On October 1, 2018, Brandeis University introduced Jean Bain as the 11th men's basketball head coach in program history.

In his first two full seasons at the helm, Bain produced a dramatic turnaround, as the Judges won more games in his first two campaigns than in the previous four seasons combined.

In his first campaign at Brandeis, Bain led the team to an 18-11 record. During their 13-11 regular season, the Judges won the New England Big Four Challenge, defeating Babson in the title game behind an MVP performance from Corey Sherman '20. The Judges claimed a berth in the ECAC Division III tournament, winning four games in five days to claim the fourth ECAC crown in program history. Bain also helped Lawrence Sabir '21 earn UAA Defensive Player of the Year honors, while Sherman was a second-team All-UAA selection and Chandler Jones '21 was an honorable mention. The team improved by 11 wins from the previous season, posting the highest win total since 2011, thanks to the second-rated defense in the UAA.

In 2019-20, the Judges went 17-8 in their second campaign under Bain, finishing 9-5 and third in the University Athletic Association, their best placement in a decade. During that season, Collin Sawyer '20/MA '22 and Chandler Jones '22 earned first-team All-UAA honors and D3Hoops.com All-New England accolades. Eric D'Aguanno '20 became the program's all-time leader in 3-pointers and joined the 1,000-point club as well.  The Judges returned to the D3Hoops.com national rankings for the first time since 2012-13, reaching #24 in the nation after an upset win over then-#3 Emory. That win garnered the Judges NABC Team of the Week honors and saw D'Aguanno's buzzer-beater land on ESPN's Top 10 Plays of the Day. Statistically, the Judges led the UAA in 3-point shooting that year, hitting 37 percent from beyond the arc.

After the 2020-21 season was suspended due to COVID-19, Bain led the 2021-22 squad to a preseason national ranking in the D3Hoops.com poll, while seeing three different players score their 1,000th career point - Sawyer, Jones and graduate transfer Tommy Eastman MS '23, who went on to earn All-UAA and All-Region honors. The 2022-23 squad saw sophomore Toby Harris lead the UAA in scoring while earning first-team All-Association honors.

Off the court, Brandeis has been involved with Team IMPACT since the 2019-20 season. The program pairs athletic programs with children with disabilities to provide the experience of being part of a team. 

Bain came to Brandeis after two seasons at Columbia University. He joined the Columbia coaching staff as an assistant in 2016 and was promoted to associate head coach the next year. He served as the Lions' recruiting coordinator, bringing in one of the top classes in recent memory in the Class of 2021. On the court, his focus was the team's perimeter players and offensive play, helping Columbia lead the Ivy League in scoring on a points-per-possession basis in 2016-17.

Prior to his time at Columbia, Bain served as the associate head coach at another Ivy League institution, Dartmouth College, from 2012 through 2016. He worked with the Big Green's post players and helped the team increase its win total in each of his first four years. He also recruited back-to-back Ivy League Rookies of the Year in 2015 and 2016. In 2015, Bain helped Dartmouth reach the postseason for the first time in more than fifty years. Before coaching at Dartmouth, Bain spent 2005 through 2012 coaching at the University of New Hampshire, where he recruited three 1,000-point scorers.

In Division III basketball, Bain helped Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) to a 24-5 record and a berth in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament as an assistant in 2004-05.

Bain is a 2002 graduate of Northeastern University with a B.S. in sociology. He was the America East Rookie of the Year in 1999. Bain served as the Huskies' captain as a junior and senior, earning All-America East honors in 2002.

Testimonials: What they are saying

• Jean is a remarkable coach with great energy and passion.  He has an outstanding understanding of the game and will always be successful on and off the court.

James Jones-5x Ivy league champion, 3x Ivy coach of the year
Head coach
Yale University

• Jean is one of the best up-and-coming coaches at any level. He is articulate, savvy, and well-rounded. Bain possesses a unique and uncommon ability to both motivate and inspire his student-athletes with his track record of success. I was fortunate to work with Jean for two years.  His acumen and body of work, both as a player and coach, speak for themselves.

Jim Engles
Head Coach
Columbia University

• Jean is charismatic and will bring a great deal of energy on the court and in the community at Brandeis.  He is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around and a great communicator and teacher of the game of basketball.  I had the opportunity to coach Jean at Northeastern University and saw those attributes in him as a player and as a student-athlete.

Jay Young
Head Basketball coach
Fairfield University

Coaching Experience

2018- Head coach Brandeis University

2017-18 Associate Head coach Columbia University

2016-17 Assistant coach Columbia University

2014-16 Associate Coach Dartmouth College

2012-14 Assistant coach Dartmouth College

2006-12 Assistant coach University of New Hampshire

2005-06- Assistant coach Worcester Polytechnic Institute