Brad Brownell
 Brownell in 2013 | |
| Sport(s) | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Current position | |
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Clemson |
| Conference | ACC |
| Record | 107–87 (.552) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
November 15, 1968 Evansville, Indiana |
| Playing career | |
| 1988–1991 | DePauw |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1991–1992 | Evansville (asst.) |
| 1992–1994 | Indianapolis (asst.) |
| 1994–2002 | UNC Wilmington (asst.) |
| 2002–2006 | UNCW |
| 2006–2010 | Wright State |
| 2010–present | Clemson |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 274–172 (.614) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
|
Horizon League Tournament championship (2007) Horizon League regular season championship (2007) 2× CAA Tournament championship (2003, 2006) 2× CAA regular season championship (2003, 2006) | |
| Awards | |
|
2× CAA Coach of the Year (2003, 2006) | |
Brad Brownell (born November 15, 1968) is an American college basketball coach and the current head basketball coach at Clemson University. Prior to coming to Clemson, he held the same position at Wright State and UNC Wilmington.
Born in Evansville, Indiana, Brownell played high school basketball at William Henry Harrison High School with current Saint Louis University assistant coach and Indiana University legend Calbert Cheaney. Brownell graduated from DePauw University in 1991, where he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He immediately went into coaching after graduating. He spent one season as an assistant to Jim Crews at the University of Evansville, then spent the next two seasons as an assistant on Royce Waltman's staff at the University of Indianapolis while earning his master's degree.
Upon completing his master's degree in 1994, Brownell began his tenure at UNCW as an assistant to then-head coach Jerry Wainwright. Brownell helped guide the Seahawks to four postseason tournament berths while serving as an assistant, including a memorable upset win over the fourth-seeded USC Trojans in the first round of the 2002 NCAA tournament. Following that season, Wainwright left UNCW to take over at Richmond, and Brownell was promoted to head coach.
During his time as the Seahawks' head coach, Brownell led the UNCW to Colonial Athletic Association titles and NCAA tournament berths in 2003 and 2006, narrowly losing in the first round each season. For his efforts, Brownell was named CAA Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2006. In his four years, the Seahawks never finished below .500, and the 2005–2006 season produced a school-record 25 wins.
Following the 2006 season, Brownell left UNCW to take the head coach's job at Wright State, against the wishes of Ron Burns, and yet he immediately made an impact. In his first season at Wright State, Brownell led the Raiders to their first-ever Horizon League title, beating out nationally ranked Butler to capture both the regular season and tournament titles. The Raiders earned the 14th seed in the West Region, and lost in the first round of the 2007 NCAA tournament to Pittsburgh. The team's 23 wins was a school record on the Division I level.
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNC Wilmington (Colonial Athletic Association) (2002–2006) | |||||||||
| 2002–03 | UNCW | 24–7 | 15–3 | 1st | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 2003–04 | UNCW | 15–15 | 9–9 | 7th | |||||
| 2004–05 | UNCW | 19–10 | 13–5 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2005–06 | UNCW | 25–8 | 15–3 | T–1st | NCAA First Round | ||||
| UNCW: | 83–40 (.675) | 52–20 (.722) | |||||||
| Wright State (Horizon League) (2006–2010) | |||||||||
| 2006–07 | Wright State | 23–10 | 13–3 | T–1st | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 2007–08 | Wright State | 21–10 | 12–6 | 3rd | |||||
| 2008–09 | Wright State | 20–13 | 12–6 | 3rd | |||||
| 2009–10 | Wright State | 20–12 | 12–6 | 2nd | |||||
| Wright State: | 84–45 (.651) | 49–21 (.700) | |||||||
| Clemson (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2010–present) | |||||||||
| 2010–11 | Clemson | 22–12 | 9–7 | T–4th | NCAA Second Round | ||||
| 2011–12 | Clemson | 16–15 | 8–8 | 7th | |||||
| 2012–13 | Clemson | 13–18 | 5–13 | 11th | |||||
| 2013–14 | Clemson | 23–13 | 10–8 | 6th | NIT Semifinals | ||||
| 2014–15 | Clemson | 16–15 | 8–10 | T–9th | |||||
| 2015–16 | Clemson | 17–14 | 10–8 | T–7th | |||||
| 2016–17 | Clemson | 2–2 | 0–0 | ||||||
| Clemson: | 109–89 (.551) | 50–54 (.481) | |||||||
| Total: | 276–174 (.613) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
Coaching tree
Several of Brownell's assistant coaches have gone on to their own careers as head basketball coaches:
- Billy Donlon – Wright State (2010–2016)
- Earl Grant - College of Charleston (2014–present)
- Rick Ray – Mississippi State (2012–2015), Southeast Missouri State (2015–present)
- Richie Riley – Nicholls State (2016–present)
References
- "Brownell resigns at UNCW to take Wright St. job". ESPN.com. 2006-04-01. Retrieved 2007-07-17.