Brad Soderberg is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Lindenwood men’s basketball team in 2014-15. He is in his 19th year as a collegiate head coach, including six at the NCAA Division I level.
In just his first five years, Soderberg has become Lindenwood’s all-time winningest head coach with 110 wins. He also holds the school record in winning percentage with .710.
Under Soderberg, the Lions have won at least 19 games in every season but one during his tenure which included the program's transition to the NCAA level. After winning 20 games in 2011-12, it was the first time in school history that the program has won 20 games three seasons in a row. Lindenwood is 110-45 through five seasons under Soderberg, and he enters the 2013-14 season with a career record of 321-192. During his Lindenwood tenure, Soderberg’s teams have an overall home record of 60-15.
Last season was a rebuilding year for Lindenwood after losing four starters, and also facing one of the toughest schedules in school history. The Lions finished the season with 11 wins and reached the MIAA Postseason Tournament in their first season of eligibility. Lindenwood continued to be one of the top shooting teams in the MIAA, including ranking in the top five in free-throw percentage and three-point field-goal percentage.
Lindenwood had two all-conference players in 2013-14 in Tyler Ressel and Darris Smith, both who were named honorable mention. Nine Lions were named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll.
In 2012-13, Soderberg led the Lions into their first season of MIAA play and finished just one game out of a conference title. The Lions ended the year with a 19-7 overall record and was third in the MIAA with a 12-6 mark. Lindenwood was 3-1 on the season against the three teams in the MIAA that either shared the conference championship or made the NCAA Tournament.
Lindenwood had the top offense in the MIAA averaging 78.6 points a game. The Lions also were first in field-goal percentage and second in three-point field-goal percentage. Defensively, Lindenwood was in the upper half in scoring defense. It also ranked first in three-point field-goal percentage defense and rebounding, and second in field-goal percentage defense.
Soderberg coached one all-conference player in 2012-13 in second-team honoree Alex Bazzell. Bazzell was also a third-team Academic All-American and a MIAA Scholar-Athlete. Twelve of the 16 players on the roster were named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll.
In 2011-12, Soderberg led the team to a 28-3 overall record during its transition season to the NCAA Division II level. The Lions had the best wining-percentage in school history and the second most wins for a season. The team finished the year with a record of 12-1 at Hyland Arena. Lindenwood set several school records during the season. The team averaged just over 85 points a game which was the highest in program history, and made over 77 percent of its free throws, which was also tops. After the season, Soderberg was named the ICAA Coach of the Year and two if his players were named to the first-team All-ICAA.
In 2010-11, the Lions had their best season in school history, setting a school record for wins. They finished with a record of 29-6 and had a 17-3 mark in conference play. Lindenwood compiled a record of 15-3 at the Hyland Arena and a 12-2 mark on the road. During the season the team had a school-record winning streak of 16 games. In the middle of the streak the Lions beat then No. 1 Robert Morris on the road.
For the first time in school history, the program made it to the NAIA Division I National Championship. The Lions won their opening round game 78-72 over St. Catherine College. For the second consecutive year, the Lions also made it to the HAAC Tournament Championship game. After the season, three members were named to the All-HAAC squad. Kramer Soderberg was also named an NAIA All-American.
In 2009-10, his first season as the head coach of Lindenwood, Soderberg's team
compiled an overall record of 23-10 and a 13-7 mark in the HAAC. The 23 wins were the most for the Lions since the 2005-06 season. Soderberg’s team was also dominant at home, compiling a 13-1 record which is the highest home winning percentage in school history. The Lions won two games in the HAAC tournament before falling to William Jewell in overtime by one point in the championship game. During the regular season, the Lions were 5-2 against ranked teams, including an upset win of the No. 1 team in the country at the time, Robert Morris. Four Lions were named to the all-conference team in 2009-10 and Toriano Adams was named an honorable mention All-American.
