Mike Larkin returns for his seventh season with the Scarlet Knights in 2025-26, serving as Director of Basketball Operations for head coach Steve Pikiell’s program. Larkin originally joined Rutgers for the 2019-20 campaign as Special Assistant to the Head Coach before being promoted to his current role.
A native of Patchogue, New York, Larkin arrived “On the Banks” after serving seven seasons on the coaching staff at Saint Michael’s College, including four as Associate Head Coach. During his tenure at Saint Michael’s, he guided the Purple Knights to back-to-back 18-win seasons and the program’s first NE-10 Semifinal appearance in 14 years. He helped develop four players who went on to professional careers and was instrumental in recruiting under-valued talent, including three Northeast-10 All-Rookie honorees, highlighted by the 2019-20 NE-10 Rookie of the Year.
“Mike is a very talented and dedicated individual who makes Rutgers Basketball better,” said head coach Steve Pikiell. “He brings a track record of meeting challenges and achieving success at the Division II and III levels. Most importantly, he is a character person committed to a winning culture.”
Larkin oversees a wide range of program operations, including film breakdown and analysis, opponent scouting, facility management, practice planning, and recruiting support. He provides executive-level support to Coach Pikiell and coordinates all aspects of the men’s basketball schedule, practices, events, and media needs. Since his arrival, Rutgers has experienced a program renaissance, including postseason play in three consecutive seasons. Notably, in 2020-21, Rutgers earned its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1991, with a first-round victory over Clemson—the program’s first NCAA Tournament win since 1983.
Prior to Saint Michael’s, Larkin served as a graduate intern at Rutgers-Newark for two seasons and as an assistant coach at Bard College, focusing on in-state recruiting and developing the Scarlet Raiders’ backcourt players.
Larkin is a Jacob Albright Scholar and a member of the Spanish Honor Society at Albright College, where he helped the Lions to 17-9 records as a junior and senior while earning a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 2009. He completed his master’s degree in Public Administration at Rutgers-Newark in 2012. Larkin and his wife, Margaret, reside in Hillsborough, New Jersey.
