Brandon Lawler Takes Over Women's Basketball Program Following Dr. Vince Granito Retirement From Coaching
May 16, 2024 - - A new, yet familiar face is set to lead the Lorain County Community College women's basketball program next season. Brandon Lawler, an assistant coach on the men's basketball team since 2018, has been tabbed to lead the women's basketball program starting this fall in his first stint as a head coach at the collegiate level.
"We are extremely excited for Brandon to guide our women's basketball program," said LCCC Director of Athletics, Katie Marquard. "As a former LCCC basketball student-athlete, as well as someone who continued his academics and basketball career on the next level, he comes to us with a wealth of experience and will be able to relate to our current student-athletes as they strive to take their education and athletic abilities to the next level. We look forward to Brandon building a strong program for us moving forward."
Lawler received an Associates of Applied Sciences degree in Criminal Justice/Police Science from LCCC in May 2016 while he was a member of the men's basketball program playing for current Head Coach Marty Eggleston.
As a player for the Commodores, Brandon was a team leader who finished his career at LCCC as the fourth leading scorer all-time with 946 points in two years. He also accumulated the second-most career assists (267) and the third-most 3-point baskets made (67) in program history.
After LCCC, Lawler transferred to Holy Cross College where he majored in theology with a minor in psychology and communications.
"Receiving my first head coaching position with my alma mater is simply a dream come true," said Lawler. "I am honored to serve our women's basketball program and the student-athletes by providing a safe, fun, and organized learning environment as we compete at a very high level. As witnessed in my journey, LCCC athletics can assist with professional development and offer unique opportunities for our student-athletes."
Since 2018 (except for the 2021-22 season), Lawler has been the assistant coach of the men's basketball program where he helped Eggleston guide the men's team to a Region XII Championship in 2023.
Outside of LCCC, Lawler has been active locally for the past 5 years. From 2019-21 he was Director of Sports and Family Programming at French Creek YMCA in Avon, Ohio, and since 2021 he has been the Parks and Recreation Supervisor for the City of Elyria.
Lawler takes over the women's hoops program after Dr. Vincent Granito announced his retirement from coaching this spring. Granito coached the women's team for eight seasons.
During his tenure with LCCC, Granito guided the Commodores to 43 wins, the most in school history. In 2019, his team finished the season with the second most wins in program history.
Granito has coached four of the top five all-time leading scorers in program history (Angel Blakely - 848, Madi Bonner – 798, Onyx Lopez – 775, Vanecia Billings – 697). Billings also finished with the most career rebounds (669) in school history in 2022.
Granito coached 23 Ohio Community College Athletic Conference All-Academic players and 2 NJCAA Academic All-Americans. During the 2016-2017 season, his team became the first in program history to earn NJCAA Academic All-American Honorable Mention distinction.
In 2018, the Commodores finished second in the NJCAA Region 12 Championship, which was the best finish in program history.