Brian Lane

Brian Lane is entering his 22nd season as the Transylvania University men’s basketball head coach. Lane has established Transylvania as one of the top NCAA programs in the country since arriving on campus. The Lexington native returned to his alma mater in 2001, following a 10-year stint as an assistant coach for multiple teams at the NCAA Division I level.

Lane is the only coach in conference history to win HCAC Coach of the Year four times since taking over at Transylvania. He was also named the Midwest Region Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Glenn Robinson NCAA National Coach of the Year award in 2012.

Lane spearheaded a return to the NCAA Tournament for the Pioneers in the 2019-2020 season as he guided Transylvania to a 19-9 overall record. Under Lane, the Pioneers finished for a share of the HCAC regular season crown in 2020 and clinched the No. 1 seed in the HCAC Tournament en route to winning the HCAC Tournament over Rose-Hulman and earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The 2019-2020 campaign marked the sixth trip to the NCAA Tournament for the Pioneers under Lane.

Along with the steady dose of team success in 2020, multiple student-athletes established new standards under Lane; junior guard Michael Jefferson was one of 10 Division III men’s basketball student-athletes from across the country to finish as a Jostens Trophy Finalist, an award which recognizes elite individual on-court performance, academic excellence, and community service.

Both Jefferson and senior Gabe Schmitt earned All-HCAC First Team honors while Jefferson finished the 2020 season as a D3Hoops.com All-Region Third Team selection. Lane’s roster displayed steady balance between veteran brilliance and promise from the next generation of Pioneers as freshman Brandon Cromwell earned HCAC Freshman of the Year honors. Lane’s Pioneers finished 2020 on a high note by winning 12 of their final 14 games.

Lane also reached a personal milestone in the 2019-2020 season as he became the second head coach in Transylvania men’s basketball history to reach the 300 career-win mark with a victory by the Pioneers over Depauw on December 18, 2019. Only his father and predecessor, Don Lane, has achieved more victories at Transylvania as the men’s basketball head coach with 509 in total.

Lane has led the Pioneers to 20 or more wins four times while at Transy. In 2006, Lane led the Pioneers to their best postseason finish in school history as the Pioneers reached the NCAA Elite 8 round while posting a 27-5 record.

Prior to returning to his alma mater, Lane was an assistant at Morehead State University. He also served in similar roles at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Florida Atlantic University, North Carolina State and University of South Carolina. Lane also served as an assistant at Transylvania under his college coach and father Don Lane in 1990-91 while completing his Masters of Arts in Education at Eastern Kentucky University.

Since becoming fully eligible for NCAA postseason play in 2004, Lane has compiled a 195-81 (.706) record overall and an impressive 119-49 (.708) record in HCAC play. Transylvania has won four regular season championships and three HCAC Tournament titles in the past ten years.

On January 2, 2013, Lane moved up to second on the school’s all-time win list, passing Hall of Fame coaches Lee Rose and C.M Newton.

Lane became just the second coach in Transylvania men’s basketball program history to reach the 250-win mark on January 4, 2017 in an 86-62 victory over Earlham. Lane reached the 200 career win mark on January 2, 2013 against Franklin College. Lane is the fastest coach to 200 wins in Transylvania history. Since his arrival, the Pioneers have twice produced the HCAC Player of the Year, 18 All-HCAC selections, one HCAC Freshman of the Year, two NABC All-Americans and eight 1000-point club members.

Lane’s Pioneers made a return trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2012-13, earning its second consecutive at-large bid after posting a 20-7 regular season record. Transylvania defeated four nationally ranked opponents, ascending to a national ranking of 16th in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll. At the conclusion of that season, Ethan Spurlin became the first Pioneer to be invited to participate in the NCAA Division III Reese’s All-star Game during the Final Four championship weekend in Virginia.

Transylvania had a record-breaking season in 2011-12, which included a 23-5 mark in which the Pioneers spent eight weeks in the Top 25. The Pioneers posted a 14-2 record in conference play, winning the league's regular season title by four games. Transy tied a school record for the best start in program history, beginning its season with an 11-0 mark.

The youthful Pioneers won 18 of 27 games in 2010-11, finishing fourth in the HCAC race. Transy advanced to the semifinal round of the HCAC tourney.

Transy's record in 2009-10 was 14-12 overall, 10-6 in HCAC play, earning a tie for fourth place in the league standings and another HCAC Tournament berth.

In 2008-09, Transy posted a record of 21-6, winning 20 or more games in a season for the third time during Lane's tenure. The Pioneers won their third HCAC championships with a mark of 13-3, their second-best conference record under Lane. Transy advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the third time in his eight seasons, earning Lane his third HCAC Coach of the Year selection.

The Pioneers were 16-11 in 2007-08, finishing second in the HCAC regular season race with a mark of 10-6, giving Transy its sixth straight season of a third place or better conference showing.

Transy was 19-9 in 2006-07, finishing second in the regular season race and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Championships. It was the second year in a row the tournament included Lane's Pioneers. Overall, Transy has participated in 11 NCAA tournaments in the program's history.

In 2005-06, Transy tied a school record by winning 27 games, finishing 27-5 overall and 12-2 in HCAC play. That was good enough for a second successive HCAC regular season crown and when the Pioneers went on to win the HCAC tournament for the first time, the program had its first berth in the NCAA Division III national tournament since joining the NCAA ranks in 2001-02.

Transy advanced all the way to the Elite Eight and was voted seventh in the final D3hoops.com national poll, its highest finish ever.

For his efforts, Lane was named HCAC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row in 2005-06 and Midwest Region Co-Coach of the Year.

In 2004-05, Transy tied Hanover for its first HCAC regular season championship with an 11-3 record as it finished 20-6 overall. During the season, Transy was nationally ranked for the first time since becoming an active member of the NCAA's Division III. That performance earned Lane his first All-HCAC Coach of the Year honor.

In 2003-04, Transy finished third in the HCAC with a 9-5 record. The Pioneers were 16-10 overall and qualified for the NAIA Independent's Tournament, where they lost to top-ranked Mountain State in the school's final NAIA post-season appearance.

In 2002-03, Transy rebounded from its first losing season in 21 years to post a 13-11 mark, including a 6-8 mark conference play, finishing fifth.

Lane played at Transy from 1986-90, scoring 1,286 points. During his four years, he received numerous awards, including Pioneer Athlete of the Year in 1990. He was a three-year starter at guard, a co-captain, and an NAIA Scholar-Athlete.

Transylvania posted an 85-33 record during Brian Lane's four years as a player, including a 26-4 mark during his sophomore year that included an appearance in the NAIA national tournament when the Pioneers advanced to the Sweet 16.

Lane graduated from Transylvania with a degree in business management in 1990 and received his master's degree in education from Eastern Kentucky in 1991. After coaching at Transy for one year, he moved to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he was an assistant for a 23-9 team that won a Metro Conference championship.

Lane coached at South Carolina from 1992-93 and at North Carolina State from 1993-95. He spent four seasons at Florida Atlantic (1995-99) before joining the staff at Morehead State in July 1999 under NBA great Kyle Macy.

Lane and his wife, Andrea, have three children: Lydia, Harrison, and Henry.