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Brad Brownell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brad Brownell
Brownell in 2013
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamClemson
ConferenceACC
Record268–189 (.586)
Biographical details
Born (1968-11-15) November 15, 1968 (age 56)
Evansville, Indiana, U.S.
Playing career
1988–1991DePauw
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1991–1992Evansville (assistant)
1992–1994Indianapolis (assistant)
1994–2002UNC Wilmington (assistant)
2002–2006UNC Wilmington
2006–2010Wright State
2010–presentClemson
Head coaching record
Overall435–274 (.614)
Tournaments6–7 (NCAA Division I)
4–4 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 CAA tournament (2003, 2006)
2 CAA regular season (2003, 2006)
Horizon League tournament (2007)
Horizon League regular season (2007)
Awards
2× CAA Coach of the Year (2003, 2006)
Horizon League Coach of the Year (2008)

Bradley Robert Brownell (born November 15, 1968) is an American college basketball coach at Clemson University. Prior to coming to Clemson, he held the same position at Wright State and UNC Wilmington. He is coaching his 14th season at Clemson, where he is the winningest coach in school history.

Early life

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Born in Evansville, Indiana, Brownell played high school basketball at William Henry Harrison High School with current Indiana Pacers assistant of player development and Indiana University player Calbert Cheaney. Brownell graduated from DePauw University in 1991,[1] where he was a member of the basketball team[2] and the Sigma Chi fraternity. His junior year, Brownell helped lead the Tigers to the NCAA Division III National Championship game, where he missed a shot to win the title. 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 his former coach Royce Waltman's staff at the University of Indianapolis while earning his master's degree.[3]

Coaching career

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Upon completing his master's degree in 1994, Brownell began his tenure at UNC Wilmington as an assistant to then-head coach Jerry Wainwright.[2] 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.

UNC Wilmington

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Following that season, Wainwright left Wilmington to take over at Richmond, and Brownell was promoted to head coach.[4]

During his time as the Seahawks' head coach, Brownell led the Seahawks 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[5] and 2006. In his four years, the Seahawks never finished below .500, and the 2005–2006 season produced a school-record 25 wins.[6]

Wright State

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Following the 2006 season, Brownell left UNC Wilmington to take the head coach's job at Wright State,[7] where he made an immediate impact. In his first season at Wright State, Brownell led the Raiders to their first-ever Horizon League title, beating out nationally ranked Butler, coached by fellow DePauw graduate Brad Stevens, 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. He was named the NABC District 10 coach of the year for being the best college coach in Ohio and Indiana.

Brownell remained head coach at Wright State through the 2010 season. His teams never finished lower than third in conference play, but he was unable to return the Raiders to postseason play. However, he did lead the team to three straight 20 win seasons.[8]

Clemson

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On April 23, 2010, Brownell was named head coach at Clemson, replacing Oliver Purnell.[9][10]

Brownell led the Tigers to the NCAA tournament in his first year at the school. The Tigers defeated UAB in the First Four, but lost in the Second Round to West Virginia. After two subpar years, the Tigers returned to postseason play in 2014 earning an NIT bid and reaching the semifinals.

The next three years saw the Tigers finishing within three games of .500 each year and in the lower half of the ACC, but they did receive an NIT bid in 2017, losing in the first round.

On March 20, 2017, the school announced that Brownell would return as head coach for at least one more year.[11] During the 2017–18 season, Brownell lead the Tigers to their first 20 win season since 2013–14. The Tigers finished 11–7 in ACC play, which left them tied for third in the ACC. The Tigers were selected as a #5 seed in the NCAA tournament, and made it to the Sweet 16, where they lost to #1 seed Kansas.[12]

On July 19, 2018, it was announced that Brownell and Clemson had agreed to a six-year, $15 million contract extension. This extension will keep Brownell at the school through 2024.[13]

On January 11, 2020 Brownell coached the Tigers to the program's first road victory at UNC after 59 attempts. The series between the two schools began in 1926.[14]

In the 2023-2024 season, coach Brownell guided his Clemson Tigers to their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2021 and their first Elite Eight appearance since 1980, beating 11 seed New Mexico, 3 seed Baylor, and 2 seed Arizona before falling to 4-seed Alabama in the Elite Eight. Clemson's 2024 Elite Eight finish is Brownell's best as a head coach. Brownell also led Clemson to their second victory in Chapel Hill on February 6, 2024, defeating #3 UNC 80-76, and boasted ranked non-conference wins over in-state rival South Carolina and Alabama in the ACC–SEC Challenge, who would later end Clemson's season in the Elite Eight.