Soderberg returned to the St. Louis area in 2009 after being the head coach at Saint Louis University from 2002-07. He compiled 80 wins at Saint Louis, the sixth-most in school history, and led the Billikens to two postseason berths.
In his first season at Saint Louis, he was named Conference USA Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com after leading the Billikens to a C-USA semifinal tournament appearance and a berth in the NIT. The next year, the team again advanced to the semifinals of the C-USA Tournament and made it to the second round of the NIT. Soderberg was just the third Billiken coach to take the team to back-to-back postseason appearances in his first two years as head coach.
In 2005-06, Soderberg led Saint Louis to a third-place finish and a semifinal tournament appearance in its first year as a member of the Atlantic-10 Conference. The next year, the Billikens finished in the upper half of the conference standings and Saint Louis won 20 games.
Soderberg also spent one year as an assistant coach at Saint Louis in 2001-02 under Lorenzo Romar. Prior to that, he was at Wisconsin for six years. He started as an assistant coach under Dick Bennett and helped the Badgers advance to four NCAA Tournaments, including the 2000 Final Four, and one NIT appearance. In 2000-01, he took over as the interim head coach early in the season and led Wisconsin to a 16-10 record, and a fifth-place finish in the Big Ten. Soderberg was the first Wisconsin coach since 1911 to win his first eight games, and the first to lead the Badgers to the NCAA Tournament in his first year.
Soderberg was the head coach at South Dakota State University from 1993-95 and at Loras College from 1988-1993. He was named the National Catholic Basketball Tournament Coach of the Year in 1992 after leading Loras to a runner-up finish. He also had previous coaching jobs at Loras, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Colorado State University, and Fort Hays State University. He also spent the 2008-09 school year at Loras as the interim Director of Athletics.
Soderberg was a two-year letterwinner for the UW-Stevens Point basketball team. He teamed up with former NBA player and head coach Terry Porter to lead UW-Stevens Point to the 1984 NAIA National Championship game. Soderberg earned the “Hustle Award” at that tournament and earned first-team all-conference and all-district honors that year. For his career, he shot 56 percent from the field and 83 percent from the free throw line.
Soderberg graduated from UW-Stevens Point in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education, and he earned a master’s in physical education from Colorado State in 1986.
Soderberg and his wife, Linda, have two sons, Kramer and Davis, and a daughter, Daley.
Brad Soderberg's Year-by-Year Records
|
Year
|
School |
Overall Record
|
Conference Record
|
Conference Finish
|
| 1988-89 |
Loras |
17-7 |
11-5 |
3rd |
|
1989-90
|
Loras |
14-11
|
11-5
|
2nd
|
|
1990-91
|
Loras |
17-8
|
11-5
|
t-3rd
|
|
1991-92
|
Loras |
16-10
|
10-6
|
3rd
|
|
1992-93
|
Loras |
15-9
|
10-6
|
3rd
|
| 1993-94 |
S. Dakota State |
19-8 |
11-7 |
3rd |
| 1994-95 |
S. Dakota State |
17-10 |
10-8 |
6th |
| 2000-01 |
Wisconsin |
16-10 |
9-7 |
5th |
| 2002-03 |
Saint Louis |
16-14 |
9-7 |
4th |
| 2003-04 |
Saint Louis |
19-13 |
9-7 |
t-6th |
| 2004-05 |
Saint Louis |
9-21 |
6-10 |
10th |
| 2005-06 |
Saint Louis |
16-13 |
10-6 |
3rd |
| 2006-07 |
Saint Louis |
20-12 |
8-8 |
7th |
|
2009-10
|
Lindenwood |
23-10 |
13-7
|
4th
|
| 2010-11 |
Lindenwood |
29-6 |
17-3 |
t-1st |
| 2011-12 |
Lindenwood |
28-3 |
--- |
--- |
| 2012-13 |
Lindenwood |
19-7 |
12-6 |
t-3rd |
| 2013-14 |
Lindenwood |
11-19 |
6-13 |
11th |
| Career |
|
321-192 (.626) |
|
|
