Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- bhodgson@ia.ua.edu
- Phone:
- 205-348-4551
Bryan Hodgson is in his fourth season as an assistant coach at The University of Alabama and was one of the first hires made by head coach Nate Oats.
Hodgson has established himself as one of the top recruiters in the nation across his 11 seasons as a collegiate coach. Most recently, he was ranked by 247Sports.com No. 2 in its basketball recruiting rankings and has been instrumental in the Crimson Tide garnering back-to-back top-10 signing classes in both 2020 (No. 9 Rivals/No. 12 247Sports) and 2021 (No. 9 by 247sports/No. 10 by Rivals.com).
In fact, of the eight signed freshmen who were members of the Tide’s recruiting classes across his two seasons in Tuscaloosa, all have been four stars or better, including four five-star prospects and three McDonald’s All-Americans.
One of those five stars signed by Hodgson, Joshua Primo, spent the 2020-21 season at Alabama before entering his name in the 2021 NBA Draft where he became the No. 12 overall pick by the San Antonio Spurs. It marked the second-straight NBA Lottery Pick for the Crimson Tide (Kira Lewis Jr. drafted No. 13 overall in 2020), as Primo became the Tide’s eighth overall player drafted inside the top 15 in school history.
“Bryan is one of the best recruiters I’ve been around,” Oats said. “I initially hired him at Buffalo and he quickly proved that was one of the best decisions I made. He was able to get high-level talent, and he’s got an eye for talent. He knows exactly how we want to play so there’s a chemistry there in terms of knowing who we want to bring in and what type of player we need.”
Hodgson blazed a trail to Canada as he signed the first Canadian players in program history – Primo and Keon Ambrose-Hilton – Canada’s No. 1 and No. 3-ranked players, respectively, in 2020. He followed that by getting a third Canadian, Charles Bediako, to ink his National Letter of Intent in with the Crimson Tide 2021. Both Bediako and Ambrose-Hylton were listed as consensus four-star prospects.
On the court, Hodgson, who was on Oats’ staff at the University of Buffalo, helped implement one of the highest-powered offenses across the nation – the same style of play that propelled the Bulls to their most successful stretch in program history.
In doing so, Hodgson has helped lead a resurgence in the Alabama men’s basketball program, transitioning the Crimson Tide into one of the top two-way teams in the nation. In fact, UA was one of only nine teams in the nation to finish among the top-30 in 2020-21 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com.
After finishing the 2019-20 season with a 16-15 record and 8-10 mark in SEC play, Alabama had one of the biggest single-season turnarounds in all of college basketball. The Crimson Tide finished the 2020-21 season ranked No. 5 in the nation, matching the highest final ranking in program history, a 26-7 overall record and a 16-2 mark in Southeastern Conference play. The Tide clinched the program's first regular season title in 19 years, since earning the 2002 regular season crown, and capturing the SEC Tournament championship title for the first time in 30 years (1991).
In addition to ranking as one of the top recruiters in collegiate basketball, Hodgson was named to The Athletic’s Top-25 up-and-coming college basketball coaches and one top the top 50 Most Impactful High Major Assistant Coaches. He was invited to participate in the prestigious 2020 TopConnect Seminar which identifies the top assistants in the country and connects them with mid-major Athletic Directors. Previously, Hodgson was one of 30 assistants named to the 2016 Under Armour 30-under-30 Team by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
Hodgson came to the Capstone after having spent four seasons (2015-19) with Oats at the University of Buffalo, where together they helped take the men’s basketball program to unprecedented heights. While there, Hodgson helped guide the Bulls to three NCAA Tournament appearances and three Mid-American Conference Tournament championships, while also earning a pair of MAC regular season titles. In addition, Buffalo reached the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament in each of their final two seasons (2018 and 2019).
The Bulls were ranked for 20 weeks in the Associated Press Top-25 throughout the 2019 season, which marked the first time in school history the program had earned a national ranking. Buffalo went on to climb as high as No. 14 in the nation – the highest ranking by any MAC team in past 40 years. Additionally, the 32 victories not only set a program record, but were the most wins ever by any Mid-American men’s basketball program.
During the 2018-19 campaign, Buffalo finished with an impressive 32-4 overall record and a 16-2 mark in conference play. Both the 32 victories on the seasons and 16 conference wins were school records, beating the former records of 27 wins (27-9) and 15 MAC victories (15-3) which were set the previous year (2017-18). In fact, the Bulls had a combined record of 59-13 overall and 31-5 in league play, setting the best two-year stretch in the 103-year history of the Buffalo program.
Hodgson led the UB recruiting efforts and was responsible for the addition of a large makeup of the Buffalo roster which had so much success under Oats’ leadership. Most recently, Hodgson oversaw the 2018 recruiting class which was ranked 68th nationally by Rivals.com, the highest ranking in school history.
In addition to his recruiting prowess, Hodgson is also known for his ability to develop talent. During his four seasons at Buffalo, nearly every player on the roster made tremendous strides on the court, none more so than 2019 MAC Player of the Year CJ Massinburg, who finished his career as a three-time All-MAC honoree and second in school history with 1,990 career points and 273 career treys. He went on to be named an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press as a senior.
Prior to his time at Buffalo, Hodgson served as the assistant coach at Midland (Texas) College, where he helped lead the team to a six-win turnaround during the 2014-15 season. He helped manage all aspects of recruitment for Midland and conducted individual skill development workouts and in-season team practice sessions.
A western New York native, Hodgson served as an assistant coach from 2010-13 at Jamestown Community College, where he also helped turn around a program upon his arrival. He coached 14 players who received scholarships to four-year schools after their graduation from JCC, coaching nine all-region players during his time.
Hodgson played two seasons at Jamestown CC, serving as a two-year captain, before heading to the Fredonia State, where he finished his education and served as an assistant coach.
Hodgson earned his undergraduate degree in sports management from Fredonia State in 2011 and his masters in education from the University of the Southwest in 2015.
