In his first season with BC, Burgess coached Manzey Miller to a spot on the South Atlantic Conference All-Freshman Team, then saw Trevon Shaw earn the same honor one year later. After two difficult seasons to begin his tenure in Brevard, the Tornados broke through during his third season at the helm. Brevard finished the regular season at 12-16 with a 10-12 mark in conference play, earning a trip to the conference tournament for the first time in four years. The Tornados had to win a pair of road games in a span of 44 hours to clinch a bid, knocking off Mars Hill in triple overtime before erasing a 15-point second-half deficit at Wingate, closing the game on a 23-8 run over the final 5:45 to earn a two-point victory.

Burgess presided over the first televised game in school history during his second season as the Tornados defeated Tusculum 101-90 in Brevard. The team played two televised games during the 2014-2015 season inside Boshamer Gymnasium, defeating Lenoir-Rhyne 74-63 before falling to No. 5 Lincoln Memorial 87-75. He also began designating one game as a "Red Out" each season in memory of former Samford basketball player Jimmy Griffin, encouraging fans to wear red to raise awareness of heart health and donating proceeds to the Jimmy Griffin Legacy Foundation.

Burgess previously spent nine years as an assistant coach at Samford University, where his duties included scouting, on-court coaching, recruiting, travel, and film exchange.

During his time with the Bulldogs, Samford saw several milestones reached in the program, as the team led the Southern Conference in scoring defense (four times), three-point field goal percentage (three times), three-pointers made per game (four times) and overall field goal percentage (twice). Samford also recorded a winning record in league play four times and advanced to the conference semifinals three times, making it to the finals of the conference tournament in 2006.

While at Samford, Burgess was a member of the staff that coached three players to All-Conference honors, including a Conference Player of the Year and an AP All-America Honorable Mention. Burgess helped coach five of the top 20 scorers in Bulldogs’ history, but more impressively, out of the players who have exhausted their eligibility at Samford, 24 of the 25 student-athletes went on to receive their degree.

In 2002-2003, Burgess served as the primary recruiting coordinator and assistant coach at Berry College. During his time with Berry, the team advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament, recording a 20-win season and a winning record in league play. He was also influential in the recruiting of Tramaine Aaron, one of the top 10 scorers in Berry men’s basketball history.

Burgess began his coaching career after college as an assistant coach at Huntingdon College, where his responsibilities included recruiting, scouting, on-floor coaching, team travel and film exchange. He was a part of the rebuilding process for the Hawks, recruiting players who would average 18 wins a year over a span of three seasons, including Allen White, a player who would finish third all-time in the Hawks’ scoring record book.

Burgess was a member of the Samford basketball team for four seasons (1996–2000) and competed for three seasons under the tutelage of Head Coach Jimmy Tillette. He was a member of Samford’s NCAA Tournament teams in both 1998–99 and 1999–2000, and helped guide the team to a 78-39 overall record during his playing career.

Burgess and his wife, Dawn, have two sons, Lee IV and Wyatt and a daughter, Lacy.