Two-time NCAA Champion, Allen Edwards, joined LMU’s coaching staff in 2020. Following a run as head coach for the University of Wyoming for the past four seasons, Edwards has been named an assistant coach on Stan Johnson’s bench.
The 2021-22 season will be his second on the Bluff with the Lions.
The 2020-21 season saw meteoric growths across the board for LMU men’s basketball. The Lions finished in the top three of the West Coast Conference standings for the first time since 2005-06. Edwards helped guide his team through the COVID-19 pandemic and posted a winning record in the WCC for the first time since 2011-12. LMU has posted a top-100 ranking in the NCAA’s NET, college basketball’s comprehensive metric that takes into account record, quality opponents faced, and game location, among others. LMU’s 95 ranking is the highest NET (or RPI at that time) since the Elite Eight season of 1990.
As head coach of the Cowboys, Edwards guided Wyoming to 60 wins in four seasons, including back-to-back seasons of 20-plus wins in 2016-17 and 2017-18. His 23-win season his first year culminated with the 2017 CBI Championship with the Pokes coming back from down a game to win the best-of-three series and win the tournament. The Cowboys won their first postseason title since winning an NCAA Championship in 1943. UW scored the most points in school history that season and set a school and Mountain West record for three pointers made.
Edwards helped the Pokes make NCAA history in 2017-18. Wyoming became only the second team in NCAA history to go 6-0 in overtime games in a single season.
Edwards was introduced as the 21st head coach of the Cowboy basketball program by University of Wyoming Athletics Director Tom Burman on March 21, 2016. He had previously served as an assistant under former UW head coach Larry Shyatt the previous five seasons. With 12 appearances in postseason tournaments and 14 conference championships, Edwards has created success during his playing career at Kentucky and as an assistant the past 14 seasons.
He added to his extensive postseason experience with the Cowboys qualifying for the CBI from 2012-14 and the NCAA Championships in 2015. That 2014-15 season included winning the Mountain West tournament title to secure the Pokes' first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2002. During his time in Laramie, the Cowboys have claimed six wins over top-25 opponents, including one against a top-five foe, and six players have earned 15 all-conference honors, including a MW Player of the Year and two MW Defensive Players of the Year. He helped coach Larry Nance Jr., who was picked 27th overall in the first round of the 2015 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Edwards came to Wyoming from Western Kentucky, where he spent the 2010-11 season under Ken McDonald as an assistant coach. The Hilltoppers finished 16-16 overall, including 8-8 in the Sun Belt Conference, with a pair of first team all-conference players. Prior to WKU, Edwards spent 2009-10 as an assistant at Towson University under head coach Pat Kennedy.
Those two positions for Edwards came after a very productive three-year stint at Virginia Commonwealth University with head coach Anthony Grant from 2006-09. He helped guide the Rams to a 76-25 overall record during that time, including 45-9 in the Colonial Athletic Association, as the Rams won three conference regular-season titles and two tournament titles. VCU played in the NCAA tournament twice, including a first-round upset of Duke in 2007, and the NIT once. During that 2006-07 season, the Rams led the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense and were 10th in field goal percentage defense. Edwards helped cultivate Eric Maynor, the 20th overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft, and Larry Sanders, the 15th overall selection in the 2010 NBA draft.
Edwards' first full-time assistant position was at Morehead State from 2003-06 under head coach Kyle Macy. He previously spent the 2002-03 as a special assistant to head coach Tubby Smith at Kentucky, as he returned to complete his degree in sociology. During that season, the Wildcats went 16-0 in the SEC to win the conference regular season and tournament and advance to the NCAA's Elite Eight.
Edwards enjoyed a tremendous playing career at Kentucky from 1995-98 that included three seasons under Rick Pitino and one under Smith. The Wildcats advanced to three-straight Final Fours during Edwards' sophomore, junior and senior seasons, including winning national titles in 1996 and 1998. During his freshman campaign, Kentucky made the Elite Eight. With Edwards, the Wildcats compiled a 132-16 overall record and won three SEC regular-season crowns and three tournament titles. He averaged 9.2 points, 3.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds as a senior. Following his collegiate career, Edwards played professionally in the CBA and the IBL.
A native of Miami, Edwards played his prep career at Miami Senior High School where he and his two brothers collected five prep state titles. Allen is married to the former LaTanya Webb, a two-time All-SEC volleyball player at Kentucky. They have two daughters, Mai'a and Landree, and a son, Jaxson.
Coaching History
2016-20 – Wyoming Head Coach –
60 Wins
2011-16 -- Wyoming as an Assistant Coach
2010-11 -- Western Kentucky as an Assistant Coach
2009-10 -- Towson University as an Assistant Coach
2006-09 -- VCU as an Assistant Coach
2003-06 -- Morehead State as an Assistant Coach
2002-03 - Kentucky as an Assistant Coach
NCAA Championship Teams (2)
1998 - NCAA Champions at Kentucky as a Player
1996 - NCAA Champions at Kentucky as a Player
Postseason Berths (14)
(NCAA Tournament: 2 National Championships, 8 Appearances)
(National Invitation Tournament: 1 Appearance)
(College Basketball Invitational: 1 Title, 2 Quarterfinal Appearances, 4 Appearances)
2017 – College Basketball Invitational Champions as Wyoming Head Coach
2015 - NCAA Second Round at Wyoming as an Assistant Coach
2014 - CBI First Round at Wyoming as an Assistant Coach
2013 - CBI Quarterfinals at Wyoming as an Assistant Coach
2012 - CBI Quarterfinals at Wyoming as an Assistant Coach
2009 -- NCAA First Round at VCU as an Assistant Coach
2008 -- NIT First Round at VCU as an Assistant Coach
2007 -- NCAA Second Round at VCU as an Assistant Coach
2003 -- NCAA Elite Eight at Kentucky as an Assistant Coach
1998 -- NCAA Champions at Kentucky as a Player
1997 -- NCAA Runner-Up at Kentucky as a Player
1996 -- NCAA Champions at Kentucky as a Player
1995 -- NCAA Elite Eight at Kentucky as a Player
Conference Championship Teams (14)
2015 - MW Tournament Champions at Wyoming as an Assistant Coach
2009 -- CAA Regular-Season and Tournament Champions as an Assistant Coach
2008 -- CAA Regular-Season Champions as an Assistant Coach
2007 -- CAA Regular-Season and Tournament Champions as an Assistant Coach
2003 -- SEC Regular-Season and Tournament Champions as an Assistant Coach
1998 -- SEC Regular-Season and Tournament Champions as a Player
1997 -- SEC Tournament Champions as a Player
1996 -- SEC Regular-Season Champions as a Player
1995 -- SEC Regular-Season and Tournament Champions as a Player
