Brett Vincent enters his ninth season as the head coach of the Chowan men’s basketball program.
During the 2019-20 season, Chowan finished with a 10-16 overall record and a 7-13 mark in Conference Carolinas play. Vincent helped produce the program’s first-ever Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year and Conference Carolinas Second Team selection, BJ McLaurin. McLaurin broke the single-season rebounding record with 292 while becoming the first NCAA player in program history to finish with a double-double.
The 2018-19 season finished with a 12-15 overall record and a 5-12 record in the CIAA. The Hawks started off with a 10-1 record before being tripped up down the stretch. Vincent helped Gus Rowland to finish second in the country in assists per game at 7.3 assists. Rowland would go on to break the single season assists and steals record and the career record for assists.
In the 2017-18 season, Chowan finished with an 11-16 overall record and a 5-11 mark in the CIAA. The program would garner the CIAA Highest Team GPA for the third time.
During the 2016-17 season, Vincent led the Hawks to their third straight winning season and best season to date during the Vincent era with an 18-9 overall record and 10-6 in league play. The Hawks posted a 12-1 mark inside the Helms Center. Jeremy Smith and Marco Haskins earned All-CIAA First Team honors for the Hawks. The team averaged 78 points an outing, good enough to be tied for first in the CIAA for points per game.
Vincent led the 2015-16 squad to a 19-9 overall record; tying a program-best mark for wins in the NCAA era and most wins during the Division II era. The Hawks swept CIAA Southern Division opponents for the first time since joining the CIAA (2009-2010). Marco Haskins headlined the CIAA All-Rookie Team as the Rookie of the Year while Kortez Smith was tabbed to the All-CIAA Team for the second time in his career.
Chowan finished the 2014-15 season with a winning record of 15-13, the most wins in five seasons. Vincent produced one player named All-CIAA and one player named to the CIAA All-Rookie Team. It was the first time in NCAA DII school history that the team defeated Winston-Salem State and swept Elizabeth City and Virginia Union. The Hawks garnered the top GPA in the CIAA among men’s basketball teams for the second time.
The Hawks finished the 2013-14 season with a 12-15 overall record and 6-10 finish in league play and had one player named All-CIAA and one player earn All-Rookie honors. For the first time in school history the team defeated league foes Bowie State, Johnson C. Smith, Virginia State, and Virginia Union. The team also defeated Campbell University in exhibition play which was the first time that the Chowan men's basketball team ever topped a NCAA DI opponent in regular season or exhibition play.
During his first season with the Hawks, Vincent led the program to a 7-20 overall record in in the 2012-13 season. Kortez Smith earned the CIAA Rookie of the Year award, with Quinton McDuffie being named to the CIAA All-Tournament Team. The Hawks earned the CIAA’s top GPA among men’s basketball programs for the first time under Vincent.
When Vincent came to Chowan in August of 2012, he inherited a team that had won five games the previous year. The program faced multiple challenges athletically, academically and with its perception by the community. Vincent helped to build a solid foundation and change the culture of the program. The program now has a 100% graduation rate for its seniors.
Vincent, a native of Shinnston, West Virginia, came to Chowan after spending eight seasons with the Fairmont State University men's basketball program. He served six seasons as an assistant coach, two as the associate head coach, and spent the 2011-2012 season as the interim head coach.
Before being named interim head coach at Fairmont State, Vincent was the associate head coach at Fairmont State. In 2010-11, Vincent helped the Falcons to a winning season as the Falcons posted a 17-10 record. He helped in the development of then-guards Isaac Thornton, a first team All-WVIAC selection and Steve Custis, a 1,000-point career scorer.
During the 2008-2009 season, Vincent helped the Falcons earn an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament as Fairmont State posted a 22-8 record, the first 20 win season since 2001 for the Fighting Falcons. Vincent coached All-American guard Thad McFadden, as well as, All-WVIAC First Team selection Steve Custis and WVIAC Freshman of the Year in Isaac Thorton.
