HEAD COACH LANCE RANDALL |
Lance Randall
Head Coach
Lance Randall is in his fourth year at Lindenwood during the 2018-19 men’s basketball season. Randall is in his eleventh season as a collegiate head coach, and he has a career record of 174-118 during that time. Randall has accumulated over 300 career wins in 16 seasons as a head coach at all levels.
In 2017-18, Randall guided Lindenwood to its fourth consecutive winning season. The Lions won 16 games, and were led by a defense that held opponents under 70 points and finished in the top-50 in NCAA Division II for the fourth straight season. Offensively, Lindenwood was in the top-10 nationally by turning the ball over less than 10 times a game.
The Randall-led Lions had three players receive all-MIAA honors, as Chandler Diekvoss, Brad Newman, and Jackson Price each earned honorable mention accolades. The three all-conference selections were the most for the program in a single-season since 2014-15.
Lindenwood earned national attention early in the 2017-18 season when it nearly defeated Marquette on the road in an exhibition contest at BMO Harris Bradley Center. With the Lions trailing 81-79 late in the fourth quarter, Lindenwood had a three-point attempt at the buzzer fall just short.
In the Summer of 2017, Randall served as an assistant coach for the Kosovo National Team. Randall was a member of the coaching staff that helped the Kosovo National Team advance out of their pool and into their first ever World Cup qualifying round.
In 2016-17, Randall had to replace nearly 85 percent of his offense from the previous year, and had a roster that was 2/3 freshmen and sophomores. Despite the youth, Randall led the team to its first 20-win season since moving to the NCAA Division II level. Lindenwood finished the year with a 21-12 overall record and a 10-9 MIAA mark. The Lions earned the right to host a first round MIAA Tournament game.
Lindenwood had one of the top defenses in the country for the second year in a row, allowing just 68.9 points a game, the 33rd-best mark in NCAA Division II. Offensively, the Lions scored nearly five more points a game, and made the second-most three-pointers in school history with 282.
Randall had two all-conference players in 2016-17, led by Chandler Diekvoss who was a second-team selection, and one MIAA All-Defensive team selection. Nine of the 12 members of the basketball team earned MIAA Academic Honor Roll accolades.
In his first season at Lindenwood, Randall directed the Lions to a 16-14 record and a fifth-place finish in the MIAA. The Lions defeated three teams that advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament, including regional finalist Northwest Missouri by 16 points, and won the program’s first MIAA Tournament game with a 77-68 victory over Pittsburg State.
Under Randall, Lindenwood led the MIAA in field-goal percentage defense, rebounding margin, and blocks, and was second in scoring defense.
Randall helped coach Cory Arentsen, who was the first first-team all-MIAA player in program history. Arentsen set the school’s single-season scoring record, improving his average by nearly nine points a game in 2015-16, and he was also an all-region selection. Randall also recruited and coached Stanislas Heili, who earned a spot on the MIAA All-Defensive Team.
Off the court, 75 percent of the team in 2015-16 was named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll, and every undergraduate but one had a 3.00 GPA or higher during the spring semester.
Randall came to Lindenwood after spending four years as head coach at St. Leo University, where he compiled a record of 78-44 which also included three trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
In Randall’s first year at St. Leo, he led the program to the first winning season in 14 seasons. His immediate and overwhelming success saw him earn Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2012. Randall’s first season on campus also led to the program’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The following season, Randall piloted St. Leo to the school’s first ever Sunshine State Conference regular season men’s basketball title. During that season, St. Leo upset the ACC champs, the University of Miami Hurricanes, in an exhibition game.
During the 2013-2014 season, St. Leo surpassed the school record for wins in a season with 24. The Lions also advanced to their third consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament and an appearance in the South Regional semifinal.
Before heading to St. Leo, he served as associate head coach at Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Randall helped guide a squad that took home the 2010 NCAA Division III National Championship.
He also guided Oshkosh West (Wisc.) High School to consecutive state titles after taking over the program prior to the 2005 season. Randall left an assistant coach position at a Division I school to take over at Oshkosh for his father who had suddenly passed away. In three seasons with the Oshkosh West, Randall led his squad to an impressive 71-3 overall record. His 2006 team posted a perfect 26-0 record on its way to the state title.
Randall is not a newcomer to the St. Louis area. In 1997, he was hired as the head coach of the Webster University Gorloks. He took over a team that went 2-23 the year before he got there and then turned them into conference champions and NCAA contenders. He led the Gorloks to the 1999-2000 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship. He became the winningest coach in Webster history and was twice named the SLIAC Coach of the Year, leading the program to the best turnaround in the NCAA in all divisions.
After Webster, Randall spent two years as the head coach and vice president of operations for the Pertemps Birmingham Bullets professional team in Birmingham, England. He then returned to the States, making his entrance into the Division I ranks as he joined Brad Soderberg’s staff at Saint Louis University from 2002 to 2004.
As a professional coach in Europe, Randall coached against some of the highest-level clubs competing in the region, including FC Barcelona, Frankfort Skyliners, Alba Berlin, Zaligris, Riga, Monoco, Sienna, and Weurzberg
Randall has ties to the NBA as well, having assisted the coaching staffs of the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets during on floor workouts and shooting training during preseason training camps.
Randall's sphere of influence is continuing to grow on a global scale, with over 30 of his former players continuing their playing careers at the professional level in countries around the world. Randall's coaching tree has extended to include eight former players or assistant coaches that are currently serving as either head coaches at the professional or collegiate level, or are NBA assistant coaches. Randall has had numerous former players and assistant coaches go on to successful coaching careers at both the NCAA Division II and III levels as well as at the high school ranks.
Randall is a graduate of Beloit College with a degree in Government and also holds a Masters of Arts in Teaching, from Webster University. While at Beloit, Randall was a member of the National Honor Society and a National Merit commended scholar. As a player at Beloit, Randall was a two-time basketball team captain and a two-time all Midwest conference selection. Randall also received recognition as the Johnny Orr Leadership award winner and the Ron Bontemps team MVP.
Randall and his wife, Pamela, have four children, Evelyn, River, Ruby, and Rocco.
