Regis University Athletic Director Ann Martin is pleased to announce the hiring of Brady Bergeson as the University’s new head men’s basketball coach. Bergeson becomes the 10th head coach of the Ranger men’s basketball program; he follows long-time head coach Lonnie Porter, who retired in February.
"My family and I are very excited to be joining the Regis family. I am very impressed by the leadership in place from Father Fitzgibbons, to Vice President Roby Blust, to the entire athletics administration and coaches. I am honored to have been selected, and look forward to taking on all of the challenges ahead of us," said Bergeson.
“We are thrilled to welcome Brady, his wife Brooke, and their son Dash back to Denver and into the Regis family,” said Martin. “Brady exemplifies everything that we are looking for in our next coach; his personal values and beliefs reflect those of our university, and we believe he will continue the tradition and success of our men’s basketball program.”
Regis University Father President John Fitzgibbons, S.J., echoed Martin’s thoughts.
“Regis University is proud to announce Brady Bergeson as our new head men’s basketball coach,” he said. “Brady embodies Regis’s vision and values. Regis forms women and men as leaders in the Jesuit tradition both on and off the court to make a positive difference in our world. We look forward to a new era in Regis athletics to build on our past and craft our future.”
A native of Longview, Wash., Bergeson has served as the head men’s basketball coach at Western Oregon University (WOU) since 2011. During his four seasons at WOU, Bergeson experienced unprecedented success, compiling an overall record of 69-45 (.663) while leading the school and program as they became an NCAA Division II member.
In his first year at WOU, Bergeson led the team to an 18-10 overall record, the highest win total since the 1996-97 season. He also finished fourth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC), the highest in finish school history.
Following a successful rookie year for the WOU Wolves, Bergeson worked to develop a young squad to 10 wins while remaining competitive throughout the 2012-13 season.
The 2013-14 team tallied 18 wins and earned the program’s first postseason victory since joining the NCAA Division II after upsetting Alaska Anchorage in the first round of the GNAC Tournament.
By far his most successful season at WOU was the most recent 2014-15 year. Bergeson captured the program’s first ever GNAC regular season title and made the Wolves’ first ever NCAA Division II National Tournament appearance. Bergeson led a very experienced squad of 10 upperclassmen to post an overall record of 23-7 with a GNAC record of 15-3. The Wolves season came to an end in thefirst round of the NCAA Tournament after falling to Azusa Pacific University.
During his tenure at WOU, eight student-athletes were named all-conference with Andy Avgi earning the program’s first Daktronics First Team All-Region honor. In 2014-15 Avgi was awarded the GNAC Player of the Year and Bergeson earned his first GNAC Coach of the Year award.
Before leading WOU, Bergeson was an assistant coach at Division I Sacramento State. His duties included recruitment and serving as the team’s offensive coordinator, as well as regularly assisting with guard development, scouting and academic development.
Bergeson joins the Regis staff with prior knowledge of the competitive Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as he served as an assistant coach at Metropolitan State University in Denver for six seasons prior to his move to Sacramento State. During his time at Metro State, the Roadrunners compiled an overall record of 157-38 and a conference mark of 93-21. Each of the years he coached at Metro State the team won at least 19 games (2002-08) with the 2003-04 team making a NCAA Division II Final Four appearance.
Bergeson takes over a Ranger program that will return 11 lettermen from the 2014-15 season, including nine players who started in at least one game.
Named the team’s captain and school’s student-athlete of the year during his senior year, Bergeson played four years of college basketball at Chapman University in Orange, California. While at Chapman, he served as the team’s point guard posting an overall record of 66-34.
In 2007 Bergeson earned his master’s in negotiation, conflict-resolution, and peace-building from California State University-Dominquez Hills. He graduated from Chapman with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology.
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