Brian Burns was named the ninth head coach in Triton College men's basketball history in July of 2023 after serving the previous five seasons as an assistant coach. Prior to Triton College, Coach Burns spent time coaching with the AAU Program Young N Reckless out of Chicago, one of the top programs in the state. He is also one of the top skills trainers in the area working with high school, collegiate and pro players.
In his first season, Burns was named NJCAA Region 4 and Midwest District Coach of the Year in leading the Trojans a 34-3 record. Triton won both the Region 4 and Midwest District championships on their way to finishing runner-up at the 2024 NJCAA Division I National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas.
The 2023-24 Triton squad has six players moved on the NCAA Division I programs lead by NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Player of the Year Amar Augillard.
During his tenure as an assistant coach at Triton, Burns has helped guide the Trojans to an astounding record of 106-21, three Region 4 championships and an NJCAA Final Four appearance. His recruiting and coaching efforts have propelled the program from an NJCAA Division II power to one of the top NJCAA Division I programs in the entire country since Triton men’s basketball moved up to the NJCAA’s highest level at the start of the 2018-19 season.
Highly respected Joe Henricksen of the Chicago Sun Times and publisher of the City/Suburban Hoops Report in Chicago states, “Brian Burns is one of the rising young coaches in the business. He’s in tune with all facets of the game — from recruiting to player relationships and development. His understanding of a player’s strengths, fit and how they can flourish with that in a program are at a high level”.
During his tenure at Triton, Coach Burns helped recruit and coach over 30 NCAA Division I signees, six NCAA Division II signees and five NAIA signees. His on the court work, primarily working with guards has helped him develop 3 NJCAA All-Americans (Patrick Suemnick 1st team, Kejuan Clements 3rd team, Austin Richie 3rd team). He also worked with former Triton star Alondes Williams, who was named ACC Player of the Year in 2021-22 at Wake Forest and currently playing the NBA’s G-League for the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
.Prior to working with Young N Reckless, Coach Burns spent seven years with Kessel Heat AAU out of the north suburbs. During his time at Kessel he was responsible for handling the recruitment of their athletes. Burns is a graduate of Libertyville High School.
