Raul Placeres keeps making history for the Maryville Scots.
Placeres in 2024-25 became the fastest men's basketball head coach in program history to reach 100 victories when he compiled his third 20-win season in the last four years. He led Maryville to a fifth straight regular season conference championship on the strength of an an 11-1 record. During that stretch, the Scots have won three conference tournament championships.
He has become a well-respected athletics representative throughout the local community, the region and the nation, and Placeres was rewarded in April 2025 with a promotion to Assistant Athletics Director for Advancement and Fundraising. Placeres retains his duties as men's basketball head coach.
Placeres through six seasons stands 100-42 (.704) overall and 58-18 (.763) in regular season conference play. The Scots over the last five years are 91-25 (.784), including a 57-10 (.850) record against league opponents. Maryville since joining the Collegiate Conference of the South is 37-5 (.880) against league foes and Placeres twice has been voted CCS Coach of the Year. Over this period, Placeres has coached two All-Americans, four Players of the Year, 18 All-Conference performers, two Rookies of the Year and one Defensive Player of the Year. He coached the Scots to their highest ranking of No. 11 during the 2021-22 season.
He has helped three players reach the professional basketball ranks in Europe, been recognized as the winningest Latino coach in the NCAA over the last five years and helped his program to a higher grade-point average each year since 2021.
A 2006 Maryville College graduate, Placeres was an experienced hire for the Scots when he took over to begin the 2019-20 season. He had worked under legendary MC Wall of Fame coach Randy Lambert for the previous eight seasons as the associate head coach before taking over the top position.
In two of the first three seasons of the new Collegiate Conference of the South, the Scots twice completed the trifecta of being voted the preseason pick to win the league, winning the regular season (by three games both times), and then capturing the conference tournament championship inside the Cooper Athletic Center. That streak of good fortune ended in 2024-25 when an injury-depleted Maryville squad lost a heartbreaker in the conference tournament final.
91-25 Last Five Years
After getting that first season under his belt, Placeres has coached the Scots to a 91-25 record over the last five years, a .784 winning percentage. Maryville over the last five years is 30-8 at home in conference play and a remarkable 27-2 away during that stretch.
Placeres during the lasts three years, in addition to his pair of CCS Coach of the Year honors, has been named Hoopdirt.com National Coach of the Week and a Silver Waves Media Top Rising Coach. He has attracted six Division I and Division II transfers.
Placeres has complemented his coaching success by becoming more involved on the national scene. In 2024, he was named to the Small College Basketball National Awards Committee and also to the NABC Division III Congress representing the CCS. In the latter case, he was offered the post by NABC board members. He already was serving in 2023 and 2024 on the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Region VI Regional Advisory Committee.
Individually, Placeres coached Myles Rasnick to the fourth National Association of Basketball Coaches All-America selection in program history. Rasnick during the 2022-23 season also eclipsed the career 1,000-point mark, was named CCS Player of the Year and earned All-CCS and All-Region 6 First Team honors. Three Scots were named All-CCS, including two on the First Team, and three were named to the CCS All-Tournament Team, capped by Rasnick earning Most Outstanding Player.
Reed Kemp twice earned CCS Player of the Year honors, averaging 18.3 points in 2023-24 and then 26.2 to rank second nationally in 2024-25. Kemp scored 30 or more points in each of his last six games as a Scot and he broke a 53-year-old Maryville season scoring record with 707 points (old record 645). Chase Morgan joined Kemp on the All-CCS First Team both years and went on to earn 2024 CCS Tournament MVP honors.
No. 11 National Ranking
For the Scots in 2021-22, their 18-1 start to the season was the best in program history and included 14 consecutive wins for the second-longest streak in Maryville annals. The Scots jumped to a No. 11 national ranking by D3hoops.com, and Placeres was named a HoopDirt.com National Coach of the Week and a Top Rising Coach by Silver Waves Media.
Rasnick earned USA South Defensive Player of the Year honors and was Most Outstanding Player of the D3Hoops.com Las Vegas Classic. In 2019-20, Felix Uadiale earned the USA South Rookie of the Year nod. In total, Placeres has produced three All-Conference first-teamers along with five additional All-Division awardees.
