Bart Brooks is in his ninth season at the helm of the Belmont University women’s basketball program in 2025-26. He was introduced as the fifth head coach of the Bruins on April 25, 2017.
 
In his first eight seasons leading Belmont, Brooks has compiled a remarkable 198-68 record and guided the Bruins to five conference regular season championships, four conference tournament titles, four NCAA Tournament berths and a Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) championship game appearance. His. 74.4 winning percentage ranks among the top 20 of active head coaches in Division I women’s basketball. No other current Division I head coach with eight seasons or fewer under their belt has won more games than Brooks.
 
Brooks has never lost more than five league games in any given season and has finished no worse than third across two different conferences (Missouri Valley Conference, 2022-present; Ohio Valley Conference, 2017-2022). He is a ridiculous 129-20 (.866) in conference action and including conference tournament games, Brooks is an astonishing 146-24 (.859) against conference opponents.
 
Over the last eight postseasons, 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. In the key months of February and March under Brooks’ direction, Belmont is 92-19 (.829). He has led the Bruins to an impressive 17-4 record in conference tournament games, including a 4-2 mark in championship matchups.
 
A two-time Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) and OVC Coach of the Year, Brooks was the third-fastest head coach to 100 career victories in Division I women’s basketball history (Leon Barmore, Louisiana Tech and Karl Smesko, Florida Gulf Coast).
 
Inside the Curb Event Center, Brooks has been sensational with an exceptional 90-16 (.849) record in home games. Across his first eight seasons, Brooks lost only eight conference games at the Curb with a 66-8 (.892) record.
 
Brooks’ Belmont squads have put together at least a 10-game winning streak in six of his first eight seasons. Annually constructing one of the most strenuous non-conference schedules in the nation, Brooks has secured eight victories over power conference programs (Villanova, Northwestern, Georgia, Oregon, Ole Miss, Auburn, UCF and Vanderbilt). Two of those wins (Villanova and Oregon) came in NCAA postseason play.
 
Under Brooks’ watch, the Bruins are one of only nine teams in the nation to have won 20-plus games for 10-straight seasons. UConn, South Carolina, Baylor, Iowa, NC State, Indiana, South Dakota State and Florida Gulf Coast are the others. Belmont’s 73.1 winning percentage (226-83) over the last 10 seasons is the highest of any Division I women’s basketball program in the state of Tennessee.
 
The Bruins have earned a national postseason bid each year with Brooks in charge, including four-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament (2022, 2021, 2019, 2018). In each of his first six seasons, Belmont won a regular season title or conference tournament championship and was ranked or received votes in at least one of the two major national polls.
 
Brooks has coached a total of 13 all-conference players, including nine first-team selections, and mentored two freshmen of the year, a player of the year, two defensive players of the year, and three conference tournament MVPs.
 
Under Brooks’ leadership, the Bruins have had three student-athletes earn College Sports Communicators (CSC)/College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America^® distinction, including Conley Chinn twice (2022 and 2021), Ellie Harmeyer (2020) and Kylee Smith (2018). Furthermore, a Belmont player has been named Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) Scholar-Athlete of the Year five times, including two-time DI-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete of the Year Chinn, Tessa Miller, Harmeyer and Smith. The Bruins have ranked in the top 15 on the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 Honor Roll five of the last eight years under Brooks, including finishing fifth in the nation following the 2023-24 academic year with an exceptional 3.803 team grade point average.
 
Brooks’ eighth season in the Music City was a historic one as Belmont made its deepest national postseason run in any sport as 2025 WBIT finalist. The Bruins set the school record for games played in a season (39) and competed into the month of April for the first time in program history. After a WBIT semifinal win over Villanova, Belmont played Minnesota in its first-ever national postseason title game inside historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
 
During their WBIT run, the Bruins blew out top-seeded James Madison 90-45 on the road in the quarterfinals for their largest margin of victory in a national postseason game. In the second round of the WBIT, Belmont put together one of the largest comebacks in NCAA postseason history in the Curb. The Bruins overcame a 21-point deficit against Northern Arizona, tying the largest deficit overcome to win an NCAA postseason game in the history of Division I basketball. Sophomore guard Jailyn Banks provided a game-winning layup in the final seconds after Belmont trailed by 12 with two-and-a-half minutes remaining. In the WBIT first round, the Bruins topped familiar mid-state foe Middle Tennessee at home.
 
Prior to winning four games in the WBIT, Belmont reached its second MVC Tournament championship game in three seasons. The Bruins finished 26-13 overall and went 15-5 in their third season in the Valley.
 
After averaging 15.6 points and 3.2 assists across the five national postseason games, Banks was named to the WBIT All-Tournament Team. Senior forward Kendal Cheesman had an outstanding season in her final collegiate year, becoming Belmont’s third All-MVC First Team performer. The Bruins’ 36th 1,000-point scorer, Cheesman also earned MVC All-Tournament Team honors. Both Banks and graduate guard Tuti Jones were tabbed All-MVC Third Team and Jones landed a spot on the MVC All-Defensive Team for the second consecutive season. Off the court, Jones was named to the DI-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete Team for a second-straight year.
 
