Carl Mattei’s quest for 400 career wins is back on again — at Denver East.
The longtime Regis Jesuit girls basketball coach has accepted the vacant Angels girls basketball head coaching position, Mattei told The Post by phone Monday.
Until this past August, the 56-year-old Mattei had spent 17 seasons coaching girls basketball at Regis Jesuit, where he built the Raiders into one of the top programs in the state and one that, thanks to 44 Division I players, became recognized nationally as well.
“I was very honored when Principal (Terita) Walker talked to me and she had the same vision that I have in excellence in everything that we do,” Mattei said. “That was something that I modeled my program on at Regis, but the new administration there decided to go in a different direction of excellence. So now I’m very excited to get back in the game and work with the administration at East.”
Mattei was dismissed by Regis last August after serving as that program’s first and only coach. During his tenure, the Raiders won three state titles (2009, ’13, ’14) and went to nine consecutive CHSAA Final Fours. Regis produced three Gatorade state players of the year during his tenure: Justine Hall, Diani Akigbogun and Fran Belibi.
The Canadian-born Mattei had won 399 games in the state of Colorado.
In a statement provided to The Post last August, Regis said it preferred “adult mentors who care for the holistic development of our students and programs. The termination of our agreement with Coach Mattei is the result of a growing lack of alignment with RJ leadership regarding the vision for the program and its support of the school’s mission.”
Mattei said he weighed several job opportunities locally before applying for the vacant East position in April.
“I’ve always respected and admired Eastap tradition of excellence,” Mattei said. “And now getting to work alongside one of the best coaches in the state in (East boys basketball coach) Rudy Carey is something that I’m humbled to be a part of.”
