Washburn men’s basketball head coach Brett Ballard enters his 10th season on the Ichabod bench after guiding Washburn to six NCAA postseason appearances during his first nine seasons, compiling a 198-81 (.710) overall record, including a 132-51 (.721) mark in MIAA play and a 105-20 (.840) record at home. Ballard’s 198 victories are the most by an Ichabod head coach through nine seasons at Washburn.
The 2025-26 Ichabod season added another historic chapter to Ballard’s tenure as Washburn finished 31-2 overall and 18-1 in MIAA play, winning both the MIAA regular-season and tournament championships. The Ichabods captured their second consecutive MIAA regular-season crown, winning the league title by four games, before claiming the MIAA Tournament championship for the second time under Ballard. Washburn finished the season ranked No. 3 in the final NABC Division II Coaches Poll after spending the entire season ranked among the nation’s top five, including seven weeks at No. 1. The Ichabods opened the season 22-0 for the second consecutive year and posted a 31-2 record after replacing four starters from the 2024-25 NCAA Final Four squad.
For his efforts, Ballard was named the MIAA Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. During the 2025-26 campaign, he guided the Ichabods to another NCAA Central Regional appearance after the program hosted the regional in 2025. Washburn’s season ended in the NCAA Central Regional with a 64-62 loss to Minnesota Duluth, finishing with the program’s second-highest win total in school history.
The 2024-25 season was one for the record books as Ballard led the Ichabods to a 30-4 overall record and a 17-2 mark in MIAA play, winning Washburn’s first MIAA regular-season championship since the 2011-12 season. The Ichabods advanced to the NCAA Final Four while making their first NCAA Elite Eight appearance since the 2000-01 season. The 30 wins were the second-highest total in school history. Washburn hosted the NCAA Central Regional for the first time since 2000-01 and advanced to the national quarterfinals after defeating second-seeded Minnesota State Moorhead 93-65 in the regional championship game. The Ichabods played before three sell-out crowds during the regional and posted an average margin of victory of 24 points during the regional run.
Ballard earned NABC Central Region Coach of the Year honors in 2024-25 in addition to being named MIAA Coach of the Year and Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Four-Year College Coach of the Year. Jacob Hanna and Jack Bachelor earned NABC All-District honors, with Hanna receiving first-team recognition and Bachelor earning second-team honors. Hanna and Bachelor were both named first-team All-MIAA and to the NCAA Central Region All-Tournament Team, with Hanna earning Most Outstanding Player honors. Hanna was also selected as the MIAA Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, while Michael Keegan was named to the MIAA All-Defensive Team. Brayden Shorter earned second-team All-MIAA honors and Andrew Orr was a third-team selection.
In his first nine seasons at Washburn, Ballard has coached 25-plus All-MIAA selections, numerous all-region honorees and multiple MIAA major award winners while producing NCAA postseason teams in six seasons. His Ichabod teams have won two MIAA regular-season championships and two MIAA Tournament championships, including the 2021 tournament title won during the COVID-19-shortened season. Ballard has also guided Washburn to multiple MIAA Tournament championship-game appearances during his tenure.
During the 2025-26 season, Ballard coached seven MIAA postseason honorees, including first-team selections Jack Bachelor and Dillon Claussen, third-team selection Jeremiah Jones, honorable mention selection Bryson Smith and Jones’ selection as the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the MIAA All-Defensive Team. Jones became the second consecutive Ichabod to earn MIAA Defensive Player of the Year honors after Jacob Hanna received the award in 2025.
During the COVID-19-shortened 2020-21 season, Ballard led the Ichabods to the MIAA Tournament championship, defeating Northwest Missouri 69-68 in the championship game at Maryville, Mo. Washburn advanced to the second round of the NCAA Central Regional that season.
In his second season at Washburn, Ballard helped guide the Ichabods to a second consecutive NCAA appearance while coaching Javion Blake, a first-team All-MIAA selection and two-time all-region honoree, as well as David Salach and Tyler Geiman, who were both honorable mention All-MIAA selections. Salach was also named to the MIAA All-Defensive Team.
