Coastal Carolina University Athletics

Brian Graves was named an assistant coach at Coastal Carolina in August 2025, reuniting with head coach Justin Gray, whom he served as an assistant coach under at Western Carolina during the 2021-22 season.
 
Graves is a well-traveled instructor who has made stops at seven schools in three different states during 12 years of collegiate coaching. He will make South Carolina the fourth state and Coastal Carolina the eighth school on his resume after spending the previous season on staff at Hampton University. 
 
Graves officially started his coaching career at Catawba as associate head coach from 2012-15. It didn't take long for him to have an impact on his alma mater, bringing in 2015 South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year Jerrin Morrison, First Team All-SAC performer Kijuan Arrington, and SAC All-Freshman selection Jameel Taylor. 

Graves was a four-year starter and three-time All-SAC selection at Catawba from 2003-07 as a point guard and set the SAC's career assists record with 600. He dished out 203 in one season, which was second-most in league history. 

Three years coaching as Catawba led Graves to his first head coaching job at Bryant & Stratton, and steered them to a 19-11 record in NJCAA Division II in 2015-16. 
  
At the end of the season, Graves returned to his home state of Virginia as an assistant coach at Hampton University. While with the Pirates, he helped the squad to a 23-9 MEAC record over two seasons and captured a share of the 2017-18 regular season title.

From there, he moved on to Longwood for the first of two stints with the Lancers. Longwood received a bid to the College Basketball Invitational Tournament and defeated Southern Miss in the first round for the school's first postseason win, while posting its second consecutive 20-win season. 

Graves then spent two seasons (2019-21) at North Carolina Central, helping the Eagles claim the 2019-20 MEAC regular season title before joining Gray at WCU for the 2021-22 season. 

He returned to Longwood the following year as Director of Player Development, where he worked with the guards, serving as a mentor and helping build player relationships on the team. Under Graves's direction, Isaiah Wilkins was named First Team All-Big South, and DeShaun Wade received honorable mention accolades.
  
Graves served as an assistant coach at Virginia State during the 2023-24 season, helping the Trojans develop into one of the best defensive squads at the Division II level. VSU ranked 17th in field goal percent defense (.411) and 24th in three-point field goal percent defense (.310). 

He returned to Hampton as associate head coach for the Pirates' first season as a member of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) in 2024-25. Under his tutelage, guard Noah Farrakhan was voted Third Team All-ACC, and Daniel Johnson was named to the All-CAA Rookie Team. 

Graves received his Bachelor of Science in sports management from Catawba in 2007 and his Master of Sports Administration from Hampton in 2019. He is married to the former Gabriel Johnson. The couple has a son, BJ.