Brian Joyce
WNCC men's basketball coach

Coach Brian Joyce comes to Western Nebraska Community College from Colorado State University, where he was instrumental in helping the Rams have the most regular season and road wins in the last 7 years while having their best conference record in the last 5 years.  He also played a major role in CSU becoming one of the dominant rebounding teams in the country as they finished in the top 30 nationally. In addition, he helped them to two wins over two Big IX opponents and also advanced to the conference semifinals. Joyce continued his recruiting prowess in helping secure two players the top 5 junior college team in the nation and getting a commitment from a Mr. Basketball Finalist.

Prior to coming to CSU he was instrumental in helping Northeastern Junior College become a national power as evident by achieving national rankings in  6 out 7 years he was at the institution.  He was at NJC for 4 seasons as head coach (7th overall at NJC) of the Plainsmen after three successful seasons assisting NJCAA Hall of Fame Coach Lowell Roumph.  He compiled an impressive 97-37 record as a head coach.

During Joyce’s seven seasons, NJC averaged 24 wins per year and tallied an impressive 171 wins since Joyce returned to his alma mater. Overall as a player and coach, he has been a part of 305 games at NJC and the Plainsmen have won nearly 70 percent of the games while averaging 24 wins per season in his nine years with Northeastern. For his efforts in 2005, he was named District IX Coach of the Year in leading NJC to the second best record in school history with 28 wins.  He followed that up this season with the best record in school history with a 30-4 mark. He has helped NJC become a national contender and receive a tremendous amount of national recognition for the program and the institution. In addition to becoming Region IX and District IX Champions in 2005, Joyce helped NJC to the 2000 Region IX and District IX championship, which was the school’s first appearance in the national tournament since the 1983-84 season.

With 13 All Region IX Selections, the Plainsmen lead the region in having the most players named to the All Region Team during Joyce’s tenure. Also, 14 players have been selected to the Region IX All-tournament team over the past six seasons. Three players have been named All-American and one player was selected to the National Junior College Athletic Association All-tournament Team. In addition to the on the court accomplishments over the past six seasons, NJC has had four players named Academic All-American and nine players named to the Academic All-Region IX team while graduating 95 percent of their players.

Each year seems to bring even greater expectations for Joyce and the Plainsmen. At the beginning of last season most people believed NJC was in a rebuilding phase as they lost four players to Division I schools. However, NJC’s program has established itself as one of the elite programs in the country by continuing to produce very good players and very good teams on a yearly basis. In fact, not only did the Plainsmen bounce back from the loss of these very talented players but actually had a better season. Six players signed to play at the Division I level, giving NJC 10 over the last two seasons, and finishing the year with a Region IX championship and another national tournament appearance.  “I think good programs stand out because they do not have down years. They bounce back even after losing good players by working hard to have another good recruiting class and continue to play at the level of expectation established by the program,” Joyce said

In 2003-04, NJC finished with a 22-win season, giving the Plainsmen their fifth 20-win season in the last six seasons. Overall, Joyce has coached 28 players who have gone on to play major college basketball at the Division I level. He has played a major role in helping the college continue the great tradition established by program pillars, former coaches Roy Edwards and Lowell Roumph.Both Edwards and Roumph have been inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame.  Joyce’s tireless work ethic and determination are evident in the recruiting classes that he has consistently been able to bring to Sterling, Colo.  He has been a part of the second, third, fourth, and sixth highest win totals in school history.  In addition, this past seasons 30-4 mark is the highest winning percentage in school history.

NJC has now achieved a top 20 ranking in 6 out the last 7 seasons.  As a result, each year the expectations seemed to increase for the Plainsmen. Joyce said it was difficult to sustain a successful program. "I realized when I took over this program that I was following in the footsteps of two Hall of Fame coaches, which meant I had big shoes to fill," he said. "However, I tell our guys all the time that anything in life that is worth something is going to cost something so do not expect success to be handed to you but be prepared to earn it. So I want to embrace the success of the past and utilize the pressure coming from high expectations to continue to strive to make a positive impact on our student-athlete's lives and reach our ultimate goal of bringing a national championship to NJC."

Joyce's teams have been known nationally, having been ranked in preseason rankings throughout his head coaching years. The 2004 team garnered national recognition as well by being rated #11 by Street & Smith's magazine and #14 by the National Junior College Athletic Association. Over the past four seasons NJC has been ranked #10, #11, and #12 in the country to Street and Smith's national publication.  In addition the 2003-04 team saw four players move on to play at top Division I schools in John DeGroat (Pittsburgh), Marcus McIntosh (Texas A&M), Derek Wabbington (Wyoming), and Dennis Howard (Creighton). NJC has placed the most players at the Division I level of any team in the region over the past six seasons. These players have moved on to some of the elite teams and conferences in the country including the Big 12, Big East, Conference USA and Mountain West to name a few. In doing so he has maintained the integrity of the tradition rich Northeastern basketball program by consistently having his players graduate with their two-year degrees.

Joyce is no stranger to Northeastern basketball, though, having played for the Plainsmen from 1991-1993. He has enjoyed success as a player and a coach at the NJCAA, NAIA, NCAA Div. II, and NCAA Div. I levels. He was an All-Region IX player on a team that won 43 games during his two years as point guard at NJC.

As a player, he was a point guard for a state championship team in high school, a sub region championship team at Northeastern JC, and a Big Sky championship team at Idaho State University. He finished his playing career at Oklahoma Christian University and was an All-Conference selection as a senior.