Marcel Pettway was named the next head coach of the Lesley University Women's Basketball program on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. 

Pettway joins the Lynx after previously serving as the Assistant Coach for the Men's Basketball team and Recruiting Coordinator at St. Thomas Aquinas College. Pettway was with the for Spartans for three years (Sept. 2022-May 2025) and during his tenure, St. Thomas was 76-21 which included a 25-10 mark last year where his Spartans made it all the way to the Third Round of the NCAA Division II East Regional. This past season's appearance in the NCAA Tournament marked the third straight Pettway and St. Thomas made it to the tournament. Pettway and St. Thomas were also two-time East Coast Conference (ECC) regular season and postseason conference champions as well. His coaching duties also included organizing and directing practices while also assessing student-athletes skills and monitored their growth and success during their time at the university. 

As a Recruiting Coordinator, he helped recruit an impressive 24 student-athletes to St. Thomas. He helped manage the recruiting program by creating transcripts, athletic resume reviews, phone calls with prospective student-athletes families, coaches, mentors, along with scheduling visits too. Pettway also assisted with conducting official and unofficial visits for prospective student-athletes to campus. He also visited numerous grassroot programs, summer program tournaments, and monthly local showcases. 

"As a New Englander from Rhode Island, this region means everything to me," said Pettway. "It's where I grew up around basketball, family, and lifelong friends. Lesley's commitment to diversity, growth, and community deeply aligns with my values. What stood out most is how their programs go beyond undergrad, preparing students to impact the world in a variety of ways. Being in the heart of Cambridge, five miles from city of champions, we're ready to build something special here."

Prior to St. Thomas, Pettway was a Jr. Celtics Associate for the summer of 2022 (June-August) while also being the Men's Basketball Graduate Assistant Coach at his alma matter Angelo State University (Sept. 2021-March 2022). With the Jr. Celtics, Pettway helped teach fundamental basketball skills to a group of 500-plus kids ranging from ages 5-14. He also helped officiate basketball games and recorded score and stats of them too. While at Angleo State, Pettway assisted the head coach with instructing student-athletes in the rules, regulations, equipment, and techniques at Angelo State. He also helped organize and direct individual and small group practices and team meetings. 

During his collegiate career, Pettway played at both Bryant University from 2015-2017 before finishing his career at Angelo State from 2018-2020. With the Bulldogs, he led the team in rebounds (6.5 rpg) and shooting percentage (58.1) during his sophomore season where he averaged 10.3 points per game. In his first year at Bryant, Pettway was named the Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie of the Year (second in program history) after posting 11.4 ppg and 7.0 rpg while shooting 59.7 percent from the floor. He scored a career-high 26 points on January 6, 2016 at Fairleigh Dickinson.

In his first year with the Rams, he appeared in 28 games, while averaging 4.4 points and 4.2 rebounds and posted a season high of 10 points and 8 rebounds against Tarleton State (Dec. 1, 2018). In his final year at Angelo State, he was named a team-captain and finished the year averaging 4.8 ppg and brought down 4.9 rpg with his best game coming against Texas A&M International where he finished with a double-double (12 points/12 rebounds) on February 22, 2020. He was also named to the All-South Central Region Team too. 

Pettway graduated from Angelo State with a Bachelors in Business Management and looks to complete his MBA with Angelo State in May 2026.