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
UNC Wilmington Seahawks (Colonial Athletic Association) (2002–2006)
2002–03 UNC Wilmington 24–7 15–3 1st NCAA Division I Round of 64
2003–04 UNC Wilmington 15–15 9–9 7th
2004–05 UNC Wilmington 19–10 13–5 T–2nd
2005–06 UNC Wilmington 25–8 15–3 T–1st NCAA Division I Round of 64
UNC Wilmington: 83–40 (.675) 52–20 (.722)
Wright State Raiders (Horizon League) (2006–2010)
2006–07 Wright State 23–10 13–3 T–1st NCAA Division I Round of 64
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 Tigers (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2010–present)
2010–11 Clemson 22–12 9–7 T–4th NCAA Division I Round of 64
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 Semifinal
2014–15 Clemson 16–15 8–10 T–9th
2015–16 Clemson 17–14 10–8 T–7th
2016–17 Clemson 17–16 6–12 12th NIT First Round
2017–18 Clemson 25–10 11–7 T–3rd NCAA Division I Sweet 16
2018–19 Clemson 20–14 9–9 T–8th NIT Second Round
2019–20 Clemson 16–15 9–11 9th Postseason Cancelled
2020–21 Clemson 16–8 10–6 T–5th NCAA Division I Round of 64
2021–22 Clemson 17–16 8–12 10th
2022–23 Clemson 23–11 14–6 T–3rd NIT First Round
2023–24 Clemson 24–12 11–9 T–5th NCAA Division I Elite Eight
2024–25 Clemson 3-0
Clemson: 268–189 (.586) 128–126 (.504)
Total: 435–274 (.614)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ "BRAD BROWNELL '91 LEADS HIS UNC-WILMINGTON TEAM TO BASKETBALL'S "BIG DANCE"". DePauw University. March 18, 2003.
  2. ^ a b Jon Evans (June 23, 2018). "Brad Brownell: Clemson Head Coach remembers the UNCW days". WECT News.
  3. ^ "Brad Brownell". clemsontigers.com. Clemson University. May 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  4. ^ "BRAD BROWNELL '91 IS UNCW'S NEW HEAD BASKETBALL COACH". DePauw University. April 26, 2002.
  5. ^ Brad Hutchens (January 28, 2004). "Being Brad Brownell". The Seahawk.
  6. ^ Jeff Eisenberg (April 14, 2010). "Brad Brownell's former school has paid dearly for letting him go". Yahoo Sports. Yahoo.
  7. ^ "Brownell Steps Down as Seahawk Hoops Coach". UNCW Sports. March 31, 2006.
  8. ^ "Brad Brownell". Wright State University.
  9. ^ Andy Katz (April 13, 2010). "Brownell headed to coach at Clemson". ESPN.
  10. ^ "Clemson hires Brad Brownell as men's basketball coach". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Associated Press. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  11. ^ TV3, WWAY (2017-03-20). "Brad Brownell to get at least one more year at Clemson". WWAY TV3. Retrieved 2017-06-28.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Scott Keepfer (March 23, 2018). "March Madness: Clemson pulls within four late, but can't overtake Kansas in Sweet 16". Greenville News.
  13. ^ "Brownell, Clemson Extend Agreement". clemsontigers.com. Clemson University. July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  14. ^ "Men's basketball: Clemson makes history, wins at North Carolina for first time ever". NCAA. January 11, 2020.
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