University at Buffalo women’s basketball head coach Becky Burke has finalized her coaching staff for the 2023-24 season with the addition of associate head coach Jacey Brooks. Brooks joins assistant coaches Erin Sinnott and James Ewing and Director of Basketball Operations Allese Williams.
“I am thrilled that Jacey will be joining our staff here at Buffalo,” said Burke. “She brings a wealth of knowledge that will add tremendous value. She is an incredible person that builds genuine relationships and takes pride in coaching and loving her players. Jacey recruits at a very high level, has pride for Western New York and knows what UB women’s basketball stands for. I’m so excited to work with her, learn from her, and continue to elevate this program together.”
Brooks arrives in Buffalo after five years as the head coach at SUNY Cortland where she just led the Red Dragons to the program’s first SUNYAC championship since 2010 and their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, finishing with 24-5 overall record during the 2022-23 season.
Through four seasons on the court (the 2020-21 season was canceled), Brooks has a combined record of 79-32 (.712) with three NCAA Division III tournament appearances. She won 20 or more games in three of those four seasons. During the 2021-22 season, Cortland finished 21-6, won the SUNYAC regular-season title, placed second in the SUNYAC tournament, and earned an NCAA at-large bid. In the 2019-20 season, Brooks led the Red Dragons to a 22-7 record, the SUNYAC tournament finals, and an NCAA at-large berth. Cortland won its NCAA first-round game that season to tie for 17th place nationally. Brooks was named the 2019-20 D3hoops.com East Region Coach of the Year, and she and her assistant coaches are two-time SUNYAC Coaching Staff of the Year honorees (2019-20 and 2021-22 seasons).
A former standout player at Buffalo State College, Brooks worked with Division I coaching staffs 11 years prior to her arrival at Cortland, including a five-year stint as an assistant coach at Bowling Green from 2013-18.
Brooks was part of a Bowling Green program that finished 30-5 overall, captured the Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular-season title with a 17-1 mark, and won three games in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) in the 2013-14 season. She co-managed the Falcons’ offensive scheme, including in-game decisions, from 2013-16 and served as the program’s defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator from 2016-18. The program had the fifth-highest team grade point average among Division I women’s squads in 2014-15 and the seventh-best team GPA in 2016-17.
In August 2015, Brooks was one of just 50 coaches across the nation selected to participate in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s (WBCA) Center for Coaching Excellence’s inaugural session for assistant coaches in Atlanta, Ga. She is a June 2017 graduate of the NCAA Women Coaches Academy (WCA) Class #41 in Denver, Colo., and she also attended the NCAA/National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA) Women’s Leadership Symposium in Kansas City, Mo., in May 2016.
Prior to her work at Bowling Green, Brooks spent three seasons on the coaching staff at Canisius College. She primarily worked with the team’s backcourt players while assisting with the day-to-day operations of the program. Brooks also worked at St. Bonaventure University, where she moved into an assistant coach role for the 2009-10 season after spending two years as the director of basketball operations. The Bonnies finished 23-10 and made their second straight WNIT appearance in 2009-10.
A native of Machias, N.Y., Brooks graduated from Buffalo State in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in Health and Wellness. During her four seasons on the hardwood for the Bengals (2002-05 and 2006-07) she recorded 1,219 points and 554 rebounds, earned two All-SUNYAC honors, and helped lead the team to three straight conference tournaments. She currently ranks seventh in school history in scoring and 16th in rebounding. Brooks is also the Bengals’ career free throw percentage leader (84.5 percent), and she holds the school single-season records for 3-point shooting percentage (43.4 percent in 2003-04) and free throw percentage (87.0 percent in 2004-05).
Brooks also has coached in the Empire State Games, serving as an assistant coach for the Western region in the women’s open division. She earned a Master of Science in Sport Administration from Canisius in May 2012.
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