Men's Basketball
Lewis, Michael
Michael Lewis
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- mbasketball@bsu.edu
- Phone:
- 765-285-8141
Michael Lewis was introduced as head coach of the Ball State men’s basketball team on March 25, 2022. Lewis became the 20th head coach in men’s basketball history. A native of Jasper, Indiana, Lewis is a former Indiana high school Gatorade Player of the Year who stayed in-state to play his college ball under legendary coach Bob Knight.
Lewis and the Cardinals finished the 2024-25 season with a 14-17 (7-11 Mid-American Conference) record featuring a dominant win over Missouri Valley Conference member Evansville (80-43) and a 75-67 triumph at perennial MAC contender Kent State to open conference play. Ball State had a pair of Honorable Mention All-MAC picks in Jermahri Hill and Payton Sparks. Hill averaged 15.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in his first season in Muncie while leading the league in free throw attempts (207). Sparks went for 12.6 points and 7.7 boards per game to pace the MAC in rebounding, and he finished among the top players in Ball State history in career points (1,220, No. 23), rebounds (771, No. 9), blocks (64, No. 10), free throws made (387, No. 5) and field goal percentage (.568, No. 3) in just three seasons with the Cardinals.
Ball State went 15-16 (7-11 Mid-American) in a 2023-24 season highlighted by a 7-0 home record in nonconference games and late-season wins at Central Michigan and at home against Kent State to keep the Cardinals in contention for a berth in the MAC Tournament. Lewis coached NABC First Team All-District and Second Team All-MAC selection Basheer Jihad, who led Ball State in scoring (18.6 points per game) and rebounding (8.0 per game) while ranking Top 5 in the conference in both categories. Redshirt junior forward Mickey Pearson Jr. excelled on the court (12.2 points, 5.1 rebounds per game) and in the classroom to receive Academic All-MAC Team and CSC Academic All-District recognitions.
Lewis guided Ball State to a 20-12 record in his first season (2022-23) while leading the Cardinals' to their first 20-win season in six years. The Cardinals made a 96-point leap (267 to 171) in Kenpom rankings during Lewis' first season and rose 109 spots (265 to 156) in NCAA Net rankings from 2022 to 2023. BSU finished fourth in the Mid-American Conference (11-7) and was fourth in the MAC with 76.4 points per game, buoyed by more than 23 free-throw attempts per game which ranked fourth in the NCAA. Ball State also produced a stout defense that held MAC opponents to 71.6 points per game, the third fewest in the conference.
Ball State started 19-7 overall, which was its best start since the Cardinals started 1997-98 with a 21-7 record. Ball State won 20 games for just the 13th time in program history.
During the 2022-23 campaign, he guided Payton Sparks and Jarron Coleman to All-MAC Second Team honors. Jaylin Sellers was named to the All-MAC Third Team, while Demarius Jacobs landed on the MAC All-Defensive Team. Mickey Pearson Jr. earned a spot on the Academic All-MAC Team.
Prior to his arrival at Ball State, Lewis spent 18 seasons as an assistant coach, including three at UCLA.
In three seasons at UCLA, Lewis has helped guide the Bruins to a 68-29 overall record and two NCAA Tournament appearances, which includes a historic run to the 2021 Final Four in which the team won five consecutive games in a 13-day span. Lewis and UCLA are set to take on North Carolina in a Sweet 16 matchup Friday evening.
While with the Bruins, Lewis has played a key role in the development of guards Tyger Campbell, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Johnny Juzang, all of which were named All-Pac-12 honorees the last two seasons.
Lewis helped bring in a plethora of talent during his stint in Los Angeles, culminating in a top-10 recruiting class during his final campaign.
Prior to arriving at UCLA, Lewis was an assistant coach for three seasons at Nebraska. He served as the program’s offensive play-caller in 2017-18 and 2018-19, guiding Nebraska to 41 wins in those two seasons. That marked Nebraska’s best two-year win total since compiling 45 wins in 1990-91 and 1991-92. In three seasons in Lincoln, Neb., Lewis helped the Huskers to a 53-47 mark, the program’s best three-year win total in nearly 10 years.
