Brandon Rosenthal enters his 23rd season as the head coach of the Lipscomb volleyball program, and he wants to leave a legacy that will not soon be forgotten. In other words, he's not going anywhere anytime soon.
BY THE NUMBERS
400+ career wins at Lipscomb University
98th head coach across all three NCAA Divisions to win 400 matches at one school
8 NCAA Tournament appearances (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020)
7 ASUN Tournament Championships (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2020)
12 appearances in the ASUN Championship Match
20 consecutive trips to the ASUN tournament
6 regular season ASUN titles (2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016)
1 ASUN North Division title (2021)
20 seasons of 10+ wins
17 seasons of 15+ wins
10 seasons of 20+ wins
16 seasons of 10+ conference wins
4 seasons of 15+ conference wins
2 undefeated conference seasons (2009, 2010)
44-match conference winning streak (Nov. 1, 2008 to Oct. 25, 2011)
9 AVCA All-American selections
20 AVCA All-Region selections
1 AVCA South Region Coach of the Year
2 AVCA South Region Freshman of the Year Selections
5 ASUN Coach of the Year honors
9 ASUN Players of the Year
2 ASUN Defensive Players of the Year
2 ASUN Setters of the Year
2 ASUN Freshmen of the Year
56 All-ASUN Selections
29 All-ASUN First Team honorees
LIPSCOMB CAREER
After spending part of the 2001 and 2002 seasons as an assistant coach, Rosenthal was elevated to lead the Bisons on June 23, 2003. 22 seasons later, he picked up his 400th win as head coach on Nov. 21, 2024 in the quarterfinals of the ASUN Tournament against North Alabama.Â
Entering the 2025 campaign with 401 wins, he is the winningest coach of the Lipscomb volleyball program and in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Inside the State of Tennessee, he is second all-time among active Division I schools in wins.Â
After recording losing seasons in his first few years, he elevated the program to 18 straight winning seasons, including hitting double digits 20 times, 17 seasons of 15 or more wins and 10 campaigns of 20 wins or more. In 2009, the program was one of six teams that entered the NCAA Championship with more than 28 wins in a season.
The five-time ASUN Coach of the Year has the most conference wins since the league started conference play in 1993 with a 241-71 record. The program had unbeaten conference seasons in 2009 and 10 and won 44 consecutive league matches from Nov. 1, 2008 to Oct. 25, 2011.Â
He has led the Bisons to 20 consecutive ASUN Tournament appearances (since 2005), and his programs have made 12 championship match appearances with seven titles. His teams hold a 30-13 record in the postseason championship.Â
Individually, he has coached nine ASUN Player of the Year winners, two Setters of the Year, two Liberos of the Year and two Freshman of the Year selections. He has been a part of 56 All-Conference honors, including 29 to the All-ASUN First Team.
Nationally, Rosenthal has led his teams to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, and his program has been a staple in the Rating Percentage Index. Since 2009, the Bisons have been in the top-100 in the RPI 13 times.Â
Rosenthal has coached nine American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Americans. Along with 20 All-Region honorees and two Freshmen of the Year accolades, his peers honored him as the AVCA South Region Coach of the Year in 2014.Â
20-PLUS YEARS OF SUCCESS IN NASHVILLE
Lipscomb returned to the ASUN Championship for the second straight season and the 12th in program history with a 19-11 record and a 14-2 league record in 2024. During the ASUN Championship, Rosenthal earned his 400th career victory at Lipscomb University with a sweep of North Alabama in the quarterfinals. Four student-athletes were listed to All-Conference.Â
The 2023 season sawRosenthal’s squad go 21-8 overall and 14-2 in the conference, reaching the ASUN Championship Final for the 11th time under his leadership, but ultimately fell short to the top seed FGCU in Fort Myers. Under the leadership of Coach Rosenthal, Lipscomb had five All-ASUN performers and had a Player of the Year winner for the first time since 2023 in Meg Mersman. Additionally, Sophia Hudepohl earned the program’s second ASUN Setter of the Year honor in program history and the first since 2015.
During the 2022 season, Rosenthal's squad went 16-14, 12-4 in ASUN play. The team battled several tough opponents in the non-conference, including No. 14 Stanford, No. 23Kansas, and No. 4 Louisville, which prepared them for conference play. Lipscomb's unit was one of the youngest in the ASUN but held its own, finishing with 12 wins, but eventually fell in the semifinal round of the ASUN tournament to Liberty in five sets.Â
In 2021, Rosenthal's team collected a 14-13 overall record, including an 11-5 mark in conference play. The squad undertook a demanding preseason schedule during which the Bisons earned victories over prominent opponents such as Oklahoma and Ohio University. With a strong front row and solid defensive play, the Bisons racked up eight sweeps throughout the season and were on a three-win streak before they fell in the first round of the ASUN tournament to North Florida.
