Kenny Brooks named National Coach of the Year by The Sporting News

Kenny Brooks called Kentucky a “sleeping giant” when he first took the job, and he’s got the Wildcats running on nothing but Red Bulls in year one as head coach.

Brooks was named National Coach of the Year in women’s college basketball by The Sporting News on Wednesday. After taking over a program with back-to-back losing seasons, the Virginia native wasted no time turning Kentucky into a contender in his first season in charge — and he did so with only two returning pieces from last season’s roster.

The Wildcats finished the regular season with a 22-7 overall record, including an 11-5 mark in the Southeastern Confernce. It marked the program’s first 20-win season since 2019-20 and the first 11-win SEC season since 2018-19. UK earned a 4-seed in both the SEC and NCAA Tournaments as a result.

NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR. 🔥

In ✨less✨ than a year, he:

• Signed 11 new players
• Hired 11 new coaches / staffers
• 4-Seed & Double Bye at SECs
• 4-Seed & Hosting in NCAAs
• 20+ overall wins
• 10+ SEC wins
• Produced two @hoophall finalists
• Earned five AP Top 25… pic.twitter.com/tyFsjmjN4Y

— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) March 19, 2025

Brooks has found plenty of coaching success throughout his career, which spans two other schools (James Madison: 2002-16; and Virginia Tech: 2016-24), but he’s never won an award of this caliber. He was a four-time CAA Coach of the Year winner at James Madison (2007, 2014-16) and led Virginia Tech to a Final Four in 2023. Brooks even made the James Madison Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022.

Being named National Coach of the Year is a whole different level of success, though.

By bringing over a couple of important transfers from the Hokies in Georgia Amoore (an All-American for the second straight season) and Clara Strack (SEC Defensive Player of the Year), Brooks was able to quickly establish a base. In total, he signed 11 new players and hired 11 new coaches overall while retaining Cassidy Rowe and Saniah Tyler from last season’s group. UK proceeded to win 19 of its first 21 games.

But year one isn’t done just yet for Brooks. He’ll lead the Wildcats into the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night with a first-round matchup against 13-seed Liberty in Lexington. Tipoff is set for noon ET on ESPN inside Memorial Coliseum. Kentucky hasn’t made it past the second round since 2015-16 — Brooks can change that this weekend.