The 1957–58 Seattle Chieftains men's basketball team (now known as Redhawks) represented

Seattle University Seattle University (Seattle U or SU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and grad ...

during the

1957–58 NCAA University Division men's basketball season The 1957–58 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1957, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1958 NCAA University Division basketball tournament championship gam ...

. Led by future top draft pick

Elgin Baylor Elgin Gay Baylor ( ; September 16, 1934 – March 22, 2021) was an American professional basketball player, coach, and executive. He played 14 seasons as a forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lak ...

, Seattle was the runner-up in the NCAA tournament, falling to

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

in the finals in

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament

NCAA tournament

*West **Seattle 69,

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

67 **Seattle 66,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

62 *Final Four ** Seattle 73,

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

51 **

84, Seattle 72

NCAA Championship

The NCAA Final Four was played at

Freedom Hall Freedom Hall is a multi-purpose arena in Louisville, Kentucky, on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center, which is owned by the Kentucky State Fair Board. It is best known for its use as a basketball arena, previously serving as the home ...

in Louisville, Seattle had an integrated team, and played in front of an all-white crowd of 18,803. Elgin Baylor was the nation's second-best scorer (32.5) behind

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Oscar Robertson Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson played ...

. The Chieftains led Kentucky by 11 points in the first half, and were leading with seven minutes in the game. Seattle lost the game for a After the championship game, Baylor hinted that he might return for his senior season. Castellani had two recruits with him from the South Bend area, forwards Don Piasecki and Don Ogorek. The Chieftains also added a transfer from Indiana, guard

Charlie Brown Charles "Charlie" Brown is the Protagonist, principal character of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', syndicated in daily newspaper, daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. Depicted as a "lovable loser", Charlie Brown ...

. The feeling was that the team would have a bright future.

Rankings

Awards and honors

– NCAA Men's MOP Award,

Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year The Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year was an annual men's college basketball award given to the most outstanding men's player in the United States. It was awarded by the Helms Athletic Foundation, an organization founded in 19 ...

, Consensus First-team All-American

Team players drafted into the NBA

References

External links

Sports Press Northwest
– Wayback Machine – Seattle U.'s 1958 Final 4 run {{DEFAULTSORT:1957-58 Seattle Chieftains Men's Basketball Team Seattle Chieftains NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Seattle Redhawks men's basketball seasons