View source for Brian Agler

{{Short description|American women's professional basketball coach}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name            = Brian Agler
| image           = Brian Agler (cropped).jpg
| image_size      = 
| alt             = 
| caption         = Agler in 2019
| position        = [[Head coach]]
| league          = [[WNBA]]
| team            = 
| birth_date      = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1958|08|02}}
| birth_place     = 
| nationality     = American
| death_date      = 
| death_place     = 
| high_school      = [[Elgin High School (Ohio)|Elgin]] ([[Marion, Ohio]])
| college         = [[Wittenberg Tigers|Wittenberg]] (1976–1980)
| coach_start    = 1988
| coach_end      = 2020
| cyears1 = 1988–1993
| cteam1 = [[Kansas City Roos women's basketball|UMKC]]
| cyears2 = 1993–1996
| cteam2 = [[Kansas State Wildcats women's basketball|Kansas State]]
| cyears3 = 1996–1998
| cteam3 = [[Columbus Quest]]
| cyears4 = [[1999 WNBA season|1999]]–[[2002 WNBA season|2002]]
| cteam4 = [[Minnesota Lynx]]
| cyears5 = [[2004 WNBA season|2004]]
| cteam5 = [[Phoenix Mercury]] (assistant)
| cyears6 = [[2005 WNBA season|2005]]–[[2007 WNBA season|2007]]
| cteam6 = [[San Antonio Stars|San Antonio Silver Stars]] (assistant)
| cyears7 = [[2008 WNBA season|2008]]–[[2014 WNBA season|2014]]
| cteam7 = [[Seattle Storm]]
| cyears8 = [[2015 WNBA season|2015]]–[[2018 WNBA season|2018]]
| cteam8 = [[Los Angeles Sparks]]
| cyears9 = [[2019 WNBA season|2019]]–[[2020 WNBA season|2020]]
| cteam9 = [[Dallas Wings]]
| highlights =
'''As player'''
* [[NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament|NCAA Division III champion]] ([[1977 NCAA Division III basketball tournament|1977]])
* [[Ohio Athletic Conference|OAC]] Player of the Year (1980)
'''As coach'''
* ABL Coach of the Year Award (1997)
* 2× ABL champion (1997, 1998)
* [[WNBA Coach of the Year Award]] ([[2010 WNBA season|2010]])
* 2× [[List of WNBA champions|WNBA champion]] ([[2010 WNBA Finals|2010]], [[2016 WNBA Finals|2016]])
| wnba_profile   = brian_agler
}}
'''Brian Agler''' (born August 2, 1958)<ref name="NCAA Coaches"/> is an American college athletics administrator and former women's [[basketball]] coach. He is the [[athletic director]] at [[Wittenberg University]] in [[Springfield, Ohio]], a position he has held since 2021. Agler served as head coach of the [[Dallas Wings]] of the [[Women's National Basketball Association]] (WNBA) from 2019 to 2020. He had previously been head coach of the [[Seattle Storm]] and the [[Los Angeles Sparks]], each of whom he led to a WNBA championship, in [[2010 WNBA Finals|2010]] and [[2016 WNBA Finals|2016]], respectively. During his coaching career, Agler has guided young stars like [[Candace Parker]], [[Nneka Ogwumike]], [[Alana Beard]], [[Skylar Diggins-Smith]], [[Tayler Hill]], [[Liz Cambage]], [[Megan Gustafson]], and [[Arike Ogunbowale]].

==Early years==
Agler attended college at [[Wittenberg University]] in Ohio, where he won the 1977 Division III NCAA Championship as a point guard. He graduated in 1980. He received his master's degree in education from [[Pittsburg State University]] in 1985.

==Coaching career==
===College===
====Kansas State====
Agler became the head coach of the [[Kansas State University|Kansas State]] women's basketball team in 1993. He was suspended in the middle of his third season (1995–1996), pending an NCAA rules violation investigation.<ref name="suspended">{{cite web | url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19960210/2313425/kansas-state-womens-coach-suspended | title=Kansas State Women's Coach Suspended | publisher=The Seattle Times | agency=Associated Press | date=February 10, 1996 | access-date=November 11, 2017}}</ref> Kansas State under Agler was 13–14 his first season (1993–1994), 14–13 his second season, and 11–12 for the 23 games he coached in his final season.<ref name="suspended" />

===American Basketball League (ABL)===
====Columbus Quest====
As head coach of the [[Columbus Quest]] of the [[American Basketball League (1996–98)|American Basketball League]], Agler led the team to a combined 82–22 record and two ABL Championships. He was named ABL Coach of the Year in 1997.

===Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)===
====Minnesota Lynx====
After the ABL collapsed in late 1998, Agler made the shift to the [[WNBA]]. He became the first head coach of the [[Minnesota Lynx]], piloting them to a 48–67 record from 1999–2002.

