The Belmont Bruins men's basketball team represents Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Belmont completed a 10-season run in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2021–22, and joined the Missouri Valley Conference in July 2022. The Bruins play their home games at the Curb Event Center under head coach Evan Bradds. Their most recent NCAA Division I tournament appearance was in 2019.
Coaching staff Evan Bradds – Head coach Brian Ayers – Associate head coach Brendan Mullins – Associate head coach Marcus Belcher – Assistant coach Ja'Darius Harris – Assistant coach Clay Holmes – Director of Basketball Operations Ryley McClaran – Graduate Assistant
Rivalries
Lipscomb University (Battle of the Boulevard)
The Battle of the Boulevard, also referred to as the Belmont–Lipscomb basketball rivalry is a college basketball rivalry between the Belmont University Bruins and the Lipscomb University Bisons. Its nickname was established because of both school's close placement in Nashville, Tennessee– about three miles apart on the same road.
Murray State University Recently, the Bruins have been building a rivalry with Murray State University since the Bruins' entry into the OVC in 2012. From that year until both teams' departure from the OVC in 2022, Belmont and Murray State combined to win every regular season championship, including two seasons (2018-19 & 2019-20) where they shared the title. In three consecutive years (from 2018 to 2020), the Racers and Bruins met in the OVC Tournament finals, with Belmont winning the 2020 meeting. With Belmont joining the MVC alongside Murray State, the rivalry will continue in that conference. The Bruins currently lead the all-time series 17 to 12.
Awards
All-AmericansBelmont Bruins History & Tradition .Retrieved October 11, 2020 Robert Barnes – 1956* Adam Sonn – 2003* Alex Renfroe – 2009* Ian Clark – 2013* J.J. Mann – 2014* Evan Bradds – 2016*, 2017*
(*) Denotes Honorable Mention
Academic All-AmericansBelmont: List of Academic All-Americans
Wes Burtner – 2001***, 2002* Adam Mark – 2002**, 2003*, 2004* Justin Hare – 2007**, 2008* Andy Wicke – 2009*** Scott Saunders – 2011***, 2012* J.J. Mann – 2014* Craig Bradshaw – 2015***, 2016** Evan Bradds – 2016***, 2017** Dylan Windler – 2018**, 2019** Luke Smith – 2021***, 2022*** Tyler Lundblade – 2026**
(*) Denotes 1st team (**) Denotes 2nd team (***) Denotes 3rd team
NACDA Scholar-Athlete of the Year Adam Mark – 2004 Justin Hare – 2008 Mick Hedgepeth – 2011 Craig Bradshaw – 2015 Tyler Lundblade – 2026
Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year Award Rick Byrd – 2011
NCAA Bob Frederick Sportsmanship AwardNCAA Bob Frederick Sportsmanship Award Rick Byrd – 2012
Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Tyler Lundblade – 2026
Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year Casey Alexander – 2026
Ohio Valley/ASUN Conference Player of the Year Adam Sonn – 2003 Alex Renfroe – 2009 Ian Clark – 2013 J.J. Mann – 2014 Evan Bradds – 2016, 2017
OVC/ASUN Defensive Player of the Year Ian Clark – 2012, 2013 Grayson Murphy – 2020, 2021
OVC/ASUN Coach of the Year Rick Byrd – 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2019
NAIA National Coach of the Year Rick Byrd – 1995
NAIA National Player of the Year Joe Behling – 1989
NAIA All-Americans Joe Behling – 1988*, 1989*, 1990* Kerry West – 1995* Al Allen – 1995** DaQuinn Goff – 1996*
(*) Denotes 1st team (**) Denotes 2nd team
Record by year
Postseason results They have appeared in eight NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 1–8. They qualified for the 2020 NCAA Tournament before it was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. They have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) four times with a combined record of 3–4. They have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) once with a record of 1–1. Prior to joining NCAA Division I, they participated in five NAIA Division I Tournaments. Their combined record is 9–5.
NCAA Tournament Results 2006 15 First Round UCLA L 44–78 2007 15 First Round (2) Georgetown L 55–80 2008 15 First Round (2) Duke L 70–71 2011 13 First Round (4) Wisconsin L 58–72 2012 14 First Round (3) Georgetown L 59–74 2013 11 First Round (6) Arizona L 64–81 2015 15 First Round (2) Virginia L 67–79 2019 11 First FourFirst Round (11) Temple (6) Maryland W 81–70 L 77–79 2020 n/a n/a n/a n/a
In the 2008 tournament, the #15 seeded Bruins, playing in the West Region, played an exciting, hard-fought first-round game with a perennial powerhouse, the #2 seeded Duke Blue Devils. The Bruins came up one point short of the upset, losing the game 70–71 after Justin Hare's desperation three point attempt barely went wide left of the net. The Bruins rallied from 9 point and 7 point deficits in the second half to take a 70–69 lead late in the game, before Duke scored what proved to be the game's final basket with under a minute left to play.
In 2011 Belmont University won the Atlantic Sun Regular Season Championship and the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. The Bruins finished 30–4 overall (marking their first 30 win season in the NCAA era) and 19–1 in conference play. By doing this they received their highest seed in their history, a #13. They faced the perennial powerhouse the #4 seed Wisconsin Badgers in the second round of the Southeast Region, where they lost 58–72.
NIT results 2004 First Round L 59–65 2014 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinals Green BayRobert MorrisClemson W 80–65W 82–71L 68–73 2016 First Round Georgia L 84–93 2017 First RoundSecond Round GeorgiaGeorgia Tech W 78–69L 57–71 2022 First Round Vanderbilt L 71-82
CIT Results 2009 First RoundQuarterfinals Old Dominion W 92–76L 62–70
NAIA Division I Tournament 1989 First Round L 76–89 1993 First RoundSecond Round W 87–73L 59–66 1994 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinals W 91–83W 99–80L 76–89 1995 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals W 94–75W 85–65W 91–72L 80–90 1996 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals W 57–54W 74–73W 65–60L 77–80
Bruins in professional leagues
Current
Alex Renfroe, CB Miraflores (Spain) Ian Clark, Xinjiang Flying Tigers (China) J.J. Mann, Okapi Aalst (Belgium) Austin Luke, Yoast United (Netherlands) Dylan Windler, Perth Wildcats Kevin McClain, Baskets Oldenburg (Germany) Ben Sheppard, Indiana Pacers
Record book
Retired numbers
Belmont Bruins Retired Jerseys No.PlayerPos.CareerRef. 15 Robert Barnes C 1953–56 Robert Barnes bio at belmont.com 54 Joe Behling SG 1986–90 Athlete Alumni Spotlight -- Joe Behling at belmont.com21Ian ClarkG2010–13
Individual career records
References
External links