Wheaton College (MA)

Brandon Newsome enters his second season on the Wheaton College sideline as an Assistant Men's Basketball Coach for the 2022-23 campaign.

Prior to his arrival in Norton, Mass., Newsome spent two years as an assistant on the State University of New York Canton men's basketball staff. 

Newsome helped lead the SUNY Canton men's basketball program to its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth as the team captured the 2020 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) championship with a 72-71 road win at Maine Farmington on February 29, 2020. The Roos ultimately fell 74-49 to No. 17 nationally-ranked Springfield College in the NCAA Tournament First Round after earning just the second ever NCAA Tournament berth in school history. 

Coach Newsome was key to leading SUNY Canton to a 16-12 overall record and 10-4 mark in NAC play during the 2019-20 season, earning the number two seed in the conference tournament in his first season as an assistant with SUNY Canton. The Roos saw four of their players earn All-Conference honors headlined by the NAC Defensive Player of the Year, two First Team All-Conference recipients and a pair of Second Team All-Conference honorees. 

Newsome was integral in the team's impact among the national leaders with the Roos finishing the 2019-20 season ranking highly in NCAA Division III in a number of categories both as a team and individually. The team was fifth in field goal percentage defense (38.0), fifth in blocked shots per game (5.5), fifth in total blocks (155), sixth in defensive rebounds per game (31.64), 11th in total rebounds (1,221) and 12th in total rebounds per game (43.61).

As the top assistant, Newsome was a part of a staff that saw the Roos earn the NABC Academic Excellence award for having a 3.2 or higher team GPA for the 2019-20 academic year. In addition, five different players were named to the NABC Honors Court in addition to the first SUNY Canton basketball player to be named CoSIDA First Team Academic All-District. 
 
Newsome came to Canton from nearby Johnson & Wales University (R.I.), where he played two seasons with the men’s basketball team, winning a Great Northeast Athletic Conference championship during the 2017-2018 season, and earning a bid to the NCAA tournament. Prior to attending Johnson & Wales, Newsome lettered for two seasons at North Country Community College. While at North Country, he worked with the Saranac Lake Special Olympics and coached the SLR team to a championship in the 2017 Special Olympic Games at SUNY Canton. 
 
Newsome, a native of Syracuse, earned his Bachelor's degree in Sports Management from JWU. He also has an Associate’s degree from NCCC in Sports and Events Management.