====Assistant coaching stints====
He served as an assistant coach with the [[Phoenix Mercury]] in the 2004 season, then with the [[San Antonio Stars|San Antonio Silver Stars]] from 2005 to 2007.

====Seattle Storm====
The Seattle Storm named Agler head coach on January 9, 2008. He succeeded [[Anne Donovan]]. who resigned in November 2007.  Agler was the general manager and head coach for the [[Seattle Storm]] until 2014, leading them to their second championship in 2010.<ref name="WNBA Title"/>

====Los Angeles Sparks====
On January 5, 2015, it was announced that Agler would become the head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks.

Agler guided the 2015 version of the Sparks to a 14–20 record and a 4th-place finish in the WNBA's Western Conference.

On October 20, 2016, Agler guided the Sparks to their third WNBA championship, defeating the Lynx, 77–76, in the decisive Game 5 of the [[2016 WNBA Finals]], thereby winning the league championship series, 3–2. He became the first head coach to win WNBA titles with two teams.

On November 1, 2018, Agler resigned from his position as the Sparks coach.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/25417898/brian-agler-resigns-los-angeles-sparks-coach|title=Brian Agler resigns as Sparks coach|website=espn.com|publisher=ESPN|first=Mechelle|last=Voepele|date=November 30, 2018|access-date=December 6, 2018}}</ref>

====Dallas Wings====
On December 17, 2018, Agler was hired as the head coach of the [[Dallas Wings]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/25559410/brian-agler-next-coach-dallas-wings |title=Brian Agler to be next coach of Dallas Wings |date=December 17, 2018 | access-date=December 17, 2018 | agency=Associated Press | publisher=ESPN }}</ref>

On October 14, 2020, the Dallas Wings announced that the organization had parted ways with Agler.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wnba.com/news/dallas-wings-and-head-coach-brian-agler-mutually-agree-to-part-ways/|title=Dallas Wings And Head Coach Brian Agler Mutually Agree To Part Ways|website=wnba.com|publisher=The WNBA|date=October 14, 2020|access-date=November 18, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-10-15 |title=Dallas Wings, head coach Brian Agler mutually agree to part ways after two seasons |url=https://www.cbssports.com/wnba/news/dallas-wings-head-coach-brian-agler-mutually-agree-to-part-ways-after-two-seasons/ |access-date=2024-07-16 |website=CBSSports.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Professional career==
In January 2021, Agler joined [[Wittenberg University]] as the Vice President and Director of Athletics and Recreation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wittenberg |url=https://wittenbergtigers.com/information/directory/bios/Brian_Agler?view=bio |website=Wittenberg |access-date=9 March 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Agler's son, Bryce, was an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Sparks during Agler's tenure as head coach of the franchise.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sparks.wnba.com/news/2018-sparks-roster-released/|title = 2018 Sparks Roster Released}}</ref>

