| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Tennessee State |
| Conference | OVC |
| Record | 80–101 (.442) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | March 23, 1984 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 2002–2006 | Belmont |
| 2006 | Bakersfield Jam |
| 2007 | Kouvot |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2007–2009 | Tennessee State (asst.) |
| 2009–2012 | Cumberland (asst.) |
| 2012–2015 | Columbia State CC |
| 2015–2017 | East Tennessee State (asst.) |
| 2017–2018 | Illinois State (asst.) |
| 2018–present | Tennessee State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 80–101 (.442) (NCAA) 64–28 (.696) (NJCAA) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| 2013–14 REGION 7 COACH OF THE YEAR,2014–15 NJCAA DISTRICT 7 COACH OF THE YEAR, 2019–20 BOXTOROW COACH OF THE YEAR | |
Brian "Penny" Collins is an American college basketball coach, and current head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers basketball team.[1][2]
A Nashville native, Collins was a four-year starter at hometown Belmont under Rick Byrd, and was the captain of the Bruins first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance at the Division I level in 2006. He scored 1,199 points in his career, and left the school as the all-time leader in assists and steals at the Division I level.[2][3]
After graduation, Collins played professional basketball between 2006 and 2007 with the Bakersfield Jam of the NBDL and Kouvot in Finland.[4]
In 2007, Collins began his coaching career serving as a graduate assistant and director of basketball operations at Tennessee State until 2009, when he accepted an assistant coaching position at NAIA institution Cumberland.[2]
Collins landed his first head coaching job, taking the reins of Columbia State where he took over a team that went 10–17 in his first year, but compiled a 54–11 overall record in his final two seasons and led the team to two-straight NCJAA national tournament appearances.[5][6][7] After the 2015 season, Collins joined the staff at ETSU for two seasons before spending one season at Illinois St. as an assistant coach.[8][9]
On March 26, 2018, Collins was named the 21st head coach in Tennessee State history, replacing Dana Ford, who accepted the head coaching position at Missouri State.[2]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia State () (2012–2015) | |||||||||
| 2012–13 | Columbia State | 10–17 * | 7–11 * | N/A | |||||
| 2013–14 | Columbia State | 28–4 | 17–1 | N/A | ELITE 8 | ||||
| 2014–15 | Columbia State | 26–7 | 14–4 | N/A | SWEET 16 | ||||
| Columbia State: | 64–28 (.696) | 38–16 (.704) | |||||||
| Total: | 64–28 (.696) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee State (Ohio Valley) (2018–present) | |||||||||
| 2018–19 | Tennessee State | 9–21 | 6–12 | T-8th | |||||
| 2019–20 | Tennessee State | 18–15 | 9–9 | T–5th | CIT cancelled | ||||
| 2020–21 | Tennessee State | 4–19 | 3–17 | 12th | |||||
| 2021–22 | Tennessee State | 14–18 | 8–10 | T–5th | |||||
| 2022–23 | Tennessee State | 18–14 | 10–8 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2023–24 | Tennessee State | 17–14 | 10–8 | 5th | |||||
| Tennessee State: | 80–101 (.442) | 46–64 (.418) | |||||||
| Total: | 80–101 (.442) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||