Michael Brooks might be entering his second season as head coach of the Bradley women’s basketball team, but he has played an integral part in the arguably the most successful five-year stretch in program history.  Now in his fourth season with the program, Brooks was a member of the BU staff for the first two postseason appearances in program history before he was named the eighth women’s basketball head coach on July 6, 2012.

His first season as head coach was an exciting one, with the squad posting its best conference record (8-10) and finish (6th) since the 2009-10 season.  The 2012-13 season saw the Braves rank 21st in the country in scoring with a league-best 71.3 points-per-game average.  Bradley also led the MVC in steals (10.4 per game) in addition to shooting a school record 78.1 percent from the free throw line to rank eighth in the country. 

Bradley’s all-time leader in three-point field goals, Katie Yohn made a successful move into the post in her final season under Brooks’ tutelage after playing on perimeter her first three seasons on The Hilltop.  A Second-Team All-MVC pick and First-Team MVC Scholar-Athlete, Yohn was the only player in the Valley in 2012-13 and first player in program history to collect 300 points, 175 rebounds, 70 assists, 25 blocks and 70 steals.  In addition, Bradley produced a league-high four MVC scholar-athlete honorees in Brooks’ first season as head coach. 

Prior to being named head coach, Brooks was an assistant coach (2011-12) and director of operations (2009-10) with the Braves.  His two previous years with the program combined with team’s 14-16 overall mark in his first season as head coach helped the Braves finish a five-year stretch with 85 total wins for the most wins in a five-year period in program history.

Brooks was an assistant coach at Bradley in 2011-12, helping the Braves to an 18-16 overall record, the fifth-best single-season win total in program history, and the program's first-ever postseason home victory en route to the second round of the Women's Basketball Invitational. He was the team's Director of Operations in 2009-10 when the Braves posted a 17-14 overall record, finished third in the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season standings with a 12-6 league record and earned the program's first-ever postseason appearance. Bradley advanced to the second round of the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitational by defeating 2009 NCAA Tournament runner-up Louisville in the Cardinals' final game at Freedom Hall.

In between his two years on the Bradley staff, Brooks was the women's basketball co-head coach at Central Methodist University during the 2010-11 season, managing all aspects of the varsity and junior varsity squads while specializing in defensive strategy and post play. He also served as an assistant coach for the Eagles during the 2008-09 and 2006-07 seasons.

Brooks is a 2004 graduate of Western State College in Gunnison, Colo., where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and theatre. He was a two-year member of both the football and track teams at Western State after transferring from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Brooks earned his master's degree in education from Central Methodist in 2009.

A four-year football letterwinner, Brooks began his coaching career on the gridiron in 2005 as an assistant coach at Quincy University. He first arrived at Central Methodist as a football assistant in 2006, coaching running backs and special teams, while also serving as the strength and conditioning coordinator, before transitioning into the women's basketball staff.

During his first year on the Central Methodist women's basketball staff, Brooks also coached the boys' and girls' track teams at Glasgow (Mo.) High School. During the 2007-08 season, Brooks stepped away from collegiate basketball to work as an assistant coach for both the boys' and girls' basketball teams at Glasgow, while continuing to serve as the track and field head coach. The boys' basketball team was the 2008 Missouri Class 1 state tournament runner-up.

A native of Omaha, Neb., Brooks is married to the former Andi Sutherland, who was an assistant coach with the Braves during the 2004-05 season and served as the Director of Basketball Operations in 2003-04. The couple has a five-year old daughter: Britain.