Braun Tabbed To Lead Owls Basketball

Ben Braun, who most recently guided the University of California at Berkeley to more postseason wins than any other basketball coach in school history, has joined Rice as the Owls’ 23rd men’s head basketball coach.

Generally regarded as one of college basketball’s top teachers and strategists, Braun, 54, ranks 11th among all active Division I coaches, with a 552–389 record. He was 219–154 in his 12 seasons at Berkeley and ranked second among active Pac-10 coaches in overall wins. He also ranked second in Pac-10 wins, with 110, and was the 1997 Pac-10 Coach of the Year and a finalist for the 2003 Naismith National Coach of the Year award.

Braun served as head coach at Eastern Michigan University from 1986 to 1996. There, he led the Eagles to the NCAA Tournament for the first time and accumulated a 185–132 record, averaging almost 18 wins per season. He was named Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year three times.

During his career, Braun has coached more than a dozen players who have gone on to compete in the NBA, including Ed Gray, Michael Stewart, Sean Marks, Francisco Elson, Sean Lampley, Jamal Sampson and Leon Powe.