Southern Nazarene Men's Basketball Coaching Staff

BJ Foster | Head Coach

BJ Foster was named the eighth head coach in the storied 59-year history of Southern Nazarene University Men’s Basketball on April 11th, 2023.

Foster comes to Southern Nazarene from California State University San Marcos (CSUSM), where he has spent six seasons as the head coach, amassing a record of 99-70. He also spent three seasons as the assistant coach at CSUSM from 2013-16. In his last two seasons with the Cougars, Foster led the program to the NCAA DII tournament for the first time in school history.

Under Foster, CSUSM quickly jumped to new heights. They transitioned from the NAIA to DII during the 2015-16 season, his final season as assistant coach before taking over the program during the 2016-17 season. After being ineligible for postseason play in 2016-17 due to the required transition period, the team made their first DII postseason appearance during the 2017-18 season as they finished third in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) after going 15-7 in conference play.

During the 2021-22 season, Foster led the program to their first conference championship, finishing 20-5 overall and rallying to win the conference tournament.

During his six-year tenure, Foster coached 14 All-Conference selections, as well as one CCAA Newcomer of the Year, and the 2017-18 CCAA Player of the Year.

In his three seasons as an assistant coach with the Cougars, Foster helped the program achieve a record of 77-18, including back-to-back 30-win seasons and back-to-back trips to the third round of the NAIA National Tournament, before making their DII debut in 2015-16.

Prior to joining California State-San Marcos, Foster spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at Biola University where he concentrated on recruiting, game preparation, scouting, scheduling, and academic advising. He helped the Eagles to four NAIA tournaments, three straight NAIA Elite Eight appearances, and a Golden State Athletic Conference tournament championship in 2012. Biola went 153-77 during Coach Foster’s tenure as an assistant coach.

Foster also spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Vanguard University, where he helped the Lions to the 2006 NAIA tournament. It was just the second postseason appearance in the program’s history.

Foster began his collegiate playing career at Point Loma Nazarene in 1998. He spent three seasons with the Sea Lions, where he was a two-time All-GSAC performer and a two-time NAIA All-American Honorable Mention. In 2000, he led Point Loma Nazarene to its first NAIA National Tournament appearance in 20 years. Foster transferred to Biola University for his senior season, where he was once again an All-GSAC performer after leading the Eagles to their first ever conference championship.

Foster graduated from PLNU in 2003 with his bachelor’s degree in physical education. In 2007, he earned his master’s degree from Concordia (Calif.) in Coaching, Sports Administration, and Exercise Science.

BJ is married to his wife, Dawn. They have two children, Henry and Faith.

Julious Coleman | Assistant Coach

Julious Coleman was named the Men's Basketball Assistant Coach on April 26.

Coleman joins Southern Nazarene after spending the previous ten seasons as the assistant coach at Biola University in La Mirada, California. He followed the new SNU head coach, B.J. Foster as the assistant at Biola in 2013.

Coleman brings over 25 years of experience to Southern Nazarene. In his ten year tenure with Biola, Coleman saw tremendous success, helping the Eagles to a 30-4 record and national no. 1 ranking in the NAIA in 2015-16.

Prior to his time at Biola, Coleman was an assistant at California Baptist, as well as serving as an assistant women’s coach at Division I Cornell University.

Coleman also spent six seasons at Boise State University. Along with his coaching responsibilities, Coleman was the program’s academic coordinator, where he helped place 13 Broncos on the Western Conference All-Academic team.

While at Boise State, the Broncos won one WAC Championship and made appearances in the 2008 NCAA Tournament and the 2004 NIT.

Before heading to Boise State, Coleman spent five years at Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho. While there, NNU won a Cascade Conference title, played in the 1998 NAIA Final Four and made two NCAA Division II tournament appearances.

Coleman began his coaching career at Kansas State University where he spent three seasons as a graduate assistant coach.

Coleman graduated from Point Loma Nazarene in 1994. He played there for three seasons after spending one season at Pasadena City College. While at PLNU, he started two seasons and was named the team captain his senior year.

Julious graduated with a bachelor's in sociology and also received a bachelor's in psychology from Kansas State in 1997. He later earned a master's in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in sports psychology, education, athletic administration and physical education from Boise State in 2004.