Dr. Brett Reed Biography - Octagon Speakers

Dr. Brett Reed
Head Basketball Coach at Lehigh University
In his first five seasons as head coach of the Lehigh University men’s basketball team, Dr. Brett Reed has
turned the Mountain Hawks into a perennial Patriot League power. Now with two league titles and two
trips the NCAA Tournament under his belt, Reed, one of the youngest and most promising coaches in the
country, has elevated the program into the national conversation.
In all of the early coaching success Reed has earned, perhaps no individual moment shines brighter than
the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament when Reed’s No. 15 seeded Lehigh team
captured the nation’s heart in a stunning first-round defeat of No. 2 seeded Duke University. The moment
was a resounding example of the great hard work and effort Reed put into building his program in the
previous four seasons.
In his first year at Lehigh, Reed laid the foundation for future successes by earning the second most
victories in the 30-year history of Stabler Arena. He also guided the team to the most non-league wins in
school history, becoming the first Lehigh coach to beat a team from the Big East.
The following season, Reed led Lehigh to a Patriot League title and secured an appearance in the NCAA
Tournament. En route to the conference title, the Mountain Hawks rewrote school record books, winning
the outright regular season Patriot League championship for the first time in school history. In addition,
Reed mentored freshman C.J. McCollum to become the first player in the history of the Patriot League to
win both Player and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season.
Reed continued to build on his initial success at Lehigh in 2011-12. The season saw the Mountain Hawks
earn their most ever wins in school history (27), capture the Patriot League championship and return to
the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years, where they would eventually pull off the upset
against Duke.
During the 2013 Final Four, Reed received the National Association of Basketball Coaches Guardian of
the Game Award, honoring Reed’s commitment to continuing his education and professional
development so that he can be the best mentor, teacher and leader possible. Reed joins select company as
a Guardian of the Game, including legendary UCLA coach John Wooden.
Also in 2013, Reed was selected as a finalist for the 2013 Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award,
recognizing those who not only achieve success on the basketball court, but who also display moral
integrity off of it. During the 2012-13 season, Reed became Lehigh’s all-time winningest coach and
achieved the 100 career wins mark quicker than any coach in Patriot League history.
With the success Reed has earned at Lehigh, coaches around the country have offered praise for his
leadership and ability. “I strongly believe Brett is one of the best young coaches in the country,” noted
University of Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery. “His performance over the past few years has been as
good as or better than anyone in our profession.”
Before taking over as head coach, Reed served as an assistant at Lehigh for five seasons. Prior to that, he
was an assistant coach at High Point University and Director of Basketball Operations at the University of
North Carolina Greensboro.
Reed graduated in 1995 with honors from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla., where he was honored
with many prestigious awards including the Thomas C. Rumbell Fellowship. While at Eckerd, Reed

helped guide the team to a conference championship and NCAA Tournament as a point guard. He then
received his Master’s and Ph.D. in Instructional Technology at Wayne State University. Reed is one of
only three Division I head men’s basketball coaches in the entire nation to have earned their doctorate
degrees.
Reed and his wife Kindra reside in Bethlehem, Pa. They have a son, Brendan, and a daughter,
Makenna.