Kentucky women’s basketball hires Kenny Brooks away from Virginia Tech as next head coach

Kentucky women’s basketball has been on a steady decline under first-time head coach Kyra Elzy, and while Big Blue Nation wants a coaching change on the men’s side, it’s the women’s team that is moving in a new direction. On Tuesday, Kentucky hired Kenny Brooks, who has led Virginia Tech to NCAA Tournament appearances in each of the last four seasons, including a No. 1 seed in 2023, to be its next head coach. 

The Waynesboro Virginia native has been a women’s basketball head coach in his home state since 2002, when he took over at James Madison, eventually leaving for the Virginia Tech job in 2016. Over eight seasons, he led the Hokies to a 180-82 record and reached the 2023 Final Four. 

It has been reported that the 55-year-old’s deal is for five years as Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart tasks him with rebuilding the program in a golden age of women’s college basketball. Brooks is expected to become the third-highest-paid women’s basketball coach in the SEC, behind Dawn Staley (South Carolina) and Kim Mulkey (LSU). Virginia Tech’s season ended on Sunday night with a second-round NCAA Tournament loss. 

Elzy took the program to the NCAA Tournament in each of her first two years in Lexington but won just 12 games in each of the last two seasons. Her final game at Kentucky was a loss to her alma mater, Tennessee, in the SEC Tournament, 76-62. Kentucky moved swiftly to steer the program in a new direction under Brooks.