Mike Lane will enter his eighth season at the helm of the NJIT women’s basketball program in 2025-26. He was named the 12th head women’s basketball coach in program history in May 2018.
Lane comes to NJIT after spending six seasons at Bucknell University as the top assistant coach, where he helped guide the Bison to a program-best 27-6 mark, Patriot League title and conference championship while earning a berth to the NCAA Tournament in 2017.
In his eighth season at the helm, Lane has the Highlanders off to its best start in program history in 2025-26, with a 7-2 overall start.
The Highlanders recorded its fourth straight double-figure win total in 2024-25, combining for 11 victories and one-win shy the America East Conference record with eight victories. Freshman Olivia Kulyk was tabbed 2025 America East Rookie of the Year, Third Team Selection and to the All-Rookie team while Alejandra Zuniga was a first-team selection and Trinity Williams earned a spot on the America East All Defensive Team.
In 2023-24, the Highlanders combined for 13 wins and went 8-8 in the America East, placing fifth out of 10 teams. Freshman Alejandra Zuniga was selected America East Conference Rookie of the Year, becoming the first NJIT women’s basketball player to earn Rookie of the Year accolades.
In his fourth season at the helm, Lane guided the Highlanders to one of the most successful season in the NJIT Division I era, concluding the 2022 season with a 15-15 overall mark. The 15 wins are the second-highest win total since moving to Division I (2006-07 season). The eight road wins is also a new program-best for the Highlanders.
The Highlanders, competing in its second season in the America East, were selected eighth in the 2022 Preseason Coaches Poll and recorded a program-best nine wins to earn the No. 4 seed in the 2022 America East Conference Playoffs. NJIT hosted the first-ever America East Conference quarterfinal game on March 5, 2022 registering the program's first America East victory and postseason win (NJIT 47, UMass Lowell 33) in over 10 seasons.
Lane, who arrived at Bucknell in 2012, was instrumental in the Bison’s three consecutive seasons of 20+ wins, a 48-6 mark in the Patriot League play in the last three seasons, share of the regular season Patriot League title and earning a Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) bid twice (2015; 2018). In 2015, Bucknell won the first-ever postseason game in program history.
Prior to Bucknell, Lane served as head coach of Division III Dominican University, leading the Stars to a 69-61 overall record in five seasons.
In 2011, Lane earned Northern Athletics Conference Coach of the Year, led Dominican to a school-record 20-win season, captured the first-ever NAC South Division title and ranked 17th in the nation in points per game (74.1).
The following season, Dominican (19-9) won its second straight NAC South Division title, reached the NAC Tournament Championship game for the first time in school history and set the program-record for three-point field goals (218), which ranked seventh in NCAA Division III.
Lane started his collegiate coaching career at Division III University of Chicago as an assistant coach in 2005.
At Chicago, he helped the team to a 35-15 overall record, including an undefeated non-conference record (22-0). Lane assisted in Chicago earning the programs first-ever No. 1 ranking in the USAToday/ESPN national poll during the 2006-07 season while establishing the best start to a season with a school-record 16-game win streak.
The 2006-07 team set school-records in rebounds in a season, finished fourth nationally in rebounding margin (+10.8) and 24th in field goal percentage defense (33.9 percent).
His first coaching experience came at the high school level, as he served as the boys’ varsity assistant coach at Francis W. Parker School in Chicago, IL from 2003-05.
A 1993 graduate of Notre Dame, Lane earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing.
(Updated Decemeber 2025)
