Assistant Dean of Athletics and Recreation Laura Mooney has announced that longtime University of Albany men’s coach and last year’s College of Saint Rose women’s coach Will Brown has been selected as the next Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) head women’s basketball coach.
“I am extremely excited to welcome Will Brown to MCLA as our new head women’s basketball coach,” said Mooney. “Will’s experience, proven track record of success, passion for the game and his profession, clearly stood out in our nationwide search. We prioritized selecting a coach that we felt could stabilize the program and quickly position it for sustainable competitive success and I am confident we made the correct choice.”
Brown comes to MCLA following a one-year stint as the head women’s basketball coach at the College of Saint Rose where he began his coaching career as an assistant on the men’s side from 1995-1998. Despite challenging circumstances including the college announcing its intention to close late last November and taking over a team that was picked to finish second to last in the Northeast 10 Conference preseason poll, Brown led the Golden Knights to a 21-7 record, including a 17-5 conference mark and an NCAA Division II at large tournament berth. Brown was voted as the 2024 NE10 Coach of the Year.
“I would like to thank Assistant Dean of Athletics and Recreation Laura Mooney and the search committee for the opportunity to be the next head women’s basketball coach at MCLA,” said Brown. “I am looking forward to the challenge of building a championship level program that enjoys success in the classroom, on the court and in the community.”
A member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame, Brown spent the 2021-2022 season as the head coach and general manager of the Albany Patroons and was named as The Basketball League (TBL) National Coach of the Year.
From 2001 to 2021, Brown served as the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Albany where he amassed 315 wins leading the Great Danes to five NCAA Division I Tournament appearances including 2015 when he was named America East Coach of the Year. Overall, nine of Brown’s teams earned postseason invitations and his five America East Conference Tournament Championships matches the most in league history.
Brown’s first collegiate head coaching position was at Sullivan County Community College where he led two of his teams to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) final four, including 1999 when the Generals were the NJCAA National Runner-up.
“The student-athletes will be our number one priority, and we will take great pride in helping them grow and develop on and off the court,” stated Brown. “I firmly believe that people make places, and I was extremely impressed with the people that I met at MCLA throughout the process. It is going to take a lot of hard work, but I am confident that we will be able to build a program that the college and local community will be proud to support.”
Brown is slated to join MCLA and assumes his duties later this week.
https://athletics.mcla.edu/sports/wbkb/2024-25/releases/20240930odkrq3
Tagged with: D3 MASCAC
