LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kenny Brooks, who guided Virginia Tech to the ACC regular season championship a year after winning the tournament title and reaching its first Final Four, will take over as Kentucky’s women’s basketball head coach.
“We are extremely excited to bring Kenny Brooks to the University of Kentucky,” UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart said. “Kenny has a strong history of player development and championship performance at James Madison and Virginia Tech. When you combine his coaching excellence with his vision for this program and his passion to take us there, he is ideally suited to be head coach of the Wildcats. We are eager to introduce Kenny, (wife) Chrissy and their family to the Big Blue Nation!”
Brooks follows Kyra Elzy. She was fired March 11 after consecutive losing seasons since winning the school’s first Southeastern Conference Tournament title since 1982.
Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock wished Brooks and his family well in a release Tuesday and called him “an incredible mentor” to the program and a terrific representative of the school.
The Waynesboro, Virginia, native went 180-82 with at least 20 wins in seven of his eight seasons in Blacksburg, leading the Hokies to their first Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title last year before winning the 2024 regular season title. Virginia Tech won a school-record 31 games last season on the way to its Final Four appearance before falling to eventual national champion LSU.
The Hokies (25-7) were seeded fourth in their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament and reached the second round before falling 75-72 to No. 5 seed Baylor on Sunday.
“I am thrilled to be named the head coach of the Kentucky women’s basketball program,” Brooks said. “From the Big Blue Nation and the stunning landscape of the Bluegrass State to the UK Athletics brand and getting to compete in the Southeastern Conference, my family and I are excited about this new chapter in our lives. I want to thank Virginia Tech for the most joyful journey of my coaching career, and to the University of Kentucky and UK Athletics administration for this new opportunity. I don’t plan on wasting any time building a positive atmosphere, winning environment and a persistent program that Big Blue Nation can be proud of.”
Brooks joined Virginia Tech after an impressive 14-season stint as head coach at his alma mater, James Madison University, where he compiled a record of 337-122 (.756), making him the winningest coach in school history. Brooks guided the Dukes to 11 consecutive postseason appearances, including six NCAA bids and five trips to the WNIT. During his final three seasons in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Brooks and the Dukes compiled an impressive 60-3 record in conference action.
Brooks has coached seven WNBA Draft picks in his tenure; first-rounder Tamera Young, as well as Lauren Okafor, Jazmon Gwathmey, Regan Magarity, Aisha Sheppard, Kayana Traylor and Taylor Soule.
Brooks and his wife, Chrissy, have four children, Kendyl, Chloe, Gabby and Nicholas.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.