Brian Wardle (basketball)
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Bradley |
| Conference | MVC |
| Record | 93–102 (.477) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | October 9, 1979 Clarendon Hills, Illinois |
| Playing career | |
| 1997–2001 | Marquette |
| 2001–2002 | Fayetteville Patriots |
| 2002–2003 | Rockford Lightning |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2003–2005 | Marquette (asst.) |
| 2005–2010 | Green Bay (asst.) |
| 2010–2015 | Green Bay |
| 2015–present | Bradley |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 188–167 (.528) |
| Tournaments | NCAA: 0–1 NIT: 0–2 CIT: 0–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Horizon League regular season championship (2014) Missouri Valley Tournament championship (2019, 2020) | |
| Awards | |
| Horizon League Coach of the Year (2014) Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award (2014) First-team All-Conference USA (2001) | |
Brian Wardle (born October 9, 1979) is an American college basketball coach and the current men's basketball coach at Bradley University.
Biography[]
Born in Clarendon Hills, Illinois, Wardle played for Marquette from 1997–2001, ending his career as the third-leading scorer in school history.[1] As a senior, he averaged 18.8 points per game. After college, Wardle played in the NBA Developmental League and the Continental Basketball Association.[2]
He was an assistant at Marquette from 2003–2005 and UW-Green Bay from 2005–2010. After the 2009-2010 season, Wardle was named head coach at UW-Green Bay.[3] Upon his hiring, Wardle became the youngest head coach in NCAA Division I basketball.[3] There were allegations he verbally mistreated players in 2013, so the university had him work with an advisor to help motivate his team. In 2014, Wardle was named the Horizon League Coach of the Year. In 2015, he left to take the coaching job at Bradley, which posted a 9-24 record the season before his arrival and a 5-27 record after the year in which he arrived. He had a 95-65 record at Green Bay but failed to make the NCAA Tournament.[2]
On March 10, 2019, Wardle led the Braves to the NCAA Tournament by winning The Missouri Valley’s “Arch Madness” Tournament. The Braves defeated Northern Iowa 57-54. This is the first conference tournament championship for Bradley since 1988, and the first trip to the NCAA Tournament for Bradley since 2006. Bradley played two seeded Michigan State on March 21, 2019. Wardle was asked to keep wearing a red pair of shoes his wife had bought him. Wardle, claiming he wasn't superstitious, "everyone else is," wore his red shoes. Bradley was 8-0 when Wardle wore these shoes. Bradley led Michigan State at half 35-34, dominating the boards in the first half. Bradley lost the game 76-65.
Prior to Bradley's NCAA Tournament game against Michigan State, Wardle was involved in a controversy that gained national attention. A Bradley Athletics official revoked media access to a local beat reporter due to not "promoting the Bradley brand." Wardle later apologized and the reporter's access to the team was restored.[4]
Head coaching record[]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Bay (Horizon League) (2010–2015) | |||||||||
| 2010–11 | Green Bay | 14–18 | 8–10 | 7th | |||||
| 2011–12 | Green Bay | 15–15 | 10–8 | T–6th | |||||
| 2012–13 | Green Bay | 18–16 | 10–6 | T–3rd | CIT First Round | ||||
| 2013–14 | Green Bay | 24–7 | 14–2 | 1st | NIT First Round | ||||
| 2014–15 | Green Bay | 24���9 | 12–4 | 2nd | NIT First Round | ||||
| Green Bay: | 95–65 (.594) | 54–30 (.643) | |||||||
| Bradley (Missouri Valley Conference) (2015–present) | |||||||||
| 2015–16 | Bradley | 5–27 | 3–15 | 9th | |||||
| 2016–17 | Bradley | 13–20 | 7–11 | T–6th | |||||
| 2017–18 | Bradley | 20–13 | 9–9 | 5th | |||||
| 2018–19 | Bradley | 20–15 | 9–9 | T–5th | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 2019–20 | Bradley | 23–11 | 11–7 | T–3rd | NCAA cancelled | ||||
| 2020–21 | Bradley | 12–16 | 6–12 | 8th | |||||
| 2021–22 | Bradley | 10–10 | 4–4 | ||||||
| Bradley: | 103–112 (.479) | 49–67 (.422) | |||||||
| Total: | 192–171 (.529) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
References[]
- ^ "Action 2 New – 10 O'Clock newscast (sports)". Green Bay, Wisconsin. November 17, 2010. 27 minutes in. WBAY-TV.
{{cite episode}}: Missing or empty|series=(help) - ^ a b Valentin, Rob (April 13, 2015). "Brian Wardle hopes to carry success to Bradley from UW-Green Bay". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ^ a b "Wardle Named Green Bay Head Basketball Coach". UWGB Athletics. April 15, 2010. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
- ^ "A reporter wouldn't hype Bradley University's "brand," so it pulled his basketball credential".
External links[]
   | This biographical article relating to a United States basketball coach is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by . |
- 1979 births
- Living people
- American men's basketball coaches
- American men's basketball players
- Basketball coaches from Illinois
- Basketball players from Illinois
- Bradley Braves men's basketball coaches
- College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
- Fayetteville Patriots players
- Green Bay Phoenix men's basketball coaches
- Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball coaches
- Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball players
- People from Clarendon Hills, Illinois
- Rockford Lightning players
- Sportspeople from DuPage County, Illinois
- American basketball coach stubs