Bart Brooks Named to Mid-Major Coach of the Year Preseason Watch List

HOPEWELL, N.J. – Head of the Belmont University women’s basketball program for the second consecutive year Bart Brooks has been named to the preseason watch list for the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award presented by Your hoop stats. Entering his eighth season at the helm, Brooks is one of 20 head coaches on the watch list for the 2025 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year award.

Now in its second season, the Mid-Major Coach of the Year award is named after the legendary former Harvard head coach. The preseason watch list was announced by Your hoop stats Wednesday morning.

Gonzaga head coach Lisa Fortier won the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award for the first time last spring.

The 20-man preseason watch list includes head coaches from at least two of the Bruins’ opponents this season, including Missouri Valley Conference head coach Allison Pohlman of Drake. Middle Tennessee senior Rick Insell and Davidson head coach Gayle Fulks are also on the watch list for mid-major coach of the year. Belmont could face the Wildcats in the 2024 Elevance Health Fort Myers Tip-Off in Florida in November.

Over the past seven years, Brooks has led the Bruins to unprecedented heights, leading Belmont to nine combined conference championships, including regular season and league tournament titles. Additionally, Brooks has led Belmont to four of the last six NCAA Tournaments, with back-to-back Round of 32 appearances in 2022 and 2021.

On November 29, 2023, Brooks picked up his 150th win in fewer than 200 career games in the Bruins’ 72-68 win at Troy. He has led Belmont to a remarkable 172-55 (.758) record in seven seasons, and the Bruins have posted an astonishing 114-15 (.884) record in conference play under his leadership.

Brooks is 15-3 in conference tournament play and 4-1 in championship play. In the key months of February and March, Brooks is 79-14 (.849).

Under Brooks’ leadership, Belmont finished either first or second in its conference for seven straight seasons.

Under Brooks’ guidance, 13 different players have earned all-conference honors, including eight who were selected to the first team. Brooks has also mentored two conference Freshman of the Year, two conference Defensive Player of the Year and one conference Player of the Year.

Last season, the Bruins racked up 26 wins and earned their third national postseason victory in four years with a 77-59 road win at Ball State in the first-ever game of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT). Belmont has earned a national postseason bid in 11 of the last 12 seasons.

The Bruins are one of just 10 teams in the country to have won 20 or more games in nine consecutive seasons.

Belmont (11) is the winningest program in the state of Tennessee over the last 10 years and one of only five programs to win more than 10 combined conference championships over the last eight seasons.

Brooks puts together one of the best non-conference schedules in the country every year, and this season is no exception. The Bruins will take over six and potentially seven major conference programs in 2024-25. In fact, in the first three weeks of the season, Belmont will face three teams ranked in the top 15 of the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 preseason poll – No. 13 Kansas State (Nov. 7), No. 14 Ohio State ( Nov. 17) and No. 11 Duke (Nov. 21).

The Bruins’ highly anticipated season begins on Thursday, November 7th in Manhattan, Kansas at Big 12 Conference member Kansas State.

Belmont’s home opener is scheduled for Thursday, November 14th against Kennesaw State. The top 15 ranked Buckeyes and Middle Tennessee (Dec. 7) with the top votes are also visiting the Curb Event Center this season.

Eligibility and timeline for the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award.

To qualify for the award, coaches must compete in one of the 26 conferences considered “mid-major.” The following conferences are considered senior conferences for purposes of this award and are therefore ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten and SEC. Additionally, Oregon State and Washington State are ineligible to play this year as membership in the Pac-12 Conference continues to evolve. Interim head coaches are eligible, but the total number of games coached will be taken into account.

The 10-person midseason watch list will be announced in January. The five finalists for the award will be announced in March, with the winner named around the Final Four. Coaches are evaluated throughout the season, including the postseason. Beyond on-pitch success, other factors such as recruiting, pre-season expectations, injuries and tactical coaching are also taken into account when assessing each candidate. Inclusion on previous watch lists is not a requirement for consideration for future watch lists.

About Kathy Delaney Smith

Delaney-Smith’s Harvard teams compiled a 630-434 (.592) record over her 40-year career, including a 367-168 (.685) record in Ivy League play. Delaney-Smith’s 630 wins ranks him 32nd in Division I history and ninth among coaches who have spent their entire careers with a single team.

Delaney-Smith led her teams to six NCAA Tournament appearances and nine WNIT appearances, as well as three Ivy League titles before the NCAA Tournament awarded automatic bids to the Ivy League champion. She has coached eight Ivy League Player of the Year winners, six Ivy League Rookie of the Year winners and all 22 of Harvard’s 1,000-point scorers in the program’s NCAA Division I history.

Delaney-Smith was inducted into the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1986, becoming the first woman ever inducted. She still has more than three decades of her career ahead of her. She was also inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003.

A native of Newton, Massachusetts, Delaney-Smith is also one of the winningest high school players and coaches in the state’s history. She was the first woman in state history to score 1,000 points at Sacred Heart High School. As a high school coach, Delaney-Smith coached Westwood High School to an overall record of 204-31 in 11 seasons, including a 96-game winning streak.

About their hoop stats

Your hoop stats was founded in 2017 to provide greater insight into women’s basketball at all levels. It began as a statistics site focused on providing consistent, reliable, and easily accessible data about women’s basketball for both mobile and desktop environments. Your hoop stats has become a leading independent voice in women’s football, providing content through its newsletter, podcast network, YouTube channel and social media accounts (X, Facebook, Instagram).



Ticket information
Season tickets are available now for $199 per seat and include all women’s and men’s basketball home games.


View available seats and purchase your seats.


Flex Pack plans for the 2024-25 season are also on offer and can be purchased here.


For more information, call 615-460-BALL or visit BelmontBruins.com/Tickets.



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