In 2017-18, Nebraska recorded its highest scoring average in 22 seasons, as the Huskers finished fourth in the Big Ten Conference with a school-record 13 league victories before reaching the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). Lewis helped to develop James Palmer Jr., who secured first-team All-Big Ten acclaim and averaged 17.2 points per game in his first season with Nebraska. In 2017, Tai Webster captured second-team all-league honors, having set career highs in both scoring and assists. Glynn Watson was among the Big Ten’s leaders in scoring and steals.
Lewis was instrumental in Butler’s success during a five-year stint with the Bulldogs from 2011-16. Through those five seasons, Butler went 108-63 and had four postseason appearances, including three NCAA Tournament berths. The Bulldogs won at least 20 games in four of Lewis’ five seasons on the coaching staff, including a 27-win campaign in 2012-13. While at Butler, Lewis worked on coaching staffs for head coaches Brad Stevens (2012-13), Brandon Miller (2013-14) and Chris Holtmann (2014-16).
In each of three trips to the NCAA Tournament while at Butler, the Bulldogs won at least one game, including victories over Texas in 2015 and Texas Tech in 2016. He was also part of a Butler squad that orchestrated the fourth-best win improvement in Big East history (2014-15).
Lewis coached four players at Butler who combined for six all-conference awards, including a trio of first-team selections. Three of his players garnered CoSIDA Academic All-America accolades, while Kellen Dunham and Alex Barlow combined to earn three consecutive Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards during Lewis’ tenure at Butler.
During the 2015-16 campaign, Butler compiled a 22-11 overall record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Three players from that team earned All-Big East honors, including second-team selections Roosevelt Jones and Kelan Martin. Lewis helped recruit an incoming class that was ranked among the nation’s best by Rivals.com in 2016.
Lewis, well-known as a prep and college basketball standout in the state of Indiana, was invited to be part of the Villa 7 Consortium in 2015, which brings together university athletic directors and the nation’s elite assistant coaches to help them prepare to become the next generation of college basketball leaders.
Lewis coached at Eastern Illinois for six seasons, prior to joining Butler’s program in May 2011. While at Eastern Illinois, Lewis was named one of the “Top Five” assistant coaches in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) by FoxSports.com in 2010. He helped recruit several talented student-athletes to Eastern Illinois, including all-conference selections Tyler Laser and James Hollowell (both secured All-OVC acclaim in 2009-10). Lewis helped the Panthers compile a 19-12 overall mark in 2009-10, the third-highest win total since Eastern Illinois became a Division I program.
Lewis, who hails from Jasper, Ind., was a standout guard at Indiana University under head coach Bob Knight from 1997-2000. He served as a graduate assistant for Knight for two seasons at Texas Tech before spending the 2004-05 season as an assistant coach at Stephen F. Austin. He earned his master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Texas Tech in 2004.
As a senior at Indiana (1999-00), Lewis served as team captain and secured third-team All-Big Ten honors. He was the Most Valuable Player of the 1999 Hoosier Classic and concluded his collegiate career as Indiana’s all-time leader in career assists (545). He now ranks second in career assists at his alma mater, as Yogi Ferrell had 633 assists from 2012-15. Lewis and Keith Smart are Indiana’s only two players to have logged a program-record 15 single-game assists. In addition, he led Indiana in assists per game as a sophomore (1998), junior (1999) and senior (2000).
Named to the Big Ten Conference’s All-Star Team that toured Europe in 1997, Lewis was later selected as the No. 46 player, on a list of 50 top players, from Indiana University in 2012 (compiled by the Indianapolis Star). He earned his undergraduate degree in sports management from Indiana in 2000 before playing professional basketball for two seasons, both domestically and overseas.
Lewis finished his high school career in 13th place on Indiana’s all-time high school scoring list with 2,138 career points at Jasper High School. He was named to the Indiana All-Star Team in 1996, following a senior season in which he captured Gatorade State Player of the Year acclaim.
Lewis and his wife, Nichole, have two daughters, Avery and Emma.
The Michael Lewis File
Coaching Experience
Ball State, Head Coach, 2022-
UCLA, Assistant Coach, 2019-22
Nebraska, Assistant Coach, 2016-19
Butler, Assistant Coach, 2011-16
Eastern Illinois, Assistant Coach, 2005-11
Stephen F. Austin, Assistant Coach, 2004-05
Texas Tech, Graduate Assistant, 2002-04
Playing Experience
Indiana, 1996-2000
Personal
Born: July 27, 1977 in Jasper, Ind.
