Luke Toburen came to Farmville in the summer of 2022 after spending two years at the University of Virginia.
In 2023-24, he helped Longwood win its second Big South title in three seasons to earn their second trip to the NCAA National Tournament. The Lancers also went 21-14, the team's third-straight 20-win campaign that is the longest such streak in team history.
During the team's Big South Tournament run, the Lancers beat Winthrop, top-seeded High Point, and second-seeded UNC Asheville to claim the Big South crown. The run earned the Lancers a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they played No. 1 seed Houston.
Longwood had one of the top rebounding outfits in the nation during the season. The Lancers ranked sixth in rebounding margin (+8.6) and 12th in offensive rebounds per game (13.4). In addition, the team had the best scoring defense in the Big South, surrendering only 68.5 points per game.
In the regular season, Longwood won 15 straight games in non-conference play. The winning streak was the longest in the nation at the time it was snapped, and it was the second-longest winning streak in team history.
In his first season in Farmville, the men’s basketball team posted 20 wins for a second straight season for the first time in program history. The Lancers finished second in the Big South standings.
In addition, the Lancers had a pair of All-Big South honorees to make more program history. Isaiah Wilkins (All-Big South First Team) and DeShaun Wade (All-Big South Honorable Mention) both earned all-conference honors for a second straight season. Both became the first players in program history to earn All-Big South honors in back-to-back seasons, and Wilkins was the first player to earn All-Big South First Team honors twice.
Defensively, Longwood boasted one of the top units in the Big South. The Lancers were in the top two in the league in turnovers forced and finished 40th in the nation in turnover margin thanks to an offense that didn’t give the ball away. Plus, Longwood surrendered 65.7 points per game, good for third in the league.
While in Charlottesville, he served as a strength and conditioning graduate assistant for the Virginia men’s basketball program there for the past two seasons (2020-22). He helped in all aspects of the team’s athletic performance training while coupling that with a data driven approach to inform various decisions from on-court performance to recovery to program design and more.
Prior to his time at Virginia, he served as the Director of Sport Performance at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy from 2018-20. He pioneered the school’s first sports performance program and coordinated all aspects of strength and conditioning for 23 varsity sports teams. He also served as a sport performance coach for the Cleveland Clinic Foundation for two years and worked closely with the hospital’s physical therapy department and return to sport protocols for athletes.
In addition, he served as the assistant strength and conditioning coach at his alma mater, Grove City College, for one year (2017-18).
He is a certified strength and conditioning specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and a USA Weightlifting Certified Level 1 Coach.
He obtained his bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Grove City College in 2016 while also playing on the college’s club lacrosse team where he served as a captain. While at Virginia, he completed his master’s degree in exercise physiology. He currently resides in Farmville with his wife, Michaela, and their daughter.
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