KU’s Brandon Schneider named KBCA coach of the year

By Journal-World Staff Report Apr 14, 2023

Kansas women's basketball coach Brandon Schneider smiles before a recent Big 12 contest against Kansas State. On Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023, Schneider picked up win No. 500 of his coaching career.

A couple of weeks removed from leading the Jayhawks to nine wins in their final 10 games and a WNIT championship along the way, Kansas women’s basketball coach Brandon Schneider was named the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Women’s Four-Year College Coach of the Year on Friday.

It marks the third KBCA Coach of the Year award for Schneider, who also earned the honor in 2006 and 2010 as the head coach at Emporia State.

Schneider becomes the third KU women’s coach to claim the award, joining Bonnie Henrickson (2012) and Marian Washington (1992). Kansas also has had three men’s basketball coaches earn the KBCA award a total of 13 times — current KU coach Bill Self in 2004, 2008 and 2022; Roy Williams in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2003; and Larry Brown in 1984 and 1988.

The KBCA has handed out the award every year since 1984.

During the recently wrapped season, Schneider, in his eighth season at KU, led the Jayhawks to a 25-11 record, including a 9-9 mark in Big 12 play.

KU played all six WNIT games at Allen Fieldhouse and finished 19-3 at home, setting a new single-season program record for home wins. KU also recorded 25 wins in a season for the sixth time in school history and the first time since 1996-97.

The Jayhawks returned to the Associated Press Top 25 rankings for the first time since 2013, earning a national ranking for five weeks in December and January. KU was the last unbeaten team in the Big 12 after starting 10-0 for the fourth-best start in program history. Included in the unbeaten start was a 77-50 victory at No. 12 Arizona on Dec. 8, which matched the largest margin of victory over a Top 25 opponent in program history.

Also this season, Schneider earned career victory No. 500 on Feb. 26 with a 66-57 victory over Oklahoma State at Allen Fieldhouse. Schneider, who is 508-274 (65.0%) as a head coach, is one of 33 active Division I coaches with more than 500 career victories.

This is the second Coach of the Year award for Schneider while at Kansas. He was named the 2022 Big 12 Coach of the Year after guiding Kansas to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013.