In Ballard’s first season at Washburn, he mentored Brady Skeens, who completed his Ichabod career with multiple All-American honors, three MIAA Defensive Player of the Year selections, first-team All-MIAA honors and MIAA All-Defensive Team recognition. Ballard also coached Javion Blake to honorable mention All-MIAA honors, with both Skeens and Blake earning spots on the MIAA All-Tournament Team.
In the classroom, Ballard has coached multiple Academic All-America and Academic All-District selections, MIAA Scholar Athletes and numerous MIAA Academic Honor Roll selections. Most recently, Jack Bachelor was named a 2025-26 CSC Third Team Academic All-American, joining Brady Skeens, who earned Academic All-America honors in consecutive seasons.
Ballard was named the Washburn Ichabod men’s basketball head coach on April 6, 2017 after spending the 2014-15 to 2016-17 seasons as an assistant coach with the Wake Forest basketball program after working under head coach Danny Manning for five combined seasons, including two seasons at the University of Tulsa.
After the 2016-17 season, Ballard helped Wake Forest to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2009-10 season. Prior to joining the staff at Wake Forest, Ballard was instrumental in helping Tulsa win the 2013-14 Conference USA regular-season and tournament championships, the program’s first league title since 2003.
Tulsa went 38-29 overall and 21-11 in C-USA play during Ballard’s two seasons on staff. The Golden Hurricane played in the postseason both years, including earning a No. 13 seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Tulsa also participated in the 2013 CBI, finishing that season with a winning record of 17-16.
The Golden Hurricane went 21-13 overall and 13-3 in C-USA in 2013-14, earning a share of the regular-season title, its first since winning the WAC in 2002. Tulsa captured the C-USA Tournament title over Louisiana Tech, securing its first NCAA Tournament berth in 11 seasons. Tulsa earned a No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament and fell 76-59 to No. 4 seed UCLA in the second round.
Before joining Manning at Tulsa, Ballard spent two seasons as the head basketball coach at Baker University.
In two seasons at Baker, Ballard went 33-30 overall, including a 21-12 mark in his final season at the helm in 2011-12. The Wildcats advanced to the school’s first Heart of America Athletic Conference championship game in 15 years in 2012 and capped the season with an NAIA national tournament berth, the program’s first since 1996.
Prior to taking over the head coaching position at Baker, Ballard spent seven years on Bill Self’s staff at the University of Kansas, his alma mater. He served as the director of basketball operations for his final two seasons on staff, and prior to that, he served as the administrative assistant/video coordinator for four years and a volunteer student assistant for one year.
Ballard oversaw the academic progress of the Jayhawks, worked closely with the off-season strength and conditioning program and assisted with on-campus recruiting, team travel and team video. Ballard was also the camp director for the Bill Self Basketball Camps, where he organized and directed more than 2,500 campers and coordinated the Coaches Clinic, Winter Clinic and Wilt Chamberlain Special Olympics Clinic.
Kansas basketball was highly successful during Ballard’s time on the Jayhawks’ staff. Kansas won the 2008 national championship, advanced to three NCAA Tournament Elite Eights, won or tied for the Big 12 regular-season championship four times and claimed three conference tournament championships. During his coaching career, Ballard has worked with more than 35 student-athletes who have gone on to play professional basketball.
Ballard played two seasons for the Jayhawks under head coach Roy Williams from 2000-02 after transferring from Hutchinson Community College in his hometown of Hutchinson, Kan. A guard, Ballard played in 56 career games, scoring 59 points and dishing out 32 assists. Kansas went a combined 59-11 (.843) during his two seasons as a Jayhawk, including a 2001 NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance and a berth in the 2002 NCAA Final Four in Atlanta.
Ballard earned his bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Kansas in 2003. He was named an Academic All-Big 12 selection as a senior for his efforts in the classroom.
Ballard and his wife, Kelly, have three children -- sons Kaden and Brooks and daughter Breagan. Kaden joined the Ichabod basketball program as a freshman in 2025-26 and appeared in 14 games during his first collegiate season.
