Sports

New Boss in Utsunomiya: Kevin Braswell Promoted to Head Coach of the B.League Squad

After getting bounced in the first round of the B.League playoffs despite a 51-9 regular-season record, the Brex begin afresh with a new head coach.

Published

3 weeks ago

June 6, 2024

Ed Odeven

Kevin Braswell in a November 2022 file photo. (B.LEAGUE)

Read the full story on SportsLook - New Boss in Utsunomiya: Kevin Braswell Promoted to Head Coach of the B.League Squad

Guiding the Utsunomiya Brex to the best regular-season record in the B.League was not enough for head coach Norio Sassa to keep his job for the 2024-25 campaign.

The Brex parted ways with Sassa, it was announced on Monday, June 3, after they won 51 of 60 games this past season and then lost in the B.League playoff quarterfinals to the Chiba Jets.

In Sassa's first season at the helm, the Brex had a 32-28 record.

Despite the 19-win improvement in his second season in charge, team management opted to make a coaching change, a move that Sassa described as a "mutual" decision.

American Kevin Braswell, an associate head coach on Sassa's staff in 2023-24, was named the Brex's new bench boss on Wednesday, June 5.

Before joining Utsunomiya, Braswell spent two seasons with the Akita Northern Happinets, serving as an assistant coach and associate head coach. He also filled in as an acting head coach in 2022-23 when Kenzo Maeda took a leave of absence after his wife passed away.

In addition, the former Georgetown University guard coached a trio of teams in New Zealand (Wellington Saints, New Zealand Breakers, Auckland Huskies) before moving on to Akita.

In a news release, Sassa said he expects the Brex to be a title contender next season.

"I believe that the team has returned to a position where it can aim for another championship," said Sassa, who took over as head coach after the team won the franchise's second B.League title in the 2021-22 season under then-bench boss Ryuzo Anzai.

Braswell Expresses Outlook for the 2024-25 B.League Season

"I am very excited to be named head coach for the 2024-25 season," Braswell, 45, said in a statement, "[and] I would like to thank the Brex organization for believing in and entrusting me to lead such a great team."

He added, "I am confident that this team will compete at a high level and will be able to challenge again to achieve the goals that we did not reach this season. When I came to the Brex for the 2023-24 season, our goal was to win a championship and that will not change."

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Author: Ed Odeven

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.