Recruiting Areas: NE PREPS, MA, RI, MD, DMV, VA, NC, SC, FL, TX
Derek Brooks enters his second season on staff with the Siena Men’s Basketball program in 2023-24. After serving as director of basketball operations for the 2022-23 season, Brooks was promoted to assistant coach in June 2023.
“I’m thrilled to promote Derek to an assistant coach for us,” said head coach Carmen Maciariello upon Brooks’ promotion. “He was able to come in and in his first year really set the tone and understand how we want our program run. Coach Brooks is a detail-oriented coach who has built a tremendous rapport within the Siena community. He works tirelessly at his craft, and will add tremendous value to our staff on and off the court.”
Now entering his eighth season as a collegiate coach, Brooks arrived at Siena after spending the previous four seasons as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the United States Merchant Marine Academy (2018-22). Prior to that, he spent three seasons as a women’s basketball assistant coach at his alma mater, the United States Air Force Academy (2014-17). Brooks has also previously coached at both the high school and AAU levels.
“I am beyond grateful for this opportunity,” stated Brooks upon first joining the Siena Basketball family. “I want to thank Coach Maciariello for this opportunity to join his staff. My family and I are excited to be a part of the Siena community!”
In Brooks’ first season on staff this past winter, Siena won 17 games while achieving the program’s record fifth consecutive top-three MAAC finish. The Saints also posted a winning non-conference campaign, highlighted by a third-place finish in the prestigious ESPN Events Invitational, which included victories over power conference foes Florida State (ACC) and Seton Hall (BIG EAST). Three Saints earned All-MAAC honors, highlighted by MAAC Rookie of the Year selection Michael Eley.
Brooks served as both an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator during his time at Division III USMMA, where he worked under former Siena assistant Rob Pryor who was on Fran McCaffery’s 2006-07 staff. The Mariners posted a 15-10 overall record during his final season in 2021-22, including a 12-4 mark in the Skyline Conference, while earning a bid to the ECAC Tournament.
Brooks began his collegiate coaching career with a three-year stint as a women’s basketball assistant at Air Force, where he was also the intercollegiate program manager. He was responsible for managing the Falcons’ recruiting, planning, and training, while also handling the team’s budget and producing scouting reports.
A 2011 Air Force graduate who rose to the level of Captain in the United States Air Force, Brooks began his professional career as a financial management officer at Hanscom Air Force Base from 2011-14. During his time in Massachusetts, he served as the head coach of the Middlesex Magic AAU program’s U-17, U-14, and U-11 teams from 2012-14, and was also the assistant varsity basketball coach at Thayer Academy for the 2011-12 season.
Brooks earned his bachelor’s degree in social sciences from Air Force, where he was a four-year letterwinner for the Falcons (2007-11). He averaged 10 points and five rebounds while shooting 49% from the field and 43% from three-point range while captaining the 2010-11 squad to a berth in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Following his senior season, he earned the highest honor an Air Force Men’s Basketball player can achieve, receiving the Bob Spear Award which is presented to the student athlete that is outstanding in all areas of the Academy – academics, athletics, and military performance.
Following graduation, Brooks was a member of the bronze medal winning 2011 All-Armed Forces team at the International SHAPE Tournament in Mons, Belgium. He also competed for the 2012 All-Air Force team which won the gold medal at the 2012 Armed Forces Championships.
A native of Nathalie, Virginia, Brooks and his wife, Lauren, are the proud parents of a daughter, Savannah, and son, Dylan.
