Bryan Bagwell checked all of the search committee’s boxes to become the new men’s basketball coach at Louisburg College. Bagwell boasts plenty of experience — 16 years worth — and he also has served as a head coach for two years at Lenoir Community College in Kinston. Bagwell is also extremely familiar with the ins and outs of Louisburg College as he has spent time as both a men’s and women’s assistant at LC.
Bagwell was a men’s assistant last year and has been hired to replace Neil Dixon, who stepped down after four successful seasons to become an assistant at Division I University of North Carolina-Asheville. Add Bagwell’s storied work ethic and overall program commitment, and he stood out among several qualified candidates to succeed Dixon. “Bryan had all of the attributes we were looking for,” said LC Athletic Director Mike Holloman. “One thing Bryan understands from his experience is how to recruit on the junior college level. He had a huge role in bringing in this year’s class, which I know both he and Neil were really excited about. If you don’t have the ability to recruit, you are not going to be successful on this level. Coach Bagwell is also in it for the right reasons — he values relationships with players and values serving as a role model for them.”
Bagwell comes from a coaching family as his father, David, was an acclaimed girls hoops coach at nearby North Johnston High School before retiring. David even returned to the sideline during his son’s tenure at Lenoir as an invaluable assistant. Bryan’s brother, Matthew, is also involved in coaching as an assistant at North Johnston. “I guess I was born into coaching,” Bryan Bagwell said. “I remember one time when my dad’s team played in the sectional tournament and lost. As they were walking off the court after the game, one of dad’s players put her arm around him and said ‘I believe in God now because of you.’ That made me think that coaching was something I might want to do.”
Bryan Bagwell attended Wake Forest University and received a degree in history before embarking on a coaching career that featured stops as a women’s assistant at Mars Hill and Mount Olive — in addition to his junior college resume’. “I have never been more excited for getting a basketball job than I am about this one,” Bagwell said. “Maybe it’s because my wife and I are finally settled. I also know that we have a chance to be pretty good with the recruiting class we have coming in. I’m just thankful for the phone call I received last year from Neil when he asked me to be his assistant.”
https://www.lchurricanes.com/sports/mbkb/2019-20/releases/20190710o6hpn9