==Head coaching record==
{{NBA coach statistics legend}}
{{NBA coach statistics start}}
|-
| align="left" | [[1999 Minnesota Lynx season|MIN]]
| align="left" |[[1999 WNBA season|1999]]
|32||15||17||{{Winning percentage|15|17}}|| align="center" |4th in West||-||-||-||-
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |[[2000 Minnesota Lynx season|MIN]]
| align="left" |[[2000 WNBA season|2000]]
|32||15||17||{{Winning percentage|15|17}}|| align="center" |6th in West||-||-||-||-
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|- 
| align="left" |[[2001 Minnesota Lynx season|MIN]]
| align="left" |[[2001 WNBA season|2001]]
|32||12||20||{{Winning percentage|12|20}}|| align="center" |6th in West||-||-||-||-
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|- 
| align="left" |[[2002 Minnesota Lynx season|MIN]]
| align="left" |[[2002 WNBA season|2002]]
|19||6||13||{{Winning percentage|6|13}}|| align="center" |8th in West||-||-||-||-
| align="center" |Fired Mid-Season
|-
| align="left" |[[2008 Seattle Storm season|SEA]]
| align="left" |[[2008 WNBA season|2008]]
|34||22||12||{{Winning percentage|22|12}}|| align="center" |2nd in West||3||1||2||{{Winning percentage|1|2}}
| align="center" |Lost in [[2008 WNBA Playoffs|Western Conference Semi-Finals]]
|-
| align="left" |[[2009 Seattle Storm season|SEA]]
| align="left" |[[2009 WNBA season|2009]]
|34||20||14||{{Winning percentage|20|14}}|| align="center" |2nd in West||3||1||2||{{Winning percentage|1|2}}
| align="center" |Lost in [[2009 WNBA Playoffs|Western Conference Semi-Finals]]
|- ! style="background:#FDE910;"
| align="left" |[[2010 Seattle Storm season|SEA]]
| align="left" |[[2010 WNBA season|2010]]
|34||28||6||{{Winning percentage|28|6}}|| align="center" |1st in West||7||7||0||{{Winning percentage|7|0}}
| align="center" |Won [[2010 WNBA Finals|WNBA Finals]]
|-
| align="left" |[[2011 Seattle Storm season|SEA]]
| align="left" |[[2011 WNBA season|2011]]
|34||21||13||{{Winning percentage|21|13}}|| align="center" |2nd in West||3||1||2||{{Winning percentage|1|2}}
| align="center" |Lost in [[2011 WNBA Playoffs|Western Conference Semi-Finals]]
|- 
| align="left" |[[2012 Seattle Storm season|SEA]]
| align="left" |[[2012 WNBA season|2012]]
|34||16||18||{{Winning percentage|16|18}}|| align="center" |4th in West||3||1||2||{{winning percentage|1|2}}
| align="center" |Lost in [[2012 WNBA Playoffs|Western Conference Semi-Finals]]
|-
| align="left" | [[2013 Seattle Storm season|SEA]]
| align="left" |[[2013 WNBA season|2013]]
|34||17||17||{{Winning percentage|17|17}}|| align="center" |4th in West||2||0||2||{{winning percentage|0|2}}
| align="center" |Lost in [[2013 WNBA Playoffs|Western Conference Semi-Finals]]
|-
| align="left" | [[2014 Seattle Storm season|SEA]]
| align="left" |[[2014 WNBA season|2014]]
|34||12||22||{{Winning percentage|12|22}}|| align="center" |5th in West||-||-||-||-
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" | [[2015 Los Angeles Sparks season|LA]]
| align="left" |[[2015 WNBA season|2015]]
|34||14||20||{{Winning percentage|14|20}}|| align="center" |4th in West||3||1||2||{{Winning percentage|1|2}}
| align="center" |Lost in [[2015 WNBA Playoffs|Western Conference Semi-Finals]]
|- ! style="background:#FDE910;"
| align="left" | [[2016 Los Angeles Sparks season|LA]]
| align="left" |[[2016 WNBA season|2016]]
|34||26||8||{{Winning percentage|26|8}}|| align="center" |2nd in West||9||6||3||{{Winning percentage|6|3}}
| align="center" |Won [[2016 WNBA Finals|WNBA Finals]]
|-
| align="left" | [[2017 Los Angeles Sparks season|LA]]
| align="left" |[[2017 WNBA season|2017]]
|34||26||8||{{Winning percentage|26|8}}|| align="center" |2nd in West||8||5||3||{{Winning percentage|5|3}}
| align="center" |Lost in [[2017 WNBA Playoffs|WNBA Finals]]
|-
| align="left" | [[2018 Los Angeles Sparks season|LA]]
| align="left" |[[2018 WNBA season|2018]]
|34||19||15||{{Winning percentage|19|15}}|| align="center" |3rd in West||2||1||1||{{Winning percentage|1|1}}
| align="center" |Lost in [[2018 WNBA Playoffs|Western Conference Semi-Finals]]
|-
| align="left" | [[2019 Dallas Wings season|DAL]]
| align="left" |[[2019 WNBA season|2019]]
|34||10||24||{{Winning percentage|10|24}}|| align="center" |5th in West||-||-||-||-
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" | [[2020 Dallas Wings season|DAL]]
| align="left" |[[2020 WNBA season|2020]]
|22||8||14||{{Winning percentage|8|14}}|| align="center" |6th in West||-||-||-||-
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="left" |'''Career'''
| ||545||287||258||{{Winning percentage|287|258}}|| ||43||24||19||{{Winning percentage|24|19}}
{{s-end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="NCAA Coaches">{{cite web|title=Women's Basketball Coaches Career|url=http://web1.ncaa.org/stats/StatsSrv/careercoach|website=NCAA|access-date=22 Sep 2015}}</ref>

<ref name="WNBA Title">{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/wnba/columns/story?columnist=voepel_mechelle&id=5582104|title=Second title even sweeter for Storm|last=Voepel|first=Mechelle|date=16 September 2010|publisher=ESPN|access-date=17 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920081004/http://sports.espn.go.com/wnba/columns/story?columnist=voepel_mechelle&id=5582104|archive-date=20 September 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

}}

==External links==
* [https://www.wittenbergtigers.com/information/directory/bios/Brian_Agler?view=bio Wittenberg profile]

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}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agler, Brian}}
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American Basketball League (1996–1998) coaches]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Basketball coaches from Ohio]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Ohio]]
[[Category:Kansas City Roos women's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Kansas State Wildcats women's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Sparks head coaches]]
[[Category:Minnesota Lynx head coaches]]
[[Category:Phoenix Mercury coaches]]
[[Category:Point guards]]
[[Category:San Antonio Stars coaches]]
[[Category:Seattle Storm coaches]]
[[Category:University of Pittsburgh alumni]]
[[Category:Wittenberg Tigers athletic directors]]
[[Category:Wittenberg Tigers men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Women's National Basketball Association championship–winning head coaches]]
[[Category:Women's National Basketball Association executives]]
[[Category:Women's National Basketball Association general managers]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]