Clayton State University and Head Men’s Basketball Coach Jimmy Link have announced that former Division I UT-Martin Associate Head Coach Lance Egnatz has joined the men’s basketball staff as an assistant coach, effective immediately.
A 12-year coaching veteran, with eight of those at the collegiate level, Egnatz brings a wealth of experience from the junior college, Division II and Division I ranks. He comes to Morrow, Ga. after taking the past year to advise and train future prospects along with former players who are playing professionally.
“I am extremely excited to be given the opportunity to join the Clayton State family and work with head coach Jimmy Link,” said Egnatz. “Clayton State is a great institution with a tremendous future and I can’t wait to get started!”.
Most recently he spent two years at Division I Tennessee-Martin from 2012-14, including serving as the associate head coach in his final season. During his time with the Skyhawks he was responsible for recruiting, scheduling, academics, scouting, on the floor coaching and development of the post players.
He also helped mentor three 1,000-point scorers in Myles Taylor, Mike Liabo and Terence Smith in 2013-14, a group that consists of just 18 players all-time at UTM.
In his first season, the club battled through injuries for the first half of the season before getting healthy down the stretch. During that time they won five of eight games to make the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, a qualification that both Eastern Kentucky (25-10) and OVC East Champion Murray State (21-10) would come to regret as both fell to the Skyhawks in the postseason.
Prior to joining UT-Martin, Egnatz had significant experience at Division II Lincoln Memorial from 2008-12. During that time he helped guide the program from a 14-14 record in 2008-09 to national prominence over the next three seasons.
In 2009-10 the program notched a 20-9 campaign before exploding for a 27-3 record in 2010-11. That season also resulted in the first two championships in the program’s Division II history as the Railsplitters swept the South Atlantic Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championships on their way to the first NCAA Tournament berth in program history.
They would go on to finish the season ranked No. 10 in the country and Egnatz would coach the SAC Player of the Year in Desmond Johnson and serve under SAC Coach of the Year Josh Schertz.
The 2011-12 season would see them continue their meteoric rise, going 26-6 and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year where they would lose by just one point to eventual national runner-up Montevallo in the Southeast Region Semifinals. That season they would become the first SAC school to reach No. 1 in the nation, break multiple league records and finish with a national ranking of No. 24.
Over the course of his tenure at LMU, Egnatz was responsible for a number of areas, including scouting, recruiting, heading up the team’s strength and conditioning program and leading the locker room renovation and design of the weight room and new film room.
He helped guide the program to three consecutive 20-wins seasons, including his final two ranking not only as the best consecutive seasons in team history, but also that of the SAC. He also coached six All-Conference selections and a pair of All-American honorees, along with recruiting a total of seven All-SAC players, four of which hailed from the State of Georgia.
Egnatz came to LMU from Division I junior college Polk State College in Winter Haven, Fla., where he served as an assistant coach from 2006-08. He also helped turn that program around as, following a 13-16 campaign in 2006-07, PSC erupted for a 25-5 record in 2007-08. That saw them earn a No. 4 ranking in the State of Florida and move several players onto NCAA Division I and II programs.
Prior to his first foray into the college ranks, Egnatz began his professional career at Somerset Academy in Pembroke Pines, Fla., serving in a variety of capacities from 2002-06. He not only served as the head boys basketball coach, but also helped to build the athletic program from the ground up as an assistant athletic director.
Among his responsibilities were assisting with scheduling of games for all 10 programs, fundraising, launching of the department’s annual golf tournament and organizing the annual sports banquets. Egnatz also was in charge of the strength and conditioning program for the entire department and developed practice and game plans for both in-season and off-season programs.
Before embarking into the professional ranks, the Pittsburgh, Pa. native played at a pair of Division II institutions in Penn State University – Beaver (1997-99) and Lynn University (1999-01).
At PSU-Beaver Egnatz served as team captain and was the Robert J. Miklos Award Winner, representing dedication, leadership, sportsmanship and hard work. With Lynn he was a member of teams that went 19-8 and 17-10 for a combined 36-18, playing in 12 games in 1999-2000. He also played baseball for both PSU-B and Lynn, leading Beaver to the 1999 National Junior College Athletic Association World Series.
He holds a Master of Science in Sports Leadership earned from Duquesne University in 2014 as well as a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Administration, Sports and Recreation Management earned from Lynn University in 2002. Residing in McDonough, Ga., Egnatz is married to the former Juliette Schohn of Paris, France and the couple celebrated the birth of their first child, Kylie, in 2014.
http://www.claytonstatesports.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/releases/20150723zntgka