Brooks took Belmont to the second round of the inaugural WBIT in 2023-24. After a semifinal exit in the 2024 MVC Tournament as the No. 2 seed, the Bruins won the first-ever WBIT game on March 21, 2024, with a 77-59 victory at Ball State.
 
Going 26-9 overall and 17-3 in MVC play, Belmont had two notable non-conference wins over power conference programs. The Bruins routed receiving-votes Georgia 76-50 at the Curb in their second game of the 2023-24 season and defeated Northwestern by 22 points at the Ball Dawgs Classic in Las Vegas.
 
Junior forward Miller secured All-MVC Second Team laurels, while Banks made an immediate splash and was selected as MVC Freshman of the Year despite only playing 24 games due to injury. Banks was named MVC Freshman of the Week six times throughout the season and earned a spot on both the All-MVC Third Team and MVC All-Freshman Team. Cheesman and Jones joined Banks on the All-MVC Third Team and sophomore guard Emily La Chapell collected MVC All-Newcomer Team honors. After missing the majority of the 2022-23 season due to injury, Jones was voted onto the MVC All-Defensive Team.
 
In addition to helping lead Belmont to one of the nation’s top five team GPAs, both Jones and Miller were chosen for the 2024 DI-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete Team. Jones was the recipient of the DI-AAA ADA Postgraduate Scholarship, while Miller claimed the DI-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.
 
In his first year as an MVC head coach in 2022-23, Brooks led the Bruins to their sixth regular season conference championship in seven seasons. Despite being a new league member, Belmont was the preseason favorite to win the Valley and went 17-3 in MVC play. The Bruins finished the season 23-12 overall after reaching their third consecutive conference tournament championship game. Prior to its loss in the Hoops in the Heartland title game, Belmont had won 16 straight and had gone unbeaten for nearly 60-straight days. Making their third appearance in the national postseason tournament, the Bruins earned an at-large bid to the 2023 WNIT.
 
Both junior forward Madison Bartley and junior guard Destinee Wells were All-MVC First Team selections, while graduate guard Sydni Harvey earned a spot on the MVC All-Newcomer Team. Wells ended the season on an absolute tear, scoring over 30 points in four of her last five games. Averaging 32 points on 56.9 percent shooting and 4.0 assists over three Hoops in the Heartland games, Wells earned MVC All-Tournament Team honors.
 
In 2021-22, Brooks took the Bruins (23-8, 16-2 OVC) to their second consecutive round of 32 appearance in the NCAA Tournament after Belmont upset fifth-seeded Oregon 73-70 in a double-overtime first round thriller. Tabbed OVC Coach of the Year, Brooks guided the Bruins to a sixth OVC Tournament title in seven seasons and a fifth OVC regular season championship in six years. Belmont became only the second program in history to win NCAA Tournament games in consecutive seasons as a No. 12 seed or lower. Within an eyelash of the program’s first Sweet 16, the Bruins rallied from a 14-point third-quarter deficit and led fourth-seeded and 18th-ranked Tennessee with under 30 seconds remaining. Belmont ended the year ranked 45th in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings.
 
A trio of Bruins claimed All-OVC First Team recognition and sophomore guard Jones was named OVC Defensive Player of the Year before becoming a breakout star of March Madness averaging 19.5 points and six rebounds in the NCAA Tournament. Fellow sophomore guard Wells was chosen as TSWA Player of the Year after garnering All-American honorable mention honors from World Exposure Report. She became only the second player in OVC history to be named OVC Tournament MVP as both a freshman and sophomore before averaging 19.5 points, 5.5 assists and five rebounds against Oregon and Tennessee in the Big Dance.
 
During a unique 2020-21 campaign due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, Brooks-led Belmont had one of the most successful years in school history, which was notably capped off with the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win. The 12th-seeded Bruins (21-6, 14-3 OVC) knocked off the fifth-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs on March 22, 2021, 64-59 to advance to the NCAA Tournament round of 32. With its historic win, Belmont became the first OVC team to win an NCAA Tournament game since 1990. The first-round victory also marked Brooks’ 100th career win and he was later named TSWA Coach of the Year.
 
Additionally, the Bruins notched their fifth OVC Tournament title in six years after defeating top-seeded UT Martin in the championship game. Belmont became just the third team in OVC history to win five conference tournament titles in a six-year span. Then a true freshman, Wells scored a championship game record 32 points in the Bruins’ win over the Skyhawks, becoming the first freshman to earn OVC Tournament MVP honors since 2011. Wells finished with nine 20-point games in her inaugural season, good for the most in program history since current WNBA product Alysha Clark (2005-06). She also raked in OVC Freshman of the Year, All-OVC First Team and OVC All-Newcomer accolades.
 
