Head Coach | Andy Kennedy
Andy Kennedy was named the seventh head coach of the UAB men’s basketball program, Director of Athletics Mark Ingram announced on March 20, 2020.
Kennedy, who enters his fifth year with the program in 2024-25, returned to his alma mater where he is the second leading scorer in program history. A two-time SEC Coach of the Year and winningest coach in the University of Mississippi history, Kennedy coached at Ole Miss from 2006-2018, before spending two years as a commentator for ESPN and the SEC Network.
On July 21, 2022, Kennedy signed a six-year contract extension which goes through the 2028-29 season.
He led the Blazers back to the NCAA Tournament during the 2023-24 season for the second time in three years even after losing five of their six leading scorers from the previous season, including the No. 5 scorer in the nation Jordan "Jelly" Walker and future NBA player Trey Jemison. Kennedy led the Blazers to wins over two ranked opponents in a single season for the first time since the 2009-10 season with wins over No. 19 Memphis and No. 20 Florida Atlantic. UAB also defeated Maryland during the Asheville Championship, marking the Blazers' first win over a active Big Ten school since 2006.
During the Blazers' first year in the American Conference, Kennedy led the Blazers to a No. 4 seed in the conference tournament, where UAB won all three games by double digits en route to an AAC Tournament title, including a 93-83 win over top-seeded South Florida.
JUCO transfer Yaxel Lendeborg earned AAC Defensive Player of the Year and first team All-Conference honors after averaging 13.8 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. In conference play, Lendeborg upped his game, averaging 16.0 points and 11.8 rebounds per contest.
Kennedy’s 101 wins over his first four seasons as UAB’s head coach are the most in program history over any four-year period. He reached 100 wins in Birmingham faster than any coach in program history, doing so in only 136 games.
Kennedy, in his third season at the helm in Birmingham, led UAB to a program-record 29 wins marking the Blazers' third-straight season of 20+ wins. He is one of just five active head coaches with 20+ wins in 13 of their first 16 seasons, joining John Calipari, Mark Few, Jamie Dixon, and Thad Matta on the distinguished list.
During the 2022-23 season Kennedy led the Blazers to a 3-0 record against SEC competition with wins over Georgia, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. The Blazers reached the NIT Championship game for the first time in program history.
In his second season back in Birmingham, Kennedy led UAB to a then program-record 27 victories and the Blazers’ 16th NCAA Tournament appearance, punching his alma mater’s ticket to the Big Dance with an 82-73 victory over Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA Tournament Championship Game. UAB’s 16th NCAA Tournament appearance also marked Kennedy’s third NCAA Tournament appearance as a head coach, taking Ole Miss to the Big Dance in both 2013 and 2015.
Kennedy’s Blazers secured their sixth conference tournament title in Frisco on March 12, 2022, marking their second conference tournament championship victory outside of Birmingham in program history. UAB also captured its fifth Conference USA Championship in program history, winning three regular season titles and two postseason titles.
With 27 wins in his second season at UAB, Kennedy surpassed 300 career victories in 2021-22, earning win No. 300 with an 87-59 victory over UTSA on Jan. 1, 2022.
As a team, the Blazers finished with their highest final NET Ranking (No. 46) in program history and won 17 games over conference opponents for the first time in UAB men’s basketball’s 44-year history. UAB finished first in Conference USA in scoring offense (80.31), scoring margin (+13.57), field-goal percentage (.468), 3-point field-goal percentage (.377), rebounding margin (+4.49), total steals (9.60), turnover margin (+4.26) and offensive rebounding percentage (.337). Nationally, the Blazers ranked fourth in total steals (336), sixth in scoring margin (13.6), sixth in scoring offense (80.3), seventh in steals per game (9.6) and 10th in turnover margin (4.3).
The Blazers led Conference USA in scoring offense for the first time in program history and averaged more than 80 points per game for the first time since 1991, which was Kennedy’s senior year as a player at UAB when he led Conference USA with 21.8 points per game (UAB single-season record).
COACHING STAFF
