Bart Brooks is in his eighth season at the helm of the Belmont University women’s basketball program in 2024-25. He was introduced as the fifth head coach of the Bruins on April 25, 2017.
 
In his first six seasons leading Belmont, Brooks has posted a remarkable record of 146-46 (.760) and guided the Bruins to five conference regular season championships, four Ohio Valley Conference Tournament titles and four NCAA Tournament appearances. The third-fastest head coach to 100 career victories in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history, Brooks owns an astounding record of 111-14 (.888) against conference opponents, including league tournament games. He ranks among the top 10 of active Division I head coaches in terms of winning percentage.
 
A two-time Tennessee Sports Writers Association (TSWA) and OVC Coach of the Year, Brooks has gone 97-12 (.890) in conference play through six seasons. He has led Belmont to an impressive 14-2 record in league tournament games, including a 4-1 mark in championship matchups, and the Bruins are an exceptional 65-11 (.855) inside the Curb Event Center with Brooks in charge.
 
Brooks has coached a total of 10 all-conference players, including eight first-team selections, and mentored an OVC Player, Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year. Additionally, Belmont has had a student-athlete earn College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America status in four of Brooks’ five years in the Music City and a Bruin has been named Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) Scholar-Athlete of the Year four times, including two-time DI-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete of the Year Conley Chinn, Ellie Harmeyer and Kylee Smith. The Bruins have earned a spot on the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 Honor Roll three times under Brooks’ leadership, checking in at No. 8 in the nation following the 2021-22 academic year for the team’s second-highest ranking ever.
 
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 Tuti 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 Destinee 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.
 
Under Brooks’ watch, Belmont is one of just 12 programs in the nation and one of only three non-power conference teams to win 20 or more games for seven-straight seasons. Brooks has led the Bruins to a regular season or conference tournament championship in each of his five seasons and Belmont has either been ranked or received votes in at least one of the two major national polls for seven consecutive years. The Bruins have earned a national postseason bid nine of the last 10 seasons and appeared in the last six NCAA Tournaments.
 
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 a 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, now Belmont women’s basketball’s director of operations, capped her decorated Bruin 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.

Brooks by the Numbers