Placeres played his high school ball at Gulliver Prep in Miami. He helped win two district titles and received All-Dade County First Team honors following the 1999-2000 season. Placeres averaged 20.8 points and 4.6 assists per game as a senior.
As a collegiate player, Placeres led Keystone Junior College to a "Sweet 16" and NJCAA national semifinal appearance following his freshman and sophomore campaigns. As a junior point guard, Placeres paced Maryville College in assists and led the Scots to a 23-6 record and an NCAA “Sweet 16” finish. Following his senior season in the Orange and Garnet, he earned his second consecutive All-Great South Athletic conference accolade while breaking the school record for assists in a game with 17 dishes against Oglethorpe. Placeres finished his collegiate career with more than 1,100 points and more than 600 assists.
Upon graduation, Placeres played in the prestigious Rocky Top Basketball League and signed professionally to play with the Knoxville Thunderbolts and Smoky Mountain Jam of the ABA.
First Season of Coaching 2005-06
Placeres began his coaching career in 2005-06 while finishing his MC degree. He helped the Scots to a 21-8 mark, a league championship, and an NCAA tournament appearance.
From 2006-11, Placeres developed the Gatlinburg-Pittman High School basketball program into one of the top squads in Tennessee. Before his arrival, the Highlanders won 28 total games in four seasons. From 2008-11 under Placeres, G-P went 80-40. This three-time Sevier County Coach of the Year developed a pair of McDonald’s All-America nominees and sent seven players with collegiate scholarships to the next level during his tenure.
During his eight seasons as an associate head coach, the Scots claimed a Great South Conference championship (2011-12), a trio of USA South regular-season titles (2013-14, 2016-17, 2017-18) and three NCAA tournament appearances (2011-12, 2017-18, 2018-19). In 2017-18, MC battled for its first USA South Tournament championship.
Placeres prides himself on player development and he was instrumental in the success of GSAC Player of the Year and All-South performer Milt Stanley (2011-12), USA South Player of the Year, All-South, and NABC All-American Jaumonee Byrd (2013-14), USA South Player of the Year, All-South performer Spencer Shoffner (2015-16), All-Conference First Team and All-South performer Calvin Songster, and USA South Tournament MVP Dante Hoppa (2018) and Emier Bowman (2019).
Player Development Over the last 10+ years
- 1,000-Point Scorers: 9
- All-Conference Players: 21
- All-Americans: 3
- Players of the Year: 7
- Defensive Player of the Year: 1
- Rookie of the Year: 2
- Sixth Man of the Year: 1
- All-South Region: 7
- Playing Overseas or Semi-Pro: 6
- AAU: 15 Division I Signees and 1 NBA Draft Pick
In July 2018, Placeres led BMAZE Elite to the National Championship game in the Under Armour Circuit. The Under Armour circuit was made up of the finest 30 teams in the country. Off that team, Emory Lanier signed with Davidson, Joe Anderson went to Furman, Darlinstone Dubar to Iowa State, Norance Berry to Rhode Island, Akeem Odusipe to Vanderbilt, Dante Harris to Georgetown, Drew Williams to Tennessee State, Luke Burnette to Alabama-Huntsville, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield to Tennessee, and Jaden Bradley to Alabama. Coach Placeres coached both the No. 1 point guard and power forward in the country in Bradley and Huntley-Hatfield.
Placeres resides in Maryville with his wife, Joanna Placeres, and their daughter, Santina.
The Coach's Favorite Links
https://aquicktimeout.com/podcast/a-winning-culture-with-raul-placeres-maryville-scots/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2C5HkEnKR0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O5unfI2xwQ
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/coaching-connections-with-marcus-alvarado-episode-51/id1521921463?i=1000668186862
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/make-drive-space-offense-your-own-raul-placeres-maryville/id1457398334?i=1000641409508
The Raul Placeres Era
2019-20: 9-17 (8-10 USA South)
2020-21: 10-2 (8-2 USA South) *COVID-abbreviated season
2021-22: 20-4 (10-2 USA South)
2022-23: 18-8 (10-2 CCS)
2023-24: 22-5 (11-1 CCS)
2024-25: 21-6 (11-1 CCS)
Career: 100-42 (.704) Conference 58-18 (.763)
