Michael Bland is in his fifth season as the women’s basketball assistant coach at Claflin University. Since joining the Lady Panthers’ basketball coaching staff, coach Mike has helped elevate the program every year.
His career with the Lady Panthers began with the 2019-20 season when the team finished with a 1-26 (1-16 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association). Unfortunately, the following 2020-21 was no season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The team saw a great improvement during the 2021-22 season when the team garnered seven more wins and finished the season with an 8-19 overall record and a 6-9 record in CIAA play. The team also recorded a first-round win over Virginia Union in the 2022 CIAA Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament. Coach Mike also helped guide Destiny Coleman to earn CIAA All-Tournament honors.
In the 2022-23 season, Lady Panthers Destiny Coleman and Breanna Price were both named to the CIAA Preseason All-Conference Team. The 2022-23 Lady Panthers team went on to finish the season with a 12-14 overall record, adding four more wins to their win total.
Prior to joining the staff at Claflin University, coach Mike served one season as the Associate Head Coach of the girls’ basketball team at Huguenot High School in Richmond, Virginia where current Claflin Lady Panther guard Janelle Sample was the leading scorer and received all conference honors for her efforts and was her graduating class’ Valedictorian.
Before taking the job at Huguenot High, Bland served as the lead assistant varsity coach at John Marshall High School for five seasons (2013-2018). During that time, he helped lead the program to three straight conference 26 titles, a region 3A East title and multiple state tournament appearances. Coach Mike’s other previous stops include serving as varsity head coach at Kenston Forest School (2012-2013), junior varsity coach & varsity assistant coach at L.C. Bird High School (2008-2009) and boys junior varsity assistant coach at Maury High School & Blair Middle School (2007 & 2008).
In addition to high school coaching, Bland was the head coach/co-founder of the Team Loaded AAU Girls’ Basketball program, which was an Adidas sponsored program out of Virginia. Coach Mike mentored and coached many young ladies and help them obtain basketball scholarships to some of the top schools in the country such as Baylor, North Carolina State University, Hartford, Davidson, Auburn, Norfolk State University, Virginia Union University, Elizabeth City State University, William & Mary, Christopher Newport, Virginia Commonwealth University, and many, many more.
