Gardner-Webb University Men's Basketball

Jeremy Luther begins his second season at the helm of the Runnin' Bulldogs after being named head coach in March 2024. Luther is a friendly face in Boiling Springs, having spent the past 11 seasons as an assistant coach. In his first year, Luther led the Runnin' Bulldogs to an 11-20 overall record, including a 5-10 mark in Big South Conference play. Gardner-Webb knocked off USC Upstate in the opening round of the conference tournament. Luther was instrumental in coaching Darryl Simmons II to a Big South Second Team All-Conference while Shahar Lazar was named Big South Academic All-Conference. In his 11 seasons at GWU, Luther contributed a wealth of knowledge and played a vital part of the program's 188 wins. Luther also helped lead the program to its first NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2018-2019.   "I couldn't be happier to have Jeremy Luther take the helm as head men's basketball coach at Gardner-Webb," shared Downs. "Coach Luther emerged as the top choice from a national pool of truly outstanding applicants, and he earned the job by conveying his passion for our school, by authentically articulating his hunger for taking our program to the next level, and by mapping out his plan for developing student-athletes into great men. Jeremy Luther will be relentless, and he will do it the right way. That combination, I firmly believe, will lead to championship basketball and a very proud Runnin' Bulldog Nation. Let the new era begin!"   Luther's recruiting efforts have helped Gardner-Webb stock one of the best young teams in the Southeast. His expertise contributing to setting records and earning milestones, such as setting a new conference record of 10 seasons of 10-plus Big South wins and defeating six Power 5 schools.   "Championship level culture is only possible when your organization has complete alignment of mission, vision, and values," asserted Vice President and Director of Athletics Dr. Andrew T. Goodrich. "Throughout the process, Coach Luther not only demonstrated that he knew how to create this alignment, but also was able to articulate clearly the strategy his staff will use to build a championship level program that helps our young men learn how to succeed in the classroom, in the community, and on the court for a lifetime."   The new coach is excited to take the helm of the men's basketball program. "I am very thankful and grateful to Dr. Downs and Dr. Goodrich for their belief in me and trust in me in leading this program going forward," Luther affirmed. "I also want to say thank you to Tim Craft for calling me 11 years ago to come to Gardner-Webb to be his assistant coach. My family and I couldn't be more happy and more excited about the future of GWU men's basketball. I look forward to taking steps to move this program to the next level."   Luther is a Tallahassee, Fla., native with 23 seasons of experience on the college sidelines, including six seasons as a head coach at a pair of NCAA Division II programs. He forged an 82-80 overall record in those two head coaching stops. Luther spent 2007-2009 rebuilding a Newberry program that had not won more than 12 games in a season since 2003-2004. In just his second season at the school, Luther led the Wolves to a record-setting campaign, posting a 21-8 overall record and a second-place finish in the South Atlantic Conference. The overall and league win total (10-6) both established new school records for Newberry.   Luther directed Armstrong Atlantic to a pair of winning campaigns during his time in Savannah, Ga., including a 15-12 mark in 2012-2013. Senior guard Aric Miller was named NABC Division II All-American and Daktronics/CoSIDA All-Southeast Region after leading the Peach Belt in scoring at 23.7 points per game.   The Pirates won 11 games in the ultra-competitive Peach Belt Conference. The 2012-2013 season also included a win over No. 20 St. Leo (Fla.) in November.   Luther spent 2001-2007 as an assistant coach at Mercer, helping the Bears to an Atlantic Sun Conference regular season title in 2002-2003.   Mercer finished that season with a 23-6 record, the most wins in school history at that time and the first winning season at the school since 1996. The season also marked the Bears' first season with more than 15 wins since 1985-1986 and included an impressive 14-2 mark in the Atlantic Sun Conference. During Luther's time in Macon, Ga., 10 Bears student-athletes went on to play professionally.   Luther started his playing career in 1992-93 at Robert Morris (Pittsburgh, Pa.) before playing two seasons at Liberty (Lynchburg, Va.) and Covenant College (Lookout Mountain, Ga.) In his final two seasons at Covenant, Luther netted 1,300 points. He was named to the NAIA Division II All-America team following his senior season, when he pumped in 26.0 points per game.   Luther graduated from North Greenville (Tigerville, S.C.) in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. He and his wife, Ginny, have three children — Bryson, Kendall and August.

Delaney returns for his third stint at Gardner-Webb after spending the 2023-2024 season as an assistant coach at Furman University. Previously, Delaney spent three seasons as a full-time Assistant Coach at Gardner-Webb (2020-2023) and two seasons as a graduate assistant (2015-2017).   Delaney spent the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater Covenant College, where he graduated with a degree in interdisciplinary studies in 2015 after 56 career appearances and 16 starts on the court. He earned a Master of Business Administration from Gardner-Webb in 2017. DeLaney, a Birmingham, Ala. native, most recently served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Ga. He began his second stint at Gardner-Webb after serving as a graduate assistant from 2015-2017 with the Runnin’ Bulldogs. “Jake gained valuable experience on the bench over the past two seasons and has a sharp basketball mind,” said Gardner-Webb head coach Tim Craft. “His familiarity with our program and philosophy will be helpful as he transitions into his new role. We are excited to welcome Jake back to our bench.” DeLaney helped the Covenant Scots to a strong 18-9 record this past season, which included a 16-2 mark in the Division III USA South and a West Division title. The .667 winning percentage set a new program record and the 16 league wins were a new high mark for the USA South. Sophomore forward Will Crumly was named USA South Player of the Year and was selected to the NABC’s Division III All-American Team and the Scots’ offense pumped in 76.0 points per game. Point guard Bailey Spragg ranked No. 4 nationally with 6.9 assists per game as well. DeLaney was also part of a coaching staff that directed Covenant to an 18-10 mark in his first season on the bench as a full-time assistant coach in 2017-2018. The former Oak Mountain (Ala.) High standout spent two seasons on Craft’s staff at Gardner-Webb, serving as video coordinator and graduate assistant coach. He helped the ‘Dogs post 36 wins and two Big South Conference semifinal appearances during his time on staff, including a 19-14 mark with a win over Nebraska during his final campaign in Boiling Springs. DeLaney earned a master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the Godbold School of Business at Gardner-Webb in 2017. He played three seasons at Covenant, seeing action in 56 career games. He started 16 games at guard over his career and earned a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Covenant in 2015. DeLaney got his start in coaching as a student assistant at Covenant during the 2014-2015 season.

Sweeney returns to Gardner-Webb where he began his career in basketball as a student manager in 2011, before walking on to the team in 2012. He completed his undergraduate degree in mathematics in 2015. After graduation, Sweeney joined the staff as a graduate assistant coach for two seasons. He completed his Master's in sport pedagogy in 2017.   Since leaving Boiling Springs, Sweeney has worked at Wofford College (Special Assistant to the Head Coach), New Mexico Junior College (Assistant Coach), and two stints at Northwest Florida State College (Assistant Coach).

Christian Turner, A four letterman at Gardner-Webb, Turner returns to his alma mater after a two-season hiatus. As a player (2016-2020), Turner was a three-year starter who averaged 2.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in 124 career appearances. He was a key member of the 2019 Runnin' Bulldogs, who claimed the Big South Conference Tournament title and played in the NCAA Tournament for the only time in the program's Division I history.   After graduation, Turner spent two seasons as a graduate assistant with the program (2020-2022). Turner worked the last two seasons as an assistant coach at nearby North Greenville University.