American University men’s basketball head coach Mike Brennan has agreed to a contract extension through the 2021-22 season, according to director of athletics and recreation Dr. Billy Walker.
“We are extremely happy to keep Coach Brennan on the Eagles’ bench
moving forward,” said Walker. “Mike and his staff are tremendous mentors
and role models to our student-athletes, and truly care about their
educational experience here at American University. Mike’s
accomplishments as our head coach speak for themselves with one Patriot
League Championship, another runner-up finish, and a coach of the year
honor. This past season, we were back in the thick of the regular season
race and expect to take another significant step forward this year. The
future of AU’s Men’s Basketball under Coach Brennan’s leadership is
bright indeed!”
Brennan, the 17th coach in AU history, will enter his seventh season
with the Eagles in 2019-20, is the fifth winningest basketball coach in
program history with 78 wins. He sits behind Jeff Jones (212), Pop
Cassell (150), Ed Tapscott (109) and David Carrasco (101) for all-time
wins as an Eagle.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to continue leading the AU men’s
basketball program,” said Brennan. “I believe we have made significant
strides in returning to having a championship-caliber program. I want to
thank Dr. Walker and the AU community for the continued support, and I
look forward to an exciting upcoming season.”
Under Brennan’s tutelage, the program has seen also excelled in the
classroom with three Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors —
Jesse Reed (2014, 2015) and Charlie Jones (2017) — and a total of 36
Academic Honor Roll selections. Reed is also the only player in AU
history to be a three-time Academic All-Patriot League member. In
2015-16, the team earned the NABC Team Academic Excellence Award.
On the court, Brennan’s first year will go down as one of the best
first-year coaching performances in program history, as he was named the
2013-14 Patriot League Coach of the Year and honored as a finalist for
the Joe B. Hall (top first-year head coach) and Hugh Durham (top
mid-major head coach) Awards. His Eagles reached the NCAA Tournament for
the first time since the 2009 season after defeated Boston University
on the road en route to meeting Wisconsin in the Big Dance.
As a program, the Eagles have reached the PL Semifinals three times and
hosted four tournament games at Bender Arena during Brennan’s tenure.
Brennan has had great success in the on-court development of 11 All-Patriot League Team members, including rising senior Sa’eed Nelson, who has been featured on the All-Rookie, All-Second and All-First Teams.
The 2019-20 Eagles return four players that averaged over 20 minutes per game. Nelson, the team’s leading scorer over the past three seasons, is 477 points away from becoming American’s all-time points leader.
Brennan’s squad will tipoff the new season on November 5 at Siena with the home opener against William & Mary on Nov. 8.
http://www.aueagles.com/sports/m-baskbl/2019-20/releases/20190821mxgwtj
