Luke Bryant - Assistant Coach (Throws) - Men's Track and Field Coaches

Luke Bryant

Title:
Assistant Coach (Throws)
Email:
lab24k@fsu.edu

Bryant is in his second season as the Florida State throwing events coach, having previously held an administration position at the University of Texas the preceding two years.

Over the past year, Bryant elevated the throws program to one of the conference's elite groups. Under his guidance, the team produced three First-Team All-ACC selections and three Second-Team All-ACC honorees, while also earning three ACC Performer of the Week awards. At the ACC Outdoor Championships, the throws group scored a combined 37 points across five events.

During the indoor season, freshman Nafy Thiam made an immediate impact, recording the second-longest throw in program history and setting a new Belgian U20 national record. She carried that success into the outdoor season, where she broke the school, Belgian U20, and Belgian senior national records in the shot put. Thiam capped off an outstanding freshman campaign by earning First-Team All-ACC honors and qualifying for the NCAA East First Round.

Zianna Curtis concluded her sophomore season with three top 10 all-time performances across the indoor and outdoor seasons. She placed seventh at the ACC Outdoor Championships with a personal best, earning Second-Team All-ACC honors. Kaitlyn Bullock also earned Second Team All-ACC recognition, placing eighth in the discus to cap her freshman campaign. Alexa Schwartz ended her freshman season with the third-furthest throw in program history and fifth-place finish in the Javelin at the ACC Outdoor Championship.

On the men’s side, Shamar Reid and Despiro Wray led the program to its 15th indoor team title in program history and the first under Bryant’s tenure at Florida State. Reid and Wray combined for 13 points in the shot put, with Wray leading the way in second place, tying for the seventh-furthest mark in program history with a personal best. Reid followed in fourth with a career-best throw.

Reid advanced to the NCAA East First Round before concluding his season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where he earned First-Team All-America honors with a sixth-place finish in the discus. He then represented Jamaica at the JAAA Junior and Senior National Championships alongside Wray.

During Bryant’s inaugural season with the Seminoles, the throws unit achieved six performances that placed them on Florida State’s all-time top 10 list. The indoor season saw Austin Kleinman, Cooper Crowell, and Zee Curtis set personal bests in the weight throw, securing their positions on the top 10 list. In the outdoor season, Maddy McGloin, Austin Kleinman, and Cooper Crowell earned top 10 all-time spots in the hammer throw.

Bryant’s throwers delivered a strong performance at the 2025 ACC Outdoor Championships, during which Ahmari Avin, Austin Kleinman, Cooper Crowell, and Zee Curtis all recorded personal bests. Kleinman and Zee both finished in the top 10 at the ACC Championships.

Prior to his appointment at Florida State and Texas, Bryant served as an Associate Athletic Director for Major Gifts and as an Assistant Track & Field Coach at Texas State University.

During Bryant’s tenure as throws coach, he coached three Sun Belt Conference Field Athletes of the Year, nine individual conference champions, and shattered four Texas State school records.
The Texas State women’s shot putters demonstrated remarkable depth, securing a top 13 ranking in the event squad.

On the men’s side, Bryant’s throwers propelled Brandon Busby and Dias Redmond II to first and second place finishes in the shot put at the 2021 Indoor Conference Championships. In addition to his shot put victory, Busby achieved a personal best of 19.64 meters (64 feet 5 inches) in the weight throw on his final attempt to win the conference championship. Busby’s exceptional performance earned him the Sun Belt Conference Field Athlete of the Year and the Sun Belt Conference Co-Most Outstanding Performer.

Under the guidance of Bryant, Busby became the first athlete in Sun Belt Conference history to secure championships in discus, weight throw, and indoor shot put. During the outdoor season, Busby demonstrated significant improvement, surpassing 12 meters in the hammer throw from the previous season and throwing the Texas State school record with a toss of 64.86 meters (212 feet 9 inches).

In the 2022 campaign, Bryant’s throwers continued their championship success with Will Blaser winning the 2022 Indoor Sun Belt Conference Championships in the shot put. Blaser concluded his season with a best throw of 18.08 meters (59 feet 4 inches), ranking him among the top five all-time in school history.

Beyond the track, the Bobcats assembled one of the most comprehensive throws recruiting classes in the NCAA. According to trackandfieldnews.com, the Bobcats secured the top hammer thrower, the top discus thrower, and the fourth-ranked shot putter for the high school class of 2022.

As a former high-level intercollegiate athlete, Bryant was a First-Team All-American thrower at the University of Oklahoma (OU), where he held the #1 in the NCAA for the discus throw in 2012. During his tenure as a Sooner, Bryant set an OU school record of 62.70 meters (205 feet 8 inches), claimed two Big 12 Championships in the discus, secured a bronze medal at the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships, and was a finalist at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Following his graduation from OU, Bryant threw post-collegiately in the discus where he was ranked top 10 in the United States for three consecutive years before concluding his throwing career at the 2016 Olympic Trials.

During his high school athletic career, Bryant represented Team USA in São Paulo, Brazil, where he won the U20 Pan American Games. Additionally, he was recognized as a high school national champion after securing the discus title at the 2007 Nike Outdoor National Championships.

Bryant pursued his academic endeavors at OU, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in communication in 2012 and a master’s degree in intercollegiate athletic administration in 2014. The Clearwater, Kansas native is married to the former Jessica Stone, who was a tennis student-athlete at Saginaw Valley State University. The couple resides in Tallahassee.