Family: Nichole (wife), Avery (daughter), Emma (daughter)
Lewis and the Cardinals finished the 2024-25 season with a 14-17 (7-11 Mid-American Conference) record featuring a dominant win over Missouri Valley Conference member Evansville (80-43) and a 75-67 triumph at perennial MAC contender Kent State to open conference play. Ball State had a pair of Honorable Mention All-MAC picks in Jermahri Hill and Payton Sparks. Hill averaged 15.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in his first season in Muncie while leading the league in free throw attempts (207). Sparks went for 12.6 points and 7.7 boards per game to pace the MAC in rebounding, and he finished among the top players in Ball State history in career points (1,220, No. 23), rebounds (771, No. 9), blocks (64, No. 10), free throws made (387, No. 5) and field goal percentage (.568, No. 3) in just three seasons with the Cardinals.
Ball State went 15-16 (7-11 Mid-American) in a 2023-24 season highlighted by a 7-0 home record in nonconference games and late-season wins at Central Michigan and at home against Kent State to keep the Cardinals in contention for a berth in the MAC Tournament. Lewis coached NABC First Team All-District and Second Team All-MAC selection Basheer Jihad, who led Ball State in scoring (18.6 points per game) and rebounding (8.0 per game) while ranking Top 5 in the conference in both categories. Redshirt junior forward Mickey Pearson Jr. excelled on the court (12.2 points, 5.1 rebounds per game) and in the classroom to receive Academic All-MAC Team and CSC Academic All-District recognitions.
Lewis guided Ball State to a 20-12 record in his first season (2022-23) while leading the Cardinals' to their first 20-win season in six years. The Cardinals made a 96-point leap (267 to 171) in Kenpom rankings during Lewis' first season and rose 109 spots (265 to 156) in NCAA Net rankings from 2022 to 2023. BSU finished fourth in the Mid-American Conference (11-7) and was fourth in the MAC with 76.4 points per game, buoyed by more than 23 free-throw attempts per game which ranked fourth in the NCAA. Ball State also produced a stout defense that held MAC opponents to 71.6 points per game, the third fewest in the conference.
Ball State started 19-7 overall, which was its best start since the Cardinals started 1997-98 with a 21-7 record. Ball State won 20 games for just the 13th time in program history.
During the 2022-23 campaign, he guided Payton Sparks and Jarron Coleman to All-MAC Second Team honors. Jaylin Sellers was named to the All-MAC Third Team, while Demarius Jacobs landed on the MAC All-Defensive Team. Mickey Pearson Jr. earned a spot on the Academic All-MAC Team.
Prior to his arrival at Ball State, Lewis spent 18 seasons as an assistant coach, including three at UCLA.
In three seasons at UCLA, Lewis has helped guide the Bruins to a 68-29 overall record and two NCAA Tournament appearances, which includes a historic run to the 2021 Final Four in which the team won five consecutive games in a 13-day span. Lewis and UCLA are set to take on North Carolina in a Sweet 16 matchup Friday evening.
While with the Bruins, Lewis has played a key role in the development of guards Tyger Campbell, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Johnny Juzang, all of which were named All-Pac-12 honorees the last two seasons.
Lewis helped bring in a plethora of talent during his stint in Los Angeles, culminating in a top-10 recruiting class during his final campaign.
Prior to arriving at UCLA, Lewis was an assistant coach for three seasons at Nebraska. He served as the program’s offensive play-caller in 2017-18 and 2018-19, guiding Nebraska to 41 wins in those two seasons. That marked Nebraska’s best two-year win total since compiling 45 wins in 1990-91 and 1991-92. In three seasons in Lincoln, Neb., Lewis helped the Huskers to a 53-47 mark, the program’s best three-year win total in nearly 10 years.
In 2017-18, Nebraska recorded its highest scoring average in 22 seasons, as the Huskers finished fourth in the Big Ten Conference with a school-record 13 league victories before reaching the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). Lewis helped to develop James Palmer Jr., who secured first-team All-Big Ten acclaim and averaged 17.2 points per game in his first season with Nebraska. In 2017, Tai Webster captured second-team all-league honors, having set career highs in both scoring and assists. Glynn Watson was among the Big Ten’s leaders in scoring and steals.
