Furman great, college coach to lead Midlands charter school boys basketball team
American Leadership Lexington is going to the college ranks for its next boys basketball coach.
Bruce Evans, a former Furman standout who has spent more than 20 years coaching college basketball, will be the second coach in program history.
Evans replaces Tyson Bouknight, who stepped down after two seasons to take an assistant coaching position at Ben Lippen. ALA Lexington, a public charter school which opened in 2023, made it to the Class 2A Upper State championship this season.
Evans has been an assistant coach at North Florida since 2017, his second stint with the school, but was let go after a shakeup with the staff following the season. Before UNF, he also has been an assistant coach at Furman, Presbyterian, Gardner Webb, director of player development at Georgia Tech and head coach at Division II Lander University.
After leaving UNF, Evans started to plan out his next step and looked into staying in college basketball but thought a move back to the Palmetto State would be best. His family remained in Columbia despite his last two stops at UNF and Georgia Tech over the past 16 years.
“I felt like God telling me it is time to come home and be with my family,” Evans said. “I did some homework and investigating the (ALA) job, and it seemed like a perfect fit. I am very excited about it.”
Evans was a standout at Hillcrest High School in Simponsville, where he was a part of the 1987-88 squad that made it to the state championship game.
After high school, Evans was a four-year starter at Furman, the Southern Conference Freshman of Year (1989) and three-time Southern Conference selection. He is the 10th all-time leading scorer at Furman (1,773 points) and averaged 15.2 points per game during his career.
In 2016, Evans was inducted into the Furman Athletic Hall of Fame. After Furman, he played one season in Turkey before getting into coaching.
Evans takes over an ALA program that will need a big makeover with 13 seniors graduating from the squad that finished 20-9. The Patriots compete in the S.C. High School League and will remain in Class 2A for 2026-28. They’ll be in Region 4 with Horse Creek, Orangeburg-Wilkinson, Pelion, Silver Bluff, Strom Thurmond and Saluda.
Evans said his top priority will be keep the other guys who have been part of the program to stay at ALA.
“Those guys who are a part of program last year or two, I will do everything to keep them there,” Evans said. “The basketball program has only been around for two years, and they have been there and an understanding about building something from the ground up.”
Midlands Basketball Job Openings
School — Former Coach — New Coach
ALA Blythewood — N/A (Beginning in 2026-27) — Al McIntosh
ALA Lexington — Tyson Bouknight — Bruce Evans
Gilbert — John Paul Sellers — Will Hickson
Pelion — Will Hickson — Neal Taylor
Richland Northeast — Jacob Lourie — Christian Savage
River Bluff — Ben Lee — Will Clarke
Spring Valley — Cypheus Bunton — Cam Lee
Swansea — David Smith (interim) — Derris Amaker
This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 9:30 AM.
