Lacole Brooks joined the UH women’s basketball staff as associate coach in August 2005. Brooks, the second assistant to join the staff since head coach Jim Bolla’s arrival in 2004, serves as the program’s recruiting coordinator and on the court oversees the post position.
A native of Berkeley, Calif., Brooks has an array of experience, coaching on the high school, junior college and Division I levels. As a collegiate coach, she’s had tours in the Ohio Valley, Pac-10, Southland, and now, the Western Athletic Conference.
Her most recent stop was at Tennessee-Martin where she was the top assistant and recruiting coordinator and was responsible for on-court coaching, practice planning, scouting, marketing and fund-raising.
Prior to Tennessee-Martin, Brooks coached at East Central Community College in Decatur, Miss., where she served as an assistant for the 2003-04 team that went 31-4. The Warriors claimed division, state and regional championships and finished among the Elite 8 in the National Junior College Championships. The team also had an academic victory with a grade point average above 3.0, the highest in school history.
Prior to East Central Community College, Brooks was the top assistant and recruiting coordinator at Texas State University (1997-2003). Brooks’ second recruiting class at Texas State ranked in the country’s top 50, while her recruiting classes produced more than 10 all-conference players, a Freshman of the Year and a Southland Conference Player of the Year. Texas State advanced to the Southland Conference Tournament all five years Brooks served as assistant coach. In 2003, the Bobcats won the Southland Conference Tournament Championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the second time in school history.
Brooks also boasts head-coaching experience with a year (1996-97) at Monterey Peninsula Community College. She posted the best record for a first-year coach in school history and helped send five of her players to four-year colleges.
She also had a stint at her alma mater, Berkeley High School (1992-95), as the head junior varsity coach, assistant varsity coach and assistant athletics director.
Brooks’ first two collegiate coaching jobs were in the familiar territory of the Pac-10. Following two seasons as a player for Oregon State, Brooks landed an assistant position with the Beavers (1989-91) where her duties included recruiting, practice planning and scouting. While at Oregon State, Brooks recruited and coached numerous all-conference players including a Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year.
Brooks later moved to California (1994-96), where she coached the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and two all-conference players.
A two-year letterwinner for Oregon State, Brooks was voted best defender and team captain by her teammates. Brooks played two years at Merritt Community College in Oakland, Calif., before going to Oregon State. At Merritt, Brooks set the single-season rebounding record as well as the two-year rebounding record that still stands today. Brooks led the Thunderbirds to two conference championships, as well as two regional championships, a two-year record of 56-9 and a state final four appearance both years. She was all-conference and all-state both years.
Brooks graduated from Oregon State in 1992 as a double major with bachelor’s degrees in sociology and history.
