Derek Brooks joins the Air Force men’s basketball staff as an assistant coach for the 2023-24 season, announced today by head coach Joe Scott. A 2011 Air Force Academy graduate and four-year letterwinner with the basketball team, Brooks returns to the Academy after serving on the basketball staff at Siena.
“The coaching experience Derek has gained during his time away from Air Force, coupled with his knowledge of our institution–as both a player and a coach–make him a valuable addition to our program and coaching staff,” Scott said.
Now entering his eighth season as a collegiate coach, Brooks joins the program from Siena College where he was most recently an assistant coach. Prior to his stint at Siena, Brooks was at the United State Merchant Marine Academy for four seasons (2018-22), where he was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
“I am beyond grateful to be back at the Air Force Academy and a part of the men’s basketball program,” Brooks said. “I want to thank Coach Scott for this opportunity to join his staff and this team. My family and I are excited to move back to a familiar area in Colorado Springs and to a community that means so much to us. I’m ready to hit the ground running and continue to build upon what Coach Scott and his team have already started building here!”
Brooks has also previously coached at both the high school and AAU levels.
Brooks served as both an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator during his time at USMMA, where he worked under former Air Force assistant Rob Pryor. 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.
