Coaching Staff
Head Coach Eric Bridgeland
Eric Bridgeland arrived at the University of Redlands in the spring of 2020 as an esteemed NCAA Division III coach with 20 years of head coaching experience. Most recently, he led the Whitman College (WA) Blues to three Northwest Conference (NWC) titles and six runner-up finishes. During the last five years, Whitman has qualified for the NCAA tournament each season and advanced to the Sweet-16, Elite-8, and Final Four. His 2019 seniors graduated as the winningest class in NCAA Division III history, as they contributed to three undefeated titles in NWC action and a 67-conference game win streak.
In 12 seasons at Whitman, Bridgeland earned an impressive record of 245-87 (.738) and an NWC mark of 132-44 (.750%). In addition, he owns multiple national, regional, and conference coach of the year awards. His teams consistently land among the national rankings, as highlighted by the No. 1 spot on the D3hoops.com poll late in the 2017 season.
Prior to coaching at Whitman, he served as the head coach at the University of Puget Sound (WA) for five seasons. After taking over a program that had one winning season in the previous nine, Bridgeland and the Loggers put together a stretch of three consecutive NWC titles, three NCAA appearances, and a No. 8 ranking.
Overall, Bridgeland has coached one national player of the year, 12 All-Americans, six conference MVPs, and 40 all-conference selections. He also sent another student-athlete to the NBA combine as one of only five Division III players to be invited in the history of the league.
Before becoming a head coach, he grew professionally as an assistant coach at all levels of the NCAA, including Division I Pepperdine University, Division III Cal State Bakersfield, and Division III Lewis & Clark College (OR).
Outside of coaching, Bridgeland has gained experience with various NCAA basketball committees and organizations. Furthermore, he makes it a priority to serve his community through local non-profits like Friends of Children Walla Walla, Christian Aide Center, YMCA, and more.
His outreach also has resulted in impressive fundraising success through leadership camps, basketball clinics, golf tournaments, and general campaigning.
Originally hailing from Rockford, Illinois, Bridgeland attended the University of Manitoba in Canada. As a member of the men’s basketball team, he completed his Bachelor of Arts in History and Psychology while becoming Manitoba’s all-time leading scorer in four seasons. He was named the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union (CIAU) Rookie of the Year and earned three All-Canadian nods.
Bridgeland went on to play internationally with the Canadian National Program for three seasons and then gained professional experience with the Winnipeg Thunder for one season.
He later completed his Master of Science in Psychology through the University of Phoenix.
Bridgeland and his wife Brianne have two children, Sydney and Ethan.
Assistant Coach Cory Coombe
The University of Redlands and Bulldog Athletics welcomed Cory Coombe as the Assistant Men's Basketball Coach on Wednesday, July 1. He looks forward to sharing his outstanding Division III experience and love of basketball with the Bulldogs.
Coombe most recently served as the Assistant Basketball Coach at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, where he was in charge of recruiting for the Northwest and Northern California, led drills during practice, helped with daily practice plans, and helped oversee academic support and strength and conditioning. In addition, he assisted with game scheduling and helped break down film. Before that, Coombe was the Head Coach of the junior varsity boys' basketball squad at Lake Oswego High School while also assisting with the varsity team.
"Cory is a rising star in our profession. He blends an amazing rapport with our student-athletes with a tremendous, professional work-ethic," commented Head Coach Eric Bridgeland. "He adds value in every interaction with who he is and the energy he brings. Our campus and program are blessed to have him."
Coombe competed for the Lewis & Clark College (OR) men's basketball team for four years, twice earning a spot on the National Association of Basketball College (NABC) Academic Honors Court and competing in the Northwest Conference Championship game in 2014-15.
He completed his degrees in Economics and Rhetoric & Media Studies in 2017. He is currently working on his Master's in Sports Management from the University of Florida.
Assistant Coach Domonic Lippi
Dominic Lippi joined the University of Redlands men's basketball program from St. Mary's College (SMC) where he spent 2018-21 as the Director of Basketball Operations and Video Coordinator. He was an Assistant Director of Operations at SMC during the 2017-18 season when he also handled the basketball operations and video duties.
Lippi played collegiately at UC Davis before transferring to Whitman College. He graduated from Whitman in 2015 with a degree in rhetoric studies and a minor in economics.
As a Graduate Assistant at SMC Lippi earned his master’s degree in kinesiology in 2017.
Between 2015-21 at SMC, Lippi was a part of a program that went 150-47 with a 76.1 winning percentage. SMC made three NCAA D1 tournaments and three National Invitation Tournaments. Lippi also helped develop 10 1st team All-West Coast Conference (WCC) players, one WCC Player of the Year, and one WCC Defensive Player of the Year.
During Lippi’s playing career at Whitman, he finished as a 38 percent career three-point shooter, ranking him ninth all-time. In 2015 he was named to the Northwest Conference (NWC) All-Sportsmanship team. His three year success made him the winningest three-year player in program history. During his senior season he was named a team captain and helped the team to a 20-6 record.
While in high school at St. Joseph Notre Dame, Lippi won a California state championship in 2011, a team he was a captain of.
Lippi’s dad, Don Lippi, has won 904 games across over 40 years in Northern California and was his high school coach. Don is a member of the California Coaches Hall of Fame.