NCAA Basketball rewind: Most impactful coaching hires after 2015 season

By Joey Loose | Jul 2, 2021

DENVER, CO - MARCH 17: Chris Beard, head coach of Arkansas Little Rock Trojans reacts during the game against the Purdue Boilermakers during the first round of the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at the Pepsi Center on March 17, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

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NCAA Basketball Brian Wardle Bradley Braves (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

9. Brian Wardle (Bradley)

In recent memory, the happy story for Bradley basketball had been the 2006 team, that had made the Sweet Sixteen as a 13-seed. They could not replicate that success; in fact, that had been their only trip to the NCAA Tournament since the turn of the century. By 2015, they had been under .500 in conference play for five straight years, winning just nine games the previous season.

Needing a change, the Braves turned towards Brian Wardle. A native of suburban Chicago, Wardle played collegiate ball at Marquette and would later join Tom Crean’s staff to begin his coaching career. He had spent the last decade of his career at Green Bay, with five years each as an assistant and then head coach. Wardle was successful with the Phoenix, leading the program to NIT bids in each of the last two years.

Wardle arrived at Bradley and put in the work, trying to turn around a deprived program. By his third season, he already led the Braves to a 20-win season. In 2019, he led Bradley to an unexpected NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the MVC Tournament, a feat they’d repeat in 2020. Wardle turned a doormat into a conference contender, winning a pair of league titles when Loyola-Chicago was at their best; that alone is pretty impressive.

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