The 2020 season was pushed to the spring semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that year was memorable for the play on the court. During the spring of 2021, Rosenthal guided the Bisons back to the NCAA promise land for the first time since 2016 after going 17-3 overall and 11-1 in conference play. The Bisons went 9-0 at home, won 10 matches in straight sets, and were crowned the champions of the ASUN North division, but that wasn't enough for a squad that featured five new faces. The group, led by four seniors, defeated Bellarmine 3-0 in the first round of the ASUN tournament before rolling past North Florida 3-1 to set up a league final with south division top seed FGCU.Â
After splitting the first four frames, Lipscomb rallied from match point (13-14) to win the final three possessions and take the ASUN crown on a kill from Garrett Joiner. It marked the seventh ASUN Championship title for the program and earned them their eighth trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Bisons traveled to Omaha, Nebraska, and battled No. 23 Georgia Tech in the first round, falling 3-1. Delaney Dilfer was named the ASUN's Freshman of the Year and the AVCA South Region Freshman of the Year - both honors were just the second time in program history for the Bisons.Â
The 2019 season saw Lipscomb finish 3rd in the ASUN after going 16-13 overall and 11-5 in conference action. Rosenthal earned his 300th career victory on September 10 with a 3-1 win over Belmont in the Battle of the Boulevard at the Curb Event Center. After starting 1-2 in ASUN play, the Bisons reeled off 6-straight sweeps. In the conference tournament, they beat No. 5 Stetson 3-1 before falling to ASUN champion FGCU in the semifinals, the team's 15th-straight appearance in the semifinals.Â
In 2018, Rosenthal's squad earned the No. 3 seed in the ASUN after finishing 18-12 overall and 12-4 in league play. The Bisons opened the season with a LUV Invite crown after downing SMU and Iowa in Allen Arena. They defeated No. 6 North Florida (3-0) in the first round of the conference tournament before falling to eventual champion No. 2 Kennesaw State in five sets.Â
Carlyle Nusbaum led the team and finished 2nd in the ASUN with 436 total kills, while her 4.04 kps and 4.7 points per set topped the league. Nusbaum wrapped up her illustrious career as the program leader and the ASUN's No. 2 all-time kills leader with 1751. She also earned a 3rd-straight First Team All-ASUN selection.
The 2017 season did not go as planned for Rosenthal and his Bisons as they finished 16-13 overall and earned the No. 4 seed in the ASUN Tournament with an 8-6 record. It marked the first time since 2007 that they didn't finish in the top three. They defeated No. 5 North Florida 3-0 in the opening round before falling 3-1 to eventual tournament champion No. 1 Kennesaw State.
Carlyle Nusbaum earned her second-straight ASUN Player of the Year honor after putting together one of the best seasons in ASUN history. She led the ASUN in kills and ranked 11th nationally with 479 total kills. Her 5.15 kills per set was the third-highest single-season mark in league history and the most since 2005. Her 509.5 points and 5.5 points per set were fourth most in the NCAA.
The Bisons finished off back-to-back seasons as the ASUN regular season (12-2) and ASUN Tournament champion in 2016 with a 22-8 overall mark. Entering the conference tournament as the top seed on its home floor, Lipscomb swept No. 5 USC Upstate in the semifinals before upending No. 3 FGCU 3-1 in the title match. The Bisons closed the season with their seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament, a 3-0 loss at Kansas State.
The 2015 season saw Lipscomb win the ASUN regular season title with a 13-1 record and the ASUN Tournament with a three-match sweep. A loss to UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament ended the season. Lipscomb finished 23-9 overall.
In 2014, they finished 13-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference and won the regular-season title. They entered the ASUN Tournament as the No. 1 seed but lost 3-1 to Jacksonville in the championship match.
They made history, however, becoming the first ASUN volleyball team to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Lipscomb traveled to Lexington, Kentucky, and lost to Ohio State in the first round. They finished the season with a 21-9 record and were rated 39th in the final NCAA RPI, the second-highest rating in program history.
