Men's Basketball Head Coach

Bruce Stewart OWC Head Coach, Men's Basketball 850-729-5269 • stewartb@owc.edu

Bruce Stewart is entering his eleventh season as head coach of the Raiders basketball team. Okaloosa-Walton finished last season with an overall record of 23-5. Stewart has notched over 600 career wins, and currently holds the most wins for an OW men's basketball coach.

During his 10-year tenure at OWC he has accumulated an overall record of 239-66. This record includes leading his team to the Panhandle Conference Championship 4 times in '98-99, '99-00, '01-02, and '02-03 and Panhandle Conference Runners-up in '00-01, '03-04, and ’04-‘05. He, also, led his teams to 2 FCCAA State/NJCAA District Championships in '00-01 and '02-03, while finishing as Runners-Up in '98-99, '99-00, and '03-04. Under Stewart, the Raiders have participated twice in the NJCAA National Tournament in '00-01 and '02-03, finishing in 6th place both times. Stewart was named FCCAA Coach of the Year on '00-01 and '02-03 and NJCAA Coach of the Year in '02-03.

The Raider players have certainly benefited from the leadership and winning tradition established by Coach Stewart. During his time, 37 players have been named to the All-Panhandle Conference team, 11 have been named to the FCCAA All-State team, 16 to the FCCAA All-Tournament team including 2 MVP's, 2 to the NJCAA National Tournament team, and 3 NJCAA All-Americans. Stewart has placed 39 players at the next level, including one to the NBA. In 2001, the Boston Celtics selected OWC's Kedrick Brown as the 11th overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft. Brown is currently the highest drafted junior college player in NBA history.

Stewart began his career in 1978 at Chattahoochee Valley Community College as an assistant men's basketball coach, before being named the head coach at Volunteer State Community College in 1979. At VSCC, Stewart compiled a record of 73 wins and 19 losses. His team made three Region Tournament appearances and one trip to the NJCAA Tourney. He was then named head at Virginia Wesleyan University where, during his two-year tenure, his team earned a number one ranking in the NAIA national polls and totaled 64 wins and only 9 losses. Stewart also pocketed a West Virginia Sportswriter's Coach of the Year award for his efforts.

In 1984, Stewart was named head coach at Middle Tennessee State University and in 7 years, his teams recorded 141 wins and 76 losses. His teams appeared in the NCAA National Tournament three times and the NIT Tournament twice. Stewart was named Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 1989.

Coach Stewart moved to the professional ranks in 1991 as head coach of the Grand rapid Hoops in the Continental Basketball League. In three years his teams won three CBA Eastern Division titles, played in three CBA playoffs, and vied for the CBA title in 1993.

Stewart took over the head coaching duties for the Fort Wayne Fury of the CBA in 1994 and, in two years, led the team to its first CBA playoff appearance.

Stewart then moved to Hiwassee Community College in 1996, and in 1997, his team had an impressive record of 30-2.

Stewart has been at Okaloosa-Walton since 1998. He and his wife, Robin, have three children, Brett, Brandon, and Brooke.