This bio is now a part of a historical archive, the individual was on the staff from 2018-2023 and is no longer employed by Wilkes University.
Tara Macciocco enters her fifth season as the head coach of Wilkes women’s basketball in 2022-23 as the 14th head coach in the program’s history.
In 2021-22 Macciocco coached Wilkes to its highest finish in the conference standings since the 1996-97 season as the Colonels earned the fifth seed in the MAC Freedom Tournament with a 7-9 record, making only its fifth trip to the conference postseason tournament in the 62-year history of the program and the first in 25 years.
During her second season, the Colonels continued to improve, earning a better overall record form the season prior as well as back-to-back road victories during conference play. In her first season at the helm, Macciocco led the Colonels to four MAC Freedom victories, the most since the 2014-15 season.
Macciocco has coached three All-MAC Freedom selections over her first four seasons at Wilkes.
No stranger to the Northeastern Pennsylvania college basketball scene, Macciocco previously coached for 14 seasons at Marywood University leading the Pacers to 10 straight Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) postseason appearances and seven Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournaments.
Most recently, Macciocco was named the CSAC Women's Basketball Coach of the Year in 2015-16 and 2016-17. The Macciocco-led Pacers tied a program record with 19 wins during the 2015-16 campaign when she took Marywood to its first-ever No. 1 seed in the CSAC playoffs with a 15-1 record. Marywood also won the first ECAC playoff game in program history in its semifinal run that same season.
Macciocco led Marywood to 10 seasons of 13 or more wins including eight seasons with 16 or more victories. Over her fourteen seasons leading Marywood, Macciocco won 206 games including 141 in conference. Her players also received recognition for their play as 20 were named All-Conference, two Conference Rookies of the Year, one ECAC Rookie of the Year, six 1,000-point scorers and 62 were named to the conference academic honor roll.
She also wore several other hats within the department at Marywood including Assistant Director of Athletics for Compliance since 2008 and was an adjunct professor since 2005. Macciocco spent three seasons as an assistant women’s volleyball coach during her time at the Scranton-based school.
Macciocco began her coaching career at Wilkes serving as an assistant coach under then-mentor Jim Reed from 2001-2004. She also worked as the Assistant Director of Admissions at Wilkes from 2002 until she departed for Marywood. Prior to Wilkes, Macciocco received her Master’s degree at Lock Haven University serving as the women’s basketball graduate assistant coach.
Macciocco is well-known throughout the area for her time as a player on the court. At Dunmore High School, Macciocco scored 2,211 career points and led the Lady Bucks to the 1994 state Class AA title game. She went on to earn a Division I scholarship to Penn State University and was a member of the Lady Lions 1994 Big Ten Championship team and was an integral part in the Lady Lions NCAA "Sweet Sixteen" run in 1996. Macciocco earned a Bachelor of Science in Sport & Recreational Management from Penn State in 1998. She finished her playing career at Lock Haven during the 1998-1999 season where she was named to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference all-conference team.
Macciocco was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in October of 2004 and was ranked by the Scranton Times-Tribune as one of the area's top 100 athletes of all-time.
