Brian Emerson begins his sixth season as head coach and eighth overall at the University of the South men's basketball program in 2024-25.

After serving two years as an assistant, he was named the 24th head coach for the men's basketball team at the university on April 30, 2019. During his time at the head of the program, he has compiled a 50-59 record in five seasons with 12 All-Conference selections and 36 players named to the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) Academic Honor Roll. 

The Tigers won the SAA Tournament championship in 2023, reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. Losing just one player from the previous season, the 2023 club improved from six to 19 wins with the conference tournament title.
 
Four players earned All-SAA honors while Russ Marr, who became the second player in program history to score 600 points in a season, was named All-Region. In the classroom, a record 12 student-athletes were recognized on the SAA Academic Honor Roll.
 
During his first season as head coach for Sewanee in 2019-20, Emerson led his team to a 12-14 overall record. Three players garnered All-Conference accolades and 10 student-athletes were named to the Academic Honor Roll. 

The Tigers played just five games in 2020-21 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Seven student-athletes were listed on the SAA Academic Honor Roll. 

Returning to a bit of normalcy in 2021-22, Emerson's squad posted a 6-16 record, with a roster of just one senior and two juniors. Marr was named the Newcomer of the Year in the SAA and two players earned All-Conference honors. In the classroom, seven athletes were selected to the league's Academic Honor Roll. 

This past season, the Tigers got off to a slow start due to injuries and a roster that included five freshmen and just one senior. Sewanee posted a 5-8 mark before the New Year and started 0-4 in league play before winning seven of its last 10 SAA contests.
 
The club lost in overtime to Berry in the next-to-last regular season outing and dropped a seven-point game at Centre to end the conference slate, but the Tigers won at Centre in the quarterfinals of the league tournament before falling late at Berry in the semifinals. The team finished the year 12-15 overall, 9-7 in games decided by nine points or less.
 
Marr, Luka Avaliani and Tre Corrigan were voted to the All-Conference team.

As an assistant coach, Emerson helped the Tigers win their first conference championship in over 20 years in 2018-19. The 2017-18 and 2018-19 clubs ranked very high nationally on the defensive end, with the 2018-19 squad fifth in 3-point field goal defense (.296), 34th in scoring defense (66.7) and 39th in defensive field goal percentage (.406).

In 2017-18, the Tigers led the nation in 3-point field goal defense (.275). while leading the conference and ranking 30^th nationally among 416 NCAA Division III teams in defensive field goal shooting percentage (.405).

Emerson arrived at Sewanee after serving as an assistant coach at Williams College for three years, aiding the Ephs to a 53-29 mark overall, including 23-9 in 2016-17. Williams reached the Final Four in 2016-17 while head coach Kevin App was named the 2017 Glenn Robinson National Coach of the Year. He also served as a head coach of the junior varsity program for the Ephs.

Prior to his return to Williams, Emerson worked one season at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with the Engineers posting a 20-9 record, winning the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) tournament and advancing to the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

As a student-athlete at Williams, Emerson was part of two Final Four teams and one national finalist for head coach Mike Maker. His overall record as a student-athlete was 93-22. In his senior year, Emerson won the team sportsmanship award and the Mathew Godrick award.
 
Emerson earned a bachelor’s in Psychology from Williams in 2012 and received a master’s in Sports and Fitness Administration from Lasell College in 2015.

Updated 4/25/2024