Kevin Byrne

Assistant Men's Basketball Coach

The 2007-08 basketball season will mark Kevin Byrne's third season as a full-time assistant coach for the Tartans after spending the previous five as a part-time assistant. Prior to his tenure at Carnegie Mellon, Byrne served as an assistant coach at Marietta College.

A 1996 graduate of Carnegie Mellon, Byrne was a four-year letter winner in basketball. The 6-6 forward ended his career as the school’s third all-time scoring leader with 1,272 points. He was named first team All-UAA his senior year and second team All-UAA as a junior.

After graduation, Byrne went on to play professionally for three seasons, the last two of which were spent in Europe, where Byrne played the 1997-98 season with the Northampton 89’ers of the English Basketball League and 1998-99 season with the Dublin Bay Vikings of the Irish Superleague.

"Having Kevin fill the position of fulltime assistant makes it not just a 'move', but a 'leap'," comments Head Coach Tony Wingen. "Kevin has been associated with all of the most successful years here during my tenure, either as a player or as a part-time assistant. His experience as a student-athlete here and as a professional player gives our guys a little different perspective than they get from the other coaches. Kevin is also a tremendous teacher and does an excellent job helping to prepare our scouting reports."

Byrne will take on the responsibility as recruiting coordinator as well as fulltime assistant coach.

A native of South Bend, Ind., he earned his bachelor's degree in psychology and resides in Mt. Washington.

Email Coach Byrne

Dave Pastorkovich

Assistant Men's Basketball Coach

David Pastorkovich is in his 15th year on the Carnegie Mellon staff. In addition to his coaching duties, Pastorkovich is the Tartans' recruiting coordinator. Pastorkovich has been instrumental in expanding Carnegie Mellon's recruiting efforts nationwide. His ability to recruit talented student-athletes has made a big difference in the success of the program.

"Dave's value as a recruiter is evident in the success our program is experiencing," says Head Coach Tony Wingen. “He continues to find quality people who make a positive impact on our program." On the practice floor, Pastorkovich's main responsibilities are working with the Tartan post players and teaching team and individual defense. Pastorkovich brings years of coaching experience on both the collegiate and scholastic levels to the program.

Prior to joining the Carnegie Mellon staff, Pastorkovich coached at Quaker Valley (1992-93), South Fayette (1991-92) and Mars Area (1990-91) high schools. From 1987-90, he served as an assistant to the women's team at Montour High School, where he led the Spartans to three WPIAL playoff berths, two section championships and two trips to the state tournament. Before working for the Spartans he was an assistant men's coach at Lawrenceville Catholic from 1985-86. Under Pastorkovich, the team competed in the WPIAL Class A title game and the state tournament semifinals. Pastorkovich gained college coaching experience at Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, Va. where he served as the assistant men's basketball coach from 1984-85. While at Virginia Wesleyan, Pastorkovich designed and implemented the school's first weight training and conditioning program for men's basketball.

He began his coaching career at California University of Pennsylvania as a graduate assistant from 1982-84. During the 1983-84 season, California finished 19-10 and advanced to the semifinals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Tournament.

Pastorkovich has coached in numerous high school tournaments. In 1988, he coached the Southwest Team to a Silver Medal in the Keystone State Games. In 1990, he took the Pittsburgh Police League All-Stars to the BCI Tournaments at Arizona State University. In 1991, he coached the Police League Stars to a 4th place finish in the Boston Shootout.

A remedial reading specialist in the Montour School District, Pastorkovich, a native of Belle Vernon, Pa., earned his bachelor's degree in education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1982. He received his master's degree in education from the California University of Pennsylvania in 1984. He and his wife, Linda, live in Greentree.

Ray Pietras

Assistant Men's Basketball Coach 

Ray Pietras enters his 13th season as an assistant coach for the men's basketball team. A native of McKeesport, Pa. and a well-known veteran of the local high school basketball scene, Pietras spends most of his practice time with the Tartans' perimeter players. He also provides the Tartans with detailed scouting reports.

"Ray's knowledge of the game is tremendous. His experience is a huge help in developing our game plans," Coach Wingen said. "He has been more involved with recruiting within the last four years and has helped us bring in four outstanding classes."

From 1983-94 Pietras served as the head men's basketball coach at Canon McMillan High School. Under his leadership, the team made three trips to the WPIAL playoffs. He coached the WPIAL All-Stars in the preliminary game of the Dapper Dan Roundball Classic and in two Washington-Greene County All-Star games. From 1980-82, Pietras was the assistant men's coach at Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School. The Vikings went 53-12 in two seasons and advanced to the WPIAL playoffs three times. Pietras also served as men's assistant coach at McKeesport Area High School from 1978-81.

His coaching career began at South Hills Catholic High School, where he served as head coach of the junior varsity basketball team and as an assistant football coach from 1976-1979. Under his direction, the junior varsity team compiled a three-year 45-11 record, including a 20-0 slate in 1977-78.

A four-year letterwinner in basketball, Pietras graduated from Frostburg State University in 1973 with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education. Three years ago, Pietras and his teammates from the 1971 squad were honored as the school's most winningest team in school history (24-4).

Pietras is a physical education teacher at Canon McMillan and an administrator with the renowned Metro Index Basketball Camps. He has been the program coordinator for the Mt. Lebanon Recreation Department for the past 26 summers.