Mike Black is entering his fifth season at Bradley and his third as an assistant coach for the Braves.
As an assistant coach, the Braves won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title in 2022-23. Postseason success has also been a strong point during Black’s tenure, as Bradley has earned berths in three straight National Invitation Tournaments (2023–25), most recently advancing to the quarterfinals.
In the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, the Braves have reached the semifinals or better in each of the last three seasons, including appearances in the championship game in 2023 and 2025.
Black has also contributed to Bradley’s success off the court. During the most recent recruiting cycle, he helped the Braves land the highest-rated recruit of the Brian Wardle era: four-star prospect Dietrich Richardson from nearby Peoria Manual High School.
In his first two seasons on campus (2021–23), Black served as the team’s video coordinator of player development and director of basketball operations.
He joined the Braves after spending the 2020–21 season as an assistant coach at Fenwick High School, where he helped lead the Friars to a 13-3 record and a Chicago Catholic League title. A native of Chicago, Black also coached with the Illinois Veritas AAU program from 2019 to 2021, and served as an assistant coach and interim head coach at Malcolm X College during the 2018–19 season.
Black enjoyed a standout playing career at Albany from 2009 to 2013. A four-year starter for the Great Danes, he ranks fifth in program history with 1,542 career points and sixth with 388 assists. He was a three-time All-America East honoree, earning first-team recognition as a senior, and was named the America East Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 2013 after leading Albany to a conference title and NCAA Tournament appearance.
After graduation, Black spent time in the NBA Development League with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He also played overseas with the Leicester Riders of the British Basketball League (2013–14) and BC Beroe Stara Zagora in the National Basketball League of Bulgaria (2014–15).
Black earned a bachelor’s degree in communications and sociology from Albany in 2013.