In 2004-05, the Falcons posted a 19-10 record and Vincent was instrumental in the guidance of the prolific back court of two-time All-WVIAC second team pick Ronnie Means and first team all-conference selection Thad McFadden. Means set school records for assists while McFadden made more threes than anyone in school history in just two seasons.
Prior to his eight-year stint at Fairmont State he spent three seasons as head coach at Lewis County High School. The team's total wins under Vincent were a 30-win improvement over the three seasons prior to his arrival at Lewis County. In 2003, he led Lewis County to the section championship and an appearance in the regional final. Lewis County posted its first winning season in 17 years and received its first top-10 state ranking in 19 years that season. The Minutemen also picked up postseason wins in each of his three seasons.
Before moving to Lewis County High School, Vincent compiled a 92-49 record as the head basketball coach at Alderson-Broaddus from 1996-2001. He took over in 1996 at the age of 28, and as one of the youngest head coaches in the NCAA, promptly led A-B to 20 wins in three of his five seasons. The Battlers led the WVIAC in points per game in 1998, and were fifth in the country in defensive field goal percentage in 2000. His teams advanced to the WVIAC tournament semifinals twice and to the championship game once.
Prior to climbing through the coaching ranks, Vincent played college basketball at three Division I schools: West Virginia University, Robert Morris and Marshall University, and was a starter at all three schools.
As a freshman at WVU, the Mountaineers advanced to the NCAA Tournament. As a sophomore, West Virginia was 8-1 with him starting at point guard and he was named to the All-East Academic team as the Mountaineers advanced to the NIT.
Vincent then moved on to Robert Morris where he spent two seasons with the Colonials, the first of which he sat out due to transfer rules. As a junior, Vincent helped lead RMU to its second straight Northeast Conference title and NCAA Tournament where the Colonials took on Kansas.
As a senior at Marshall, he led the team in assists and still is the school's leader in career 3-point field goal percentage (43 percent). He received his bachelor's degree in Sport Management in 1991 from Marshall University.
Vincent would receive his masters degree in Education from Salem-Teikyo University in 2000.
Vincent was named the Morgantown Touchdown Club West Virginia Player of the Year in the 1986 season, and was a three-time all-state selection and captained the Class AA All-State team during his high school career at South Harrison High School.
Brett Vincent is married to the former Andrea Gum. The two have one son, Cole.
“THE VINCENT FILE”
Education
B.A., Marshall University (’91)
M.A., Salem-Teikyo (’00)
Career
1992-1993 University of Pitt-Johnstown
· Assistant Coach
1993-1996 Alderson-Broaddus
· Assistant Coach
1996-2001 Alderson-Broaddus
· Head Coach
2001-2004 Lewis County High School
· Head Varsity Coach
2004-2012 Fairmont State
· Assistant/Associate Head Coach
2012-Present Chowan University
· Head Coach
Former Player Academic Notables
· 98% graduation rate for each player that exhausted eligibility
· Three NCAA DII Academic All-American’s
Professional Players Coached
- Chris Morris (Sweden)
- Dave McKenzie (Belgium)
- Rudy Wallace (England/Germany/NABL)
- Darrell Hepburn (Mexico/Japan/Taiwan/D. Republic)
- Don Tillman (Germany)
- Marvin Rashad ( Czech Republic/ABA/Hungary/CBA)
- DeAndre Walker (IBL)
- Chris Talley (England)
- Jamar Wesley (CBA)
- Kevin Pearson (Harlem Globetrotters)
- Sean Hampton (Luxemburg/Romania/Slovakia)
- Gary Meeks (Saudi Arabia)
- Damon Johnson (Finland)
- Damien Gardner (Jamaica)
- Josh Allen (Last Player From WVIAC invited to NBA's Portsmouth, VA Pre-draft camp
- Terrance Green
- Steve Custis (Sweden)
- Thad McFadden (Cyprus)
