Mississippi College did not have to look far to find a new men’s basketball coach.
Following the departure of Randy Bolden, who went 43-69 in four seasons, the Division II school in Clinton went 15 miles and pulled Josh Brooks from Division III Belhaven University in Jackson. Brooks, one of the more successful coaches in recent memory at Belhaven, hops up a level and looks to turn around a program that’s in serious need of turning.
And he’s already familiar with the Choctaws, playing at Mississippi College before serving as an assistant coach from 2008-18.
“We are thrilled to welcome Josh Brooks back to Mississippi College as our head men’s basketball coach,” Mississippi College athletic director Kenny Bizot said. “Josh is a proven leader with a strong track record of success at multiple levels. His experience, passion for the game, and commitment to developing student-athletes make him the right fit to lead our program forward.”
After leaving the bench at Mississippi College, Brooks accepted a prep head coaching position at Jackson Academy. There, he guided the Raiders to three state tournament appearances, including a runner-up finish at the overall state tournament in his final season.
His success on the high school level led to Belhaven hiring him in June 2022. Brooks turned a losing Blazers squad into a 15-12 group in his first season. He then led Belhaven to back-to-back conference championship game appearances and 18-plus win seasons, becoming the fastest coach in program history to reach 50 wins.
During his final season at Belhaven, Brooks’ team went 21-5 and won a share of the Collegiate Conference of the South regular season championship. The Blazers narrowly missed out on the NCAA Division III Tournament but went down as the best team since Belhaven moved to DIII in 2015. It was also the first time the program had reached 20 wins since 2009-10 when competing on the NAIA level.
