MEN’S 1ST TEAM COACH

Having played for Worcester Wolves in the early noughties, Coach Blake returned to University of Worcester to assist the programme in returning to the dominant force it was.

​Dean joined the School of Sport and Exercise Science in 2018 after working as Basketball Head Coach at the University of Wolverhampton. In addition to this role, he was also Head Coach of the Men’s West Bromwich Albion Foundation NBL team

Whilst working with the Foundation, Dean developed Basketball players who gained scholarships to the USA, earned trials with National Teams, played in the Elite Academy Basketball League (EABL) and Academy Basketball League, (ABL).

In his first season here, Dean lead a strong Men’s Second Team to the Midlands 2A Conference League title, thus securing them promotion to Midlands 1A.

The 2019-2020 season saw Dean take charge of the Men’s 1st team in their return to BUCS Premier.  The team started the campaign losing their first 5 games.  Facing relegation and a swift return to 1A, the team bounced back after Christmas break. Closing the regular season with a 3 game win streak and securing them a place in the playoffs.  Eventually losing in the second round to UEL.

Returning after the world paused due to Covid, Coach Dean and the Men’s 1st team struggled in BUCS Premier division.  failing to record a single victory during the 2021-2022 season.  Resulting in our Men’s 1st team being relegated.

Returning to Tier 1 competition, Coach Dean and our 1st team were committed to gaining promotion back to BUCS Premier.  A strong campaign saw our 1st team only needing to secure *2nd place to be in with a chance.  As they approached the final game of the season, they needed to beat Anglia Ruskin to ensure their second place was secured.  The team got off to a sluggish start, but once they found their stride.  They provided their best performance of the season to date with a 103-57 victory.

Heading into the BUCS Premier Playoff, our Men’s team would have to travel to Strathclyde Scotland and then play University of Central Lancaster if they wanted to return to BUCS Premier competition.  Coach Dean lead the team to convincing wins to get the job done and return our men to top tier competition for the 2023-2024 season.

 

 

*Loughborough Men’s 2nd team can not be promoted to BUCS Premier as their first team is already competing in that league.