Men's Basketball
Dale Layer
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- layer_dr@mercer.edu
- Phone:
- (478) 301-2085
Dale Layer was added to the Mercer coaching staff in 2017, bringing over three decades of coaching experience.
“I am so excited to be able to add Dale to our coaching staff,” said Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman. ‘His coaching experience at the NCAA Division I level and at the professional level will add value to our staff and our student-athletes. Dale is a class act who strives to improve those around him and I am confident his understanding of the game and his ability to develop student-athletes will make him a great addition to our basketball family.”
He spent this past season as an assistant coach with the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA’s Developmental League where he assisted in the development of Mike Tobey, the organization’s first Gatorade Call-up to the Charlotte Hornets.
Layer joined the Swarm after six seasons as head coach at Liberty. In his time there he led the Flames to a Big South Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2013, set a school record for conference wins in a season (13) during the 2011 season.
Layer’s head coaching tenure at Liberty was his second stint with the school after serving as an assistant coach with a season as an assistant at Marquette sandwiched in between. At Marquette, he helped the Golden Eagles reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament and a 24-9 mark, raking as high as eighth in the country at one point that season.
In his first stint at Liberty, he assisted in signing a recruiting class ranked 48th in the nation which included current Dallas Mavericks guard Seth Curry.
Layer made his first trip to Lynchburg following seven years as head coach at Colorado State where he led the Rams to 103 wins and an NCAA Tournament berth in 2003 off the heels of the program’s Mountain West Conference Tournament title, the first NCAA berth for the school in 13 years.
Layer took the reigns over in Fort Collins, Colorado after a few seasons as an assistant coach with the Rams, helping guide the team to two top-25 wins in 1998 over UCLA and Utah followed by an NIT appearance in 1999.
Layer made the trip to Colorado after nine years as head coach and athletic director at Queens University in Charlotte. After starting the program following the university’s transition to a co-ed school in 1988, he led the royals to eight winning seasons in his nine years with over 165 wins and a pair of NCAA Division II Tournament appearances to go along with two conference tournament titles.
Layer’s coaching career began as an assistant at his alma mater, Eckerd College, in 1980 for a pair of seasons before spending a couple years as a graduate assistant at Eastern Kentucky before returning to Eckerd for five more seasons.
Layer graduated from Eckerd College in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and received his Master of Arts degree in counseling from Eastern Kentucky in 1983.
Layer is married to the former Brenda Peterson and the couple has three children: Valerie, Tim and Ethan.
“I am so excited to be able to add Dale to our coaching staff,” said Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman. ‘His coaching experience at the NCAA Division I level and at the professional level will add value to our staff and our student-athletes. Dale is a class act who strives to improve those around him and I am confident his understanding of the game and his ability to develop student-athletes will make him a great addition to our basketball family.”
He spent this past season as an assistant coach with the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA’s Developmental League where he assisted in the development of Mike Tobey, the organization’s first Gatorade Call-up to the Charlotte Hornets.
Layer joined the Swarm after six seasons as head coach at Liberty. In his time there he led the Flames to a Big South Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2013, set a school record for conference wins in a season (13) during the 2011 season.
Layer’s head coaching tenure at Liberty was his second stint with the school after serving as an assistant coach with a season as an assistant at Marquette sandwiched in between. At Marquette, he helped the Golden Eagles reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament and a 24-9 mark, raking as high as eighth in the country at one point that season.
In his first stint at Liberty, he assisted in signing a recruiting class ranked 48th in the nation which included current Dallas Mavericks guard Seth Curry.
Layer made his first trip to Lynchburg following seven years as head coach at Colorado State where he led the Rams to 103 wins and an NCAA Tournament berth in 2003 off the heels of the program’s Mountain West Conference Tournament title, the first NCAA berth for the school in 13 years.
Layer took the reigns over in Fort Collins, Colorado after a few seasons as an assistant coach with the Rams, helping guide the team to two top-25 wins in 1998 over UCLA and Utah followed by an NIT appearance in 1999.
Layer made the trip to Colorado after nine years as head coach and athletic director at Queens University in Charlotte. After starting the program following the university’s transition to a co-ed school in 1988, he led the royals to eight winning seasons in his nine years with over 165 wins and a pair of NCAA Division II Tournament appearances to go along with two conference tournament titles.
Layer’s coaching career began as an assistant at his alma mater, Eckerd College, in 1980 for a pair of seasons before spending a couple years as a graduate assistant at Eastern Kentucky before returning to Eckerd for five more seasons.
Layer graduated from Eckerd College in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and received his Master of Arts degree in counseling from Eastern Kentucky in 1983.
Layer is married to the former Brenda Peterson and the couple has three children: Valerie, Tim and Ethan.
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