Rosenthal was named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) South Region Coach of the Year and was selected to his second Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year for 2014.Â
In 2013 Lipscomb fell 3-2 to Jacksonville in the ASUN Championship match at Kennesaw State. They finished second in the conference with a 15-3 record, 23-8 overall.
The 2012 season also ended in disappointment when Lipscomb lost to East Tennessee State in the semifinals of the Atlantic Sun Tournament. This ended a string of three straight ASUN Tournament Championships and three consecutive bids to the NCAA Tournament; the Bisons were 18-12 overall and 15-3 in the ASUN.
Building off the successes of the previous two seasons, Rosenthal's squad made back-to-back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament by winning the 2011 ASUN Tournament held at Allen Arena.Â
Lipscomb was sent west for the first time to take on the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station, Texas. The match proved to be a slug-fest, with the Aggies taking the first two games before Lipscomb rallied in the third. Texas A&M eventually pulled away late in the fourth set, but the match was extremely close to going the Lipscomb's way. The Lipscomb volleyball team finished 20-11 overall and 11-2 in the ASUN, a second-place finish.
There were several firsts in 2010 for Rosenthal's club as Lipscomb repeated its successes of the 2009 campaign and made it back-to-back ASUN regular season and conference championships for the first time in school history.Â
They continued their ASUN winning streak of 37 matches that dated back to the 2009 season, with a perfect 12-0 finish in league play in 2010.
Lipscomb then made a Herculean comeback in the ASUN tournament championship game to rally from a 2-0 deficit to down East Tennessee State and advance to face Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament in Columbus, Ohio.
The trip to Columbus, Ohio, for the regional, saw Lipscomb come close to pulling the upset over the Buckeyes, losing 3-1 but losing two of the sets by three points or less. The Bisons closed out the season with a 24-7 record while going 10-0 in the conference.
The 2009 season was a "banner" year for head coach Brandon Rosenthal and the Lipscomb volleyball program. The team ran the ASUN table, finishing a perfect 20-0 in league play, a feat never before accomplished since the conference was founded in 1978.
The Lipscomb volleyball team won its second ASUN tournament in three years and earned the program's second berth in the NCAA Tournament. They lost to California in the first round at Columbus, Ohio.
The 2009 accolades included a 25-match win streak, the longest in school history, and the highest RPI for Lipscomb at 34, which led to Rosenthal earning 2009 ASUN Coach of the Year honors. They were 28-4 overall.
Lipscomb also earned its first All-America honors in program history, as Alex Kelly and Jake Pease were named honorable mention All-America by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).
The 2008 team finished second in the ASUN with a 17-3 record, 21-11 overall.
In 2007, Rosenthal directed Lipscomb volleyball to its first-ever ASUN Conference Tournament Championship, its first-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament, and its first overall winning season in the NCAA era. They finished 20-12 overall and 7-4 in the conference. They faced Dayton on its home court in the NCAA Regional, losing 3-0. The 2007 team was the first to win 20 games in a season.
THE ROSENTHAL PHILOSOPHY
Rosenthal works hard to recruit players who possess a passion not only for volleyball but also for life. Whether on the court, in the classroom, or out in the community, the players have to be willing to put forth the effort to succeed on a daily basis.
The statistics posted by Lipscomb volleyball as a team and as individual players have been increasingly impressive each season. But Rosenthal thinks the game of volleyball is about more than the numbers.
After spending two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Lipscomb, Rosenthal became one of the youngest head coaches in NCAA Division I at 25. He took over a program that had never won more than four matches in a season and immediately grasped the challenges facing him.
At the end of the 2013 spring semester, the team, along with Rosenthal, director of sales and marketing Garner Goode, director of institutional research Matt Rehbein, and assistant women's soccer coach Shannon O'Brien, went on an 11-day mission trip to Brazil.
During the school year, Lipscomb Volleyball participates in several activities to help those in need.
Rosenthal's 20+ years of volleyball experience span the country, allowing him to draw from various forums.
PERSONAL
Born in Burbank, California, Rosenthal got his first taste of volleyball on the west coast. When his family moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he spearheaded a drive to add volleyball to the varsity programs at his high school.
His west coast roots led him back to the "Golden State" for college, where he continued his love for the game by playing club volleyball at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. Rosenthal earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pepperdine in 1998. In 2003, he added a Master of Business Administration from Lipscomb.
Rosenthal and his wife, Kate, live in Nashville. They have a daughter, Jake, and a son, Jack.
Although Rosenthal has lived in several parts of the United States, he calls Lipscomb and Nashville home.