Lewis was instrumental in Butler’s success during a five-year stint with the Bulldogs from 2011-16. Through those five seasons, Butler went 108-63 and had four postseason appearances, including three NCAA Tournament berths. The Bulldogs won at least 20 games in four of Lewis’ five seasons on the coaching staff, including a 27-win campaign in 2012-13. While at Butler, Lewis worked on coaching staffs for head coaches Brad Stevens (2012-13), Brandon Miller (2013-14) and Chris Holtmann (2014-16).
In each of three trips to the NCAA Tournament while at Butler, the Bulldogs won at least one game, including victories over Texas in 2015 and Texas Tech in 2016. He was also part of a Butler squad that orchestrated the fourth-best win improvement in Big East history (2014-15).
Lewis coached four players at Butler who combined for six all-conference awards, including a trio of first-team selections. Three of his players garnered CoSIDA Academic All-America accolades, while Kellen Dunham and Alex Barlow combined to earn three consecutive Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards during Lewis’ tenure at Butler.
During the 2015-16 campaign, Butler compiled a 22-11 overall record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Three players from that team earned All-Big East honors, including second-team selections Roosevelt Jones and Kelan Martin. Lewis helped recruit an incoming class that was ranked among the nation’s best by Rivals.com in 2016.
Lewis, well-known as a prep and college basketball standout in the state of Indiana, was invited to be part of the Villa 7 Consortium in 2015, which brings together university athletic directors and the nation’s elite assistant coaches to help them prepare to become the next generation of college basketball leaders.
Lewis coached at Eastern Illinois for six seasons, prior to joining Butler’s program in May 2011. While at Eastern Illinois, Lewis was named one of the “Top Five” assistant coaches in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) by FoxSports.com in 2010. He helped recruit several talented student-athletes to Eastern Illinois, including all-conference selections Tyler Laser and James Hollowell (both secured All-OVC acclaim in 2009-10). Lewis helped the Panthers compile a 19-12 overall mark in 2009-10, the third-highest win total since Eastern Illinois became a Division I program.
Lewis, who hails from Jasper, Ind., was a standout guard at Indiana University under head coach Bob Knight from 1997-2000. He served as a graduate assistant for Knight for two seasons at Texas Tech before spending the 2004-05 season as an assistant coach at Stephen F. Austin. He earned his master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Texas Tech in 2004.
As a senior at Indiana (1999-00), Lewis served as team captain and secured third-team All-Big Ten honors. He was the Most Valuable Player of the 1999 Hoosier Classic and concluded his collegiate career as Indiana’s all-time leader in career assists (545). He now ranks second in career assists at his alma mater, as Yogi Ferrell had 633 assists from 2012-15. Lewis and Keith Smart are Indiana’s only two players to have logged a program-record 15 single-game assists. In addition, he led Indiana in assists per game as a sophomore (1998), junior (1999) and senior (2000).
Named to the Big Ten Conference’s All-Star Team that toured Europe in 1997, Lewis was later selected as the No. 46 player, on a list of 50 top players, from Indiana University in 2012 (compiled by the Indianapolis Star). He earned his undergraduate degree in sports management from Indiana in 2000 before playing professional basketball for two seasons, both domestically and overseas.
Lewis finished his high school career in 13th place on Indiana’s all-time high school scoring list with 2,138 career points at Jasper High School. He was named to the Indiana All-Star Team in 1996, following a senior season in which he captured Gatorade State Player of the Year acclaim.
Lewis and his wife, Nichole, have two daughters, Avery and Emma.
The Michael Lewis File
Coaching Experience
Ball State, Head Coach, 2022-
UCLA, Assistant Coach, 2019-22
Nebraska, Assistant Coach, 2016-19
Butler, Assistant Coach, 2011-16
Eastern Illinois, Assistant Coach, 2005-11
Stephen F. Austin, Assistant Coach, 2004-05
Texas Tech, Graduate Assistant, 2002-04
Playing Experience
Indiana, 1996-2000
Personal
Born: July 27, 1977 in Jasper, Ind.
Family: Nichole (wife), Avery (daughter), Emma (daughter)
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