Bart Brooks Named to Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Preseason Watch List

HOPEWELL, N.J. – For the third-straight year, Belmont University women's basketball leader Bart Brooks has been named to the preseason watch list for the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats. Coach Brooks is one of 20 mid-major coaches selected to the 2026 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Preseason Watch List, which was revealed by the media outlet Wednesday morning.
 
In his first eight seasons as head coach of the Bruins, coach Brooks has compiled a remarkable 198-68 record. His 74.4 winning percentage ranks among the top 20 of active head coaches in Division I women's basketball. Furthermore, no other current Division I head coach with eight seasons or fewer under their belt has won more games than coach Brooks.
 
Coach Brooks is a ridiculous 129-20 (.866) in conference action with nine combined conference championships, including regular season and tournament titles. He has never lost more than five league games in any given season and has finished no worse than third across two different conferences. Including conference tournament games, coach Brooks is an astonishing 146-24 (.859) against conference opponents.
 
Over the last eight postseasons, coach Brooks has gone 24-11 (.686) with seven national postseason wins since 2021, including back-to-back NCAA Tournament round of 32 appearances in 2021 and 2022. Last season, coach Brooks led Belmont to the 2025 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) title game, the Bruins' deepest national postseason run.
 
In the key months of February and March under coach Brooks' direction, Belmont is 92-19 (.829).
 
Coach Brooks was the third-fastest head coach to 100 career victories in Division I women's basketball history.
 
Five other notable head coaches made the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award Preseason Watch List. Former Bruin assistant coach Lindy La Rocque (2016-17), who is entering her sixth season at UNLV, along with Murray State's Rechelle Turner, both made the mid-major coach of the year preseason watch list. During its strenuous non-conference schedule, Belmont will take on Dayton (Nov. 16) and Princeton (Dec. 6). Both the Flyers' Tamika Williams-Jeter and the Tigers' Carla Berube appear on the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Preseason Watch List. James Madison head coach Sean O'Regan is also a member of the preseason watch list for mid-major coach of the year. Late last March, the Bruins upset the top-seeded Dukes, who were a NCAA Tournament bubble team and receiving votes in both national polls, by 45 points on the road in the quarterfinals of the WBIT.
 
Richmond head coach Aaron Roussell won last year's Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats.
 
The Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats is in its third year of existence.

 

For the second time in four seasons, Belmont is the preseason favorite to win the Missouri Valley Conference. In their first season in the Valley in 2022-23, the Bruins captured a regular season championship. Belmont has reached the MVC Tournament championship game two of the last three years.
 
The Bruins' three returning starters – graduate guard Tuti Jones, junior guard Jailyn Banks and senior guard Emily La Chapell – in addition to graduate transfer guard Avery Strickland (Tennessee/Pittsburgh), were named players to watch by the MVC.
 
Belmont returns eight total letter winners this season and features seven newcomers, including five freshmen – guard Rylie Beers (Littleton, Colo.), guard Kate McGinnis (Kimberly, Wis.), forward Dacarra Ward (Memphis, Tenn.), forward Leah West (Greensburg, Ind.) and guard Tatum Woodson (Minnetonka, Minn.) – and two transfers – Strickland and junior center KK Brodie (Pepperdine).
 
The Bruins open their 2025-26 campaign Monday at sixth-ranked Oklahoma. Tipoff from the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma, is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network+. Belmont hosts Brown University next Friday, Nov. 7 for its home opener at the Curb Event Center.
 
Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award Eligibility and Schedule
To be eligible for the award, coaches must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be "mid-major". The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC. Additionally, Oregon State and Washington State remain ineligible this season as membership in the Pac-12 Conference evolves. Interim head coaches are eligible, though total games coached were taken into consideration.
 
The 10-person midseason watch list will be announced in January. The five finalists for the award will be announced in March, with the winner being named around the Final Four. Coaches will be assessed across the entire season, including postseason play. Beyond on-court success, other factors such as recruiting, preseason expectations, injuries, and tactical coaching will also be weighed when assessing each candidate. Inclusion on previous watch lists is not a requirement to be considered for future watch lists.

About Kathy Delaney-Smith
Delaney-Smith's Harvard teams compiled a record of 630-434 (.592) in her 40-year career, including a 367-168 (.685) record in Ivy League play. Delaney-Smith's 630 wins rank 32nd in Division I history.
 
Delaney-Smith led her teams to six NCAA Tournament appearances and nine WNIT appearances, plus three Ivy League titles before the NCAA Tournament awarded automatic bids to the Ivy League champion. She has coached nine Ivy League Player of the Year recipients, six Ivy League Rookie of the Year winners, and all 22 of Harvard's 1,000-point scorers in the program's NCAA Division I history.
 
Delaney-Smith was inducted into the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1986, becoming the first woman to ever be inducted, with more than three decades of her career still ahead of her. She was also inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003.
 
A native of Newton, Massachusetts, Delaney-Smith is also among the most accomplished high school players and coaches in the state's history. She was the first woman in state history to score 1,000 points while at Sacred Heart High School. As a high school coach, Delaney-Smith coached Westwood High School to an overall record of 204-31 across 11 seasons, including a 96-game winning streak.
 
About Her Hoop Stats
Her Hoop Stats was founded in 2017 to unlock better insight about women's basketball at all levels. We began as a statistics site focused on providing consistent, reliable, and easy-to-access data about women's basketball for both mobile and desktop environments. Her Hoop Stats has expanded to become a leading independent voice in the women's game providing content through our newsletter, podcast network, YouTube channel, and social media accounts (X, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram).
 
Season Tickets
Season tickets, which include all Belmont women's and men's basketball home games, are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting BelmontBruins.com/Tickets or calling 615-460-BALL. Flex pack plans for the 2025-26 season are also on sale and can be purchased here.
 
How to Follow
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