Entering into his second year, Southern Arkansas University Men’s Basketball Head Coach Logan Quinn has announced the hiring of Toby Lane as the program’s top assistant, effective immediately. The hiring comes following the departure of assistant coach Nick Reynolds who leaves Magnolia to become an assistant coach at Division I Wisconsin-Green Bay. Lane’s hiring provides Quinn and the Muleriders an expansive portfolio heavy on Division I coaching, recruiting and basketball operations as well as a keen familiarity with the region.
“I am incredibly excited to bring Toby Lane into our basketball family,” remarked head coach Logan Quinn. “Toby’s impact on our program will be felt immediately, as he brings an elite-level knowledge of the game and an approach to relationships that is genuine and intentional.”
Lane has served in multiple capacities, from in-game coaching, player and skill development, game and practice planning to travel logistics, academic support, compliance and scouting and recruiting, and has experienced success at every stop along the way in a college basketball coaching and administrative career that has spanned over 25 years.
Most recently, Lane served as the Director of Operations for the University of Arkansas-Little Rock Men’s Basketball program for the 2022-23 season. Prior to Little Rock, Lane spent eight seasons at the University of Tulsa where he served as the Director of Scouting for the first six years, before spending his final two seasons on the Golden Hurricane bench as an assistant coach.
Lane spent the first half of the previous decade at the University of Missouri where he served as the program’s video coordinator for the 2013-14 season which followed two years as the Tigers’ Director of Basketball Operations from 20011-13. Before his stint in Columbia, Lane spent four seasons from 2007-11 in Coral Gables, Florida as the Associate Director of Basketball Operations for the University of Miami.
Quinn remarked, “Having been able to work alongside Toby, I have seen just how hard he works on a daily basis. The 18+ years of experience at the Division 1 level will help continue to take our program to new heights, as we continue to compete for championships and NCAA tournaments.”
Lane spent three seasons (2004-07) on the bench at Southeast Missouri State as an assistant coach which followed two seasons as the video coordinator at the University of Oklahoma (2002-04). Lane came to Norman after spending the 2001-02 season in California as an administrative assistant for the Long Beach State Men’s Basketball program.
Lane’s start in coaching came at Goessel High School in Goessel, Kansas where he served as head coach from 1993-96, before he took his first collegiate job three years later as an assistant coach at Neosho County CC (1996-97) in Chanute, Kansas. From NCCC, Lane coached at the University of Central Oklahoma over four seasons (1997-2001) first as a graduate assistant and then as a full-time assistant at the NCAA level for the first time in his career.
In all, Lane has made five NCAA Division I Tournament appearances which includes an Elite Eight run with Oklahoma in 2003 and one NCAA Division II Tournament Sweet 16 run with Central Oklahoma, three NIT appearances, and multiple conference titles. He has coached over 30 players that have gone on to play professionally which includes five NBA players of which four were drafted.
“Toby will form lasting relationships with our current players, genuine relationships in recruiting, and impactful relationships in the community of Magnolia,” noted Quinn. “The culture of your team starts with the culture of the coaching staff – and I have no doubt we will have a tight-knit staff with the addition of Coach Lane.”
Lane earned his Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Mathematics Education from Wichita State University in 1993 and graduated with his Master’s of Education in General Education with an emphasis in Higher Education from the University of Central Oklahoma in 1999.
