VIRGINIA TECH | 2017-18 WBB Team Guide

33 Win HokiesWBB HokiesWBB HokiesWBB Kenny Brooks was named the seventh head women’s basketball coach at Virginia Tech on March 28, 2016. In his first season in Blacksburg, Brooks engineered the first 20-win season for Tech in a decade. After opening the season 15-0, including a defeat of then-No. 17 Tennessee for the second straight season, the Hokies ascended to No. 15 in the national polls, their best mark since 1999. Brooks’ 2016-17 squad set numerous records including made 3-pointers with 247 and points scored (2.405). Tech received a WNIT bid for the second consecutive year and defeated Navy, Rider and Penn State en route to an Elite Eight appearance. Three student-athletes were included on the ACC All-Academic Team during the season — Vanessa Panousis, Sami Hill and Regan Magarity. Following their Virginia Tech careers, Panousis, Hill and Sidney Cook signed professional contracts- Panousis for Adelaide Lightning in Australia, Hill with Danau-Ries in Germany and Cook for Enea AZS Poznan in Poland. Brooks joined the Hokies after an impressive 14-season stint as the head coach at James Madison University, where he compiled a record of 337-122 (.756), making him the winningest coach in that school’s history. Brooks guided the Dukes to 11 consecutive postseason appearances, including six NCAA bids and five trips to the WNIT. Under his direction in 2015-16, JMU compiled a 27-6 record, including a 17-1 mark in conference play, as the Dukes made a third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. Over 11 seasons at JMU, Brooks’ squads never won fewer than 24 games, averaging 26.3 wins per year over that span. The Dukes won three consecutive (2014, 2015, 2016) Colonial Athletic Association championships under Brooks’ tutelage and captured five conference titles over a seven-season span. He was named CAA Coach of the Year for a fourth time in 2015-16, while his student-athletes also garnered CAA Player and Rookie of the Year honors. Brooks registered winning campaigns in 13 of his 14 seasons in Harrisonburg, ascending to No. 23 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches Poll in 2014-15, as his squad tied a school record with 29 victories. In 2013-14, he led the Dukes to their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1991 when his 11th-seeded Dukes knocked off sixth-seeded Gonzaga 72-63 in the first round. In 2007, the Dukes earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, marking only the second time a CAA team had received an at-large berth. Under Brooks, James Madison tallied six CAA Players of the Year, three Rookies of the Year and two Defensive Players of the Year. The Dukes also earned 31 All-CAA selections, 11 Defensive team and 10 All-Rookie team selections during his tenure. The Waynesboro, Virginia native has coached three WNBA Draft picks, including first-round pick Tamera Young and most recently (April 2016) second-round selection Jazmon Gwathmey, in addition to three other players he coached at JMU who have signed professional contracts. A 1992 graduate of James Madison, he played three seasons under legendary coach Lefty Driesell and made two NIT appearances while earning a degree in business management. He began his coaching career as a part-time assistant for the 1993-94 JMU men’s squad that won the CAA Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. After four seasons as an assistant for the men’s program at VMI (1994-98), he moved back to his alma mater as a men’s assistant from 1998-2002. He was named interim women’s head coach on Dec. 6, 2002 before taking over those duties on a full-time basis on March 21, 2003. Brooks and his wife the former Chrissy Stewart have four children: Kendyl, Chloe, Gabby and Nicholas. HEAD COACH KENNY BROOKS