournament championship since 2014-15. The Owls shared the regular season conference crown with Worcester State, but defeated the Lancers in the final, 81-77, at the Woodward Center after a hard-fought battle. In the regular season, Sutter claimed his 300th-career victory against #3 nationally-ranked Amherst College. MASCAC Tournament MVP Jauch Green, Jr. went on to be named to the All-Conference first team along with senior teammate Vawn Lord, and freshman Brendon Hamilton was named the league's Rookie of the Year. The Owls advanced to the NCAA Tournament where they eventually fell to #19 Middlebury after a game with many lead changes and no clear winner until the final couple of minutes.

2018-19 Season:   Coach Rich Sutter guided the Owls to a 16-11 overall record and a runner up finish in the MASCAC Tournament. Westfield fell at top-seed Salem State in the final, 66-57 in a hard-fought game where the two teams were seperated by one point with just over two minutes to play.  The Owls' roster featured transfer Jauch Green, Jr., who put together one of the finest all-around seasons in Owls history, as he averaged 22.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game on the way to being named first-team All-MASCAC.   Senior forward Marcus Collins was a second-team All-Conference selection at 13.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.

Career Highlights: Rich Sutter was named the MASCAC Coach of the year for the 2021-22 campaign following Westfield's 22-5 season that was capped off by a Tournament championship victory. The Owls 4-0 start to the season, and the undefeated run in the Rick Martin/Hampton Inn Tournament earned Sutter the honor of the Division III Coach of the Week from Hoopdirt.com. In 23 seasons as head coach, Sutter holds a cumulative record of 338-266 with the Owls, a winning percentage of .560.

Sutter claimed his 300th career victory during the 2019-20 campaign in thrilling fashion, defeating #3 Amherst College, 68-67, at the Woodward Center. Sutter used that momentum to help guide his team to a 10-2 mark in the MASCAC and a share of the regular-season conference crown. The Owls went on to win the MASCAC Tournament title for the first time since 2014-15 and made their second NCAA Tournament appearance under Coach Sutter.  

Coach Sutter won his 350th career game in an 89-79 win over Bridgewater State in the conference semifinals on Feb. 24, 2023.

The 2014-15 season marked the first time the Owls made an NCAA Tournament appearance under Sutter. The team won the MASCAC regular season title with an 11-1 mark in league play. The Owls hosted and won the conference tournament, and advanced to play eventual Final Four participant Babson in a closely contested first round NCAA game before finishing with a 20-7 overall record.  The Owls senior-laden squad hit its best stride at midseason, winning 15 of 16 games after the semester break.

The 2012-2013 campaign was record-setting for the Owls as they set a school record for most victories in a season (23-6 record), captured their first outright MASCAC regular season championship, and placed second in the ECAC New England Division III postseason tournament.

The Owls posted an 18-10 record during the 2008-2009 campaign that also landed them a berth in the ECAC Tournament.

In 2006 they posted an 18-8 record and captured their first conference championship in 21 years.

In 2003 Sutter guided the Owls to a school-record 13 straight victories and the No. 2 seed in the Mass. State Conference tournament. Sutter was selected the conference coach of the year in 2003 and 2006.

About Coach Sutter: A 1984 graduate of St. Bonaventure University, Sutter was a student assistant coach under Jim O’Brien. Sutter earned a bachelor’s degree in political science. He was a second team all-city and all-CSHSAA selection as a scholastic player at Sacred Heart in Yonkers.

In addition to his role as men’s basketball coach, Sutter has also served as the men’s golf coach since the program was reinstated in the fall of 2008, and recently completed a term as the president of the APA Union on campus.

 Before Westfield: A New York City native, Sutter has a wide range of coaching experiences, including a six-year stint as an assistant coach at Colgate University from 1991-97. Colgate won three Patriot League championships and appeared in two NCAA Tournaments during that span, and Sutter recruited All-American and former NBA star Adonal Foyle.

 Prior to coaching at Colgate, Sutter was an assistant coach at All Hallows High School in the Bronx, which produced standout Olden Polynice, and during the same two-year period worked as the physical education chairman at Holy Spirit High School. In 1998 he was the head coach at The Trinity School in New York City and guided the team to its first state tourney appearance.

 In 1989 he served as an assistant for one season under Gary Brokaw at Iona College, and the previous year was at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, which made its first ever NCAA Division III Tournament appearance with a 25-2 record.

 Sutter, assisted Jack Curran, one of the top high school mentors in the nation, at Archbishop Molloy, N.Y., High School from 1986-88. During that stretch Molloy's squad, which featured Kenny Anderson, won a city championship and was runner-up another year.

 Prior to that position, he was head coach for two seasons at the Hackley School in Tarrytown, N.Y., where he produced back-to-back 15-win seasons, the first winning records at the school in nearly 20 years.