Senior forward Harmeyer joined a long list of all-time greats under the tutelage of Brooks following the 2019-20 season as she finished the only player in the nation (male or female) to average over 19 points and 12 rebounds per game. Leading the country in five different statistical categories, Harmeyer became one of only two players in program history to eclipse 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career. Off the court, Harmeyer was a CoSIDA Academic All-America selection and was tabbed DI-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Belmont went 22-9 on the year and ended the regular season on an eight-game win streak en route to its fourth-straight OVC championship, going 16-2 in league play.
 
Belmont compiled a 26-7 record in 2018-19 and won its third consecutive OVC regular season championship after going 16-2 in conference play. Winning their fourth-straight OVC Tournament title with a gritty win over UT Martin, the Bruins reached their fourth-straight NCAA Tournament. It marked the fourth consecutive season Belmont reached at least 24 wins.
 
Seniors Darby Maggard and Jenny Roy completed their careers as two of the most accomplished players in program history. The winningest players in school history, the tandem accounted for 108 victories with Maggard finishing as the Bruins’ fourth all-time leading scorer (2,031 points) and Roy rounding out her career as the fifth player coached by Brooks to join the coveted 1,000-point club. Belmont’s NCAA-era leading scorer and record holder for made three-point field goals (430), three-point field goal percentage (43.1), and free-throw percentage (92.4), Maggard was voted as OVC Player of the Year, TSWA Player of the Year and OVC Female Athlete of the Year.
 
Brooks steered the Bruins to one of their finest seasons in the program's NCAA history in 2017-18, and in so doing, orchestrated one of the greatest head coaching debuts in the history of college basketball. His 31 wins are tied for the second-most ever by a true first-year head coach in NCAA history. Belmont went 31-4 – highlighted by non-conference victories over Vanderbilt, Gonzaga and Florida Gulf Coast – and completed its second-straight undefeated OVC season. Going a perfect 18-0 in league play, the Bruins secured a third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance by extending their win streak against conference opponents to 46. Via the heroics of Maggard in the OVC Tournament title game, a thrilling overtime win over UT Martin, Belmont earned its first No. 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Bruins reached a program-best Associated Press (AP) Top 25 ranking of No. 22 in week 17 of the season and were ranked 25th in the USA Today/WBCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. Belmont received votes in each of the last six coaches polls of the season and appeared in the AP Top 25 five times. Ranked among the top 50 nationally in 21 statistical categories, including third in made three-pointers and seventh in scoring margin, the Bruins led the OVC in 13 statistical categories. For his leadership, Brooks was named WBCA Spalding Maggie Dixon Rookie Coach of the Year, TSWA Coach of the Year and OVC Coach of the Year.
 
Senior forward Sally McCabe capped her decorated Belmont career as a two-time OVC Defensive Player of the Year and both the program and OVC’s all-time blocks leader (291). A three-time TSWA Player of the Week and three-time All-OVC First Team member, McCabe earned the OVC Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship Award. Like McCabe, senior guard/forward Smith finished her career with over 1,500 points and was tabbed TSWA Player of the Year. A true student-athlete, Smith garnered CoSIDA Academic All-America honors and was selected as DI-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
 
Brooks arrived at Belmont after spending the previous 11 seasons on staff at DePaul University under legendary head coach Doug Bruno. The Blue Demons made the NCAA Tournament every season of Brooks' tenure, standing as one of only six Division I women's basketball programs to make 15 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (Connecticut, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Stanford, Tennessee).
 
During Brooks' time in the Windy City, DePaul posted a combined 266-109 (.709) record, claiming six Big East Conference championships and advancing to the Sweet 16 three times (2011, 2014, 2016). In 2016-17, DePaul went 27-8, finishing No. 16 in the RPI and advancing to the NCAA round of 32 before falling to national runner-up Mississippi State.
 
Brooks has coached six WNBA draft choices – Jenna Rubino, Allie Quigley, Felicia Chester, Keisha Hampton, Brittany Hrynko, and Jessica January – the latter selected in the 2017 WNBA Draft.
 
Prior to DePaul, Brooks began his coaching career at Division II Barry University in Miami, Florida, where he was an assistant coach for two seasons while earning his master's degree in sport management. He also served as an assistant camp director for the North Dakota State men’s basketball team in the summer of 2004 and coached local youth teams in the Buffalo, Wyoming, area from 2001-03.
 
Brooks began his collegiate career at Dickinson State University in North Dakota where he played for two seasons for the Blue Hawks and helped his squad capture a pair of Dakota Athletic Conference titles and reach the NAIA Sweet 16 in 1999. His 2000 team advanced one step further with a NAIA Elite Eight showing.
 
A native of Buffalo, Wyoming, Brooks earned his bachelor's degree in kinesiology and health from the University of Wyoming in 2004.
 
He is married to the former Charlene Smith, who played five years professionally including time with the WNBA Houston Comets. They are parents to Trey and Tyler and reside in Nashville.

100th Career Win: Monday, March 22, 2021 - vs. No. 14 Gonzaga (64-59), NCAA Tournament First Round in San Marcos, Texas
200th Career Win: Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025 - at Dayton (72-66) 

Brooks by the Numbers