DUDLEY, Mass. – Nichols College Interim Director of Athletics Eric Gobiel has announced the hiring of Brandon Linton as the 20th men's basketball head coach in program history.

Linton comes to Nichols following five seasons as an assistant coach at Army West Point, where he was responsible for the development of scouting reports on opponents and managing the scout team. He worked specifically with the Cadets wing players at practice while also assisting with all in-game strategy. Linton – who tracked defensive possessions and goal specific statistics during games – was the underclass recruiting coordinator with key territories being New England, the West Coast, and the Southeast. He also coordinated and operated all aspects of the Army West Point Summer Camp, supervised a staff of 10+ student managers, coached the junior varsity team, and logged all compliance paperwork for the Cadets.

"I am honored to accept the position as Head Men's Basketball Coach at Nichols College," said Linton. "I would like to thank Eric Gobiel and the entire search committee for their belief and support in me.  Nichols College is a special institution that offers a world-class experience for our student-athletes both on and off of the court. I cannot wait to begin the process of getting to know our current players and continuing to build on the foundation they have created. I would also like to thank head coach Jimmy Allen, my fellow assistants, and the student-athletes at Army for a great ride these past five seasons. It is with great enthusiasm and excitement that I look forward to joining the Nichols College community!"

Linton was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches '30-Under-30' Team following a 2014-15 campaign which saw Army win 15 games, highlighted by an 85-77 overtime win over the University of Southern California (USC) on December 13 – its first over a Pac-10 school since 1964. The following season, the Cadets posted a 19-14 record and advanced to both the Patriot League Semifinals and the Collegeinsider.com Tournament. Army won a school-record 11 road games that season while the 19 wins marked the highest win total and first postseason berth for the program since the 1977-78 campaign.

"I am thrilled to welcome Brandon Linton to our Bison family," said Gobiel. "Brandon was selected from an extremely talented pool of candidates and we are excited for him to begin building upon the tremendous success of our men's basketball program. Brandon brings exceptional coaching and leadership experience from a variety of NCAA programs, and I am confident he is exactly the right person to continue to elevate our program in the years to come."  

Linton cut his teeth in the collegiate coaching ranks at his alma mater, Clarkson University, shortly after receiving his Bachelor of Science in Business in 2010. In two years as both an assistant men's basketball coach and the Assistant Dean of Undergraduate & Transfer Admissions (2010-12), the Golden Knights went 28-22 as Linton was responsible for parts of team scouting (video breakdown and written reports) while coaching the guards and post players during breakdown drills.

In the summer of 2012, Linton accepted an assistant coaching position at Bowdoin College, where he served as the recruiting coordinator, prepared video scouting reports for each opponent, coached the second unit during 5-on-5 competition during practice, managed in-game substitutions, and charted all offensive possessions. Linton helped the Polar Bears post a 19-6 mark in 2013-14 (6-4 New England Small College Athletic Conference) and earn their first berth into the NCAA Tournament since 2008. Bowdoin opened the season 12-0 – the longest winning streak in program history – and its .762 winning percentage was the highest in program history.

Linton received his Bachelor of Science in Business from Clarkson in 2010.

What people are saying about Brandon Linton

"Brandon Linton has been an essential part of some of the most successful Army West Point basketball teams in the last few decades. He is a tireless worker with a terrific knowledge of the game and always has a great attitude. Most importantly, Brandon is an authentic person who builds meaningful relationships with everyone around him. He will do the same at Nichols and I am excited to see what the future holds for both him and the basketball program. Nichols is getting a great basketball coach and an even better person." – Army West Point Lee Anderson Men's Head Basketball Coach Jimmy Allen
 
"Brandon Linton is a very talented coach who played a key role in the success of our program here at Bowdoin. His excellent basketball knowledge, teaching ability, personality and outstanding work ethic were instrumental  in helping to guide our team to an overall record of 33-16, including an NCAA tournament appearance, during his tenure.  I am confident Brandon will bring this same talent, energy and enthusiasm to Nichols as he begins his Head Coaching Career." – Bowdoin College head coach Tim Gilbride