Brandon Brantley

Brandon Brantley enters his 12th year as an assistant coach at Purdue. Brantley spends the majority of his on-court duties coaching Purdue’s big men.   Since his arrival, Purdue has advanced to nine NCAA Tournaments, five Sweet 16s, two Elite Eights, appeared in the National Championship game a year ago and has won five Big Ten titles while becoming the dominant team in the Big Ten.   The current stretch Purdue is on is the best in school history, being ranked No. 1 in the country for three straight years – the first Big Ten team to do so in league history. The Boilermakers have won 92 games since the start of the 2021-22 season, the second-most victories in the country.   His work with Purdue’s big men has been well noted, recently helping turn Zach Edey and Trevion Williams into the best big men in America.   Zach Edey became one of college basketball’s most-dominant players in history, after repeating as the consensus National Player of the Year in 2024, becoming just the second consensus NPOY in the last 60 years (UCLA’s Bill Walton). Edey averaged an NCAA-best 25.2 points and 12.2 rebounds per game in becoming the first player to lead the country and reach the Final Four in the same season since Cincinnati’s Oscar Robertson in 1960. Edey also became just the second player in NCAA history to score at least 975 points and have 470 rebounds in a single season (Houston’s Elvin Hayes, 1968).   In 2023, Edey became Purdue’s third National Player of the Year recipient after one of the most-dominating seasons by a collegiate big man in NCAA history. Edey averaged 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots per game to run away with unanimous National Player of the Year accolades. He became the first player in NCAA history to score 750 points with 400 rebounds, 70 blocked shots and 50 assists.   Edey also dominated the paint in 2022, becoming just the seventh player in college basketball over the last 30 years to average at least 14 points, seven rebounds, one assist and one block in under 25 minutes per game and the only one to do so in under 20 minutes per game. He was one of three of the seven to shoot at least 60.0 percent from the field.   In 2022, the Boilermakers reached the No. 1 ranking for the first time in school history, posted a 29-8 overall record and reached the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the last five tournaments. Brantley was critical in the development of sophomores Jaden Ivey and Edey as both were named all-Big Ten and received All-American mentions. Ivey was selected No. 5 in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons.   In 2021, Williams was named a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award and named first-team All-Big Ten in 2021. He teamed with freshman Zach Edey to average a combined 24.2 points and 13.6 rebounds per game in 2021.   During the 2018-19 season, Brantley was instrumental in the development of sophomore Matt Haarms, who had an outstanding second half of the season and became the first Big Ten player to lead the league in field goal percentage and blocked shots in the same season since Ohio State’s Greg Oden in 2007.   In 2017-18, Brantley helped Purdue to a school-record 30 wins and its second straight Sweet 16 appearance. Purdue’s center, Isaac Haas, was named an honorable mention All-American and was a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award given to the nation’s best center. Purdue is the only school in America to have three different players in the last three years be named finalist for a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame position award (Abdul-Jabbar Award, Malone Award).   Eight years ago, he helped in the development of Caleb Swanigan, who was named a consensus first-team All-American, the Pete Newell Big Man of the Year Award winner and the Big Ten Player of the Year. Swanigan was a completely different player from his freshman to sophomore season under Brantley’s guidance. In addition, junior center Isaac Haas led the Big Ten in points / 40 minutes and ranks seventh on Purdue’s career field goal percentage list.   Swanigan finished the season as the first player in college basketball since Tim Duncan to average at least 18.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game and is the only player in college basketball in the last 31 years to have 640 points, 430 rebounds and 100 assists in a season.   During the 2015-16 season, A.J. Hammons was named first-team All-Big Ten and honorable mention All-America while freshman Swanigan was named to the Big Ten’s All-Freshman Team. In addition, the Boilermakers led the country in points scored on post-ups and ranked third nationally in rebound margin, setting a school record in the process. Swanigan led the league in rebounding as a freshman.   Brantley has made a solid impact on the recruiting trail as well, recruiting the fertile grounds of Indianapolis, Chicago and nationally in the search for Purdue’s next dominant big man. Brantley has made a major impact on Purdue’s recruiting efforts locally.   Brantley has extensive experience on the sidelines, spending the last two years with Basketball University and as the EG10 AAU Under-16 head coach. During his time with the EG10 Under-16 squad, he guided the team to the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions title in Atlanta during late April of this past year.   Brantley was key figure in Purdue’s run of success in the Big Ten Conference in the mid-90s. He helped the Boilermakers to three Big Ten Championships, serving as the team captain of the 1995-96 squad that posted a 26-6 overall record, a 15-3 Big Ten mark and the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s West Region.   During his time at Purdue, Brantley competed on three NCAA Tournament teams (1994-96) and one NIT Tournament squad (1992). He finished his career appearing in 129 games, scoring 803 points with 591 rebounds and 114 blocks, the seventh most in a career in Purdue history. He was honored with the team’s Courage Award in 1995, the Doc Combs “Play Hard” Award in 1996 and he shared the John Wooden Most Valuable Player Award in 1996.   Following his stint in West Lafayette, Brantley participated in the Indiana Pacers Training Camp and then played professionally in Spain, Finland, England, Italy, Greece, France and the American Basketball Association (ABA). Brantley won rebounding titles in four different leagues and was a four-time MVP, earning English League All-Star Team honors in 2000.   He was a member of the Purdue Athletic Advisory Council and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Restaurant and Hotel Management.   Brantley and his wife, Michelle, live in Lafayette.