Jeff Price, in the midst of his second stint as head men's basketball coach at Lynn University, enters his 12th season leading the Fighting Knights in 2023-24. He made his return to the program on April 1, 2013, and in only two short years transformed a sub-.500 team into an NCAA Sweet 16 squad.
Price previously served as head coach from 1993-99, leading Lynn to six consecutive post-season berths, including its first NCAA Final Four appearance. In 1996-97, Price led the program to a record 28-3 finish. He also coached the team to a 25-7 record in 2018-19, the third-best mark in program history, a season that culminated in a Sweet 16 appearance.
At the conclusion of the 2021-22 season, one of Price’s players, junior Branden Ellis, shone on the bright stage. Ellis, taking part in the Applebee's Team Shootout at April’s State Farm College Slam Dunk and 3-Point Championships televised on ESPN, finished in third place. Also excelling under Price’s guidance in the 2021-22 season was 6’7 graduate student Christian Peevy, who averaged 18 points per game, good for eighth in the Sunshine State Conference.
Price holds a 429-296 career record in 23 years as a head coach, with 242 of those wins coming from his time with the Fighting Knights. He has led eight postseason appearances, including three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (1996-99), and 20 winning seasons. Price’s previous head coaching stops include Georgia Southern University, West Virginia Wesleyan, and the University of South Alabama. He was named SoCon Coach of the Year in his first season at GSU and coached the Eagles to three SoCon South Division Championships and an NIT appearance in the 2005-06 season. In his first season at West Virginia Wesleyan in 2010-11, Price guided the Bobcats to a 19-11 record and a trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament. It was just the second tournament appearance for the program and the second-largest turnaround in the nation as the team went 46-126 over the previous six seasons.
Prior to Lynn, Price had his second go-around with the University of South Alabama, where, 10 games into the 2012 season, he was named interim head coach for the Jaguars after spending a year as the associate head coach. He had previously served as an assistant and recruiting coordinator at USA from 1989-93, winning a Sun Belt Conference championship and earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
A native of Columbus, OH, Price played his college basketball at both St. Petersburg College and the University of Pikeville from 1977-81, before taking an assistant coach position at Georgia Southern in 1982. From 1983-93, Price was an assistant at Union College (KY), the University of Washington, Georgia Southern, and South Alabama. He also spent one season (2009-10) as a scout for the Los Angeles Clippers. Â
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