Alvin Brooks III
Alvin Brooks III, regarded as one of the nation’s best assistant coaches, joined the Kentucky men’s basketball coaching staff as associate head coach in April of 2024.
Brooks just completed his eighth season as an assistant at Baylor. The Bears went 194-72 during Brooks’ tenure, including a 94-46 record in Big 12 action, 12-5 in NCAA Tournament games and 22-15 against Associated Press top-10 ranked foes.
A Houston native, Brooks began his coaching career at the junior college level. He spent two seasons at Arkansas-Forth Smith, helping the Lions to the 2006 NJCAA Division I championship. He then joined the staff at Midland, where he again was on staff for an NJCAA title team in 2007.
Brooks ascended to the Division I level when he joined the staff for three seasons at Bradley as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. From there he also was a part of the Sam Houston State (2010-12) and Kansas State (2012-16) staffs before joining forces with Scott Drew at Baylor in 2016.
At Kansas State, Brooks was a part of one the best stretches in school history with 79 wins and NCAA Tournament appearances in two the four seasons. He also played a major role in K-State’s first-ever Big 12 regular-season title in 2012-13, which included the second-most wins (27) and a tie for the most conference victories (14) in school history.
At Baylor, the Bears put together one of the best seasons in program history in 2019-20. BU finished 26-4 and were projected for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the postseason. The Bears posted 23 straight wins and were ranked No. 1 by the AP for five weeks, the longest stretch for one team since Kentucky was the top-ranked team in 19 straight weeks in 2015.
The following season, Baylor earned a No. 1 seed and captured the program’s first national title. BU capped the season with a 28-2 overall record and a 13-1 mark in Big 12 action. Baylor captured a program-record 11 victories over ranked foes and was a perfect 7-0 against teams ranked inside of the top 10. Three players earned All-America honors, along with Davion Mitchell taking home National Defensive Player of the Year awards.
Capitalizing on Baylor’s success, with Brooks playing the lead role as recruiter, BU hauled in the highest ranked recruiting class in program history in 2021 at No. 4 overall by ESPN.
The Bears have had five selections in the NBA Draft, including three-consecutive lottery selections (Mitchell, Jeremy Sochan and Keyonte George) with Brooks on staff.
Brooks began his own collegiate playing career at Midland College before transferring to Idaho State. He was an Academic All-Big Sky selection as a senior. Brooks graduated from Idaho State in 2002 with a degree in finance. He earned a master’s degree in athletics administration in 2023. He and his wife, Tiffany, have two children, Alvin IV (AJ) and Austin.
Brooks is the son of Lamar head coach Alvin Brooks II, who has been a college basketball coach for over 30 years. The father-son duo faced each other in the 2021 Final Four, when the elder Brooks was an assistant coach at Houston. Brooks II was previously the Cougars’ first African-American head coach, leading the school to 54 wins from 1993-98. After stints with Billy Gillispie at UTEP, Texas A&M and Kentucky, Brooks II returned to Houston in 2010 to serve as associate head coach under former Texas Tech head coach James Dickey and remained on staff with the hiring of Kelvin Sampson. A 2019 inductee into the Lamar Cardinal Hall of Fame, Brooks II returned to his alma mater as head coach on April 1, 2021.
PERSONAL
Birthdate: Sept. 11, 1979
Family: Wife, Tiffany; sons Alvin IV and Austin
EDUCATION
College: Midland, 2000 (Associate of Arts - General Studies)
College: Midland, 2000 (Associate of Science - General Studies)
College: Idaho State, 2002 (Bachelor of Business Administration – Finance)
College: Idaho State, 2003 (Master of Physical Education – Athletic Administration)
COACHING EXPERIENCE
2004-06 Arkansas-Fort Smith, assistant coach
2006-07 Midland, assistant coach
2007-10 Bradley, assistant coach
2010-12 Sam Houston State, assistant coach
2012-16 Kansas State, assistant coach
2016-22 Baylor, assistant coach
2022-24 Baylor, associate head coach
2024- Kentucky, associate head coach
PLAYING EXPERIENCE
1998-2000 Midland
2000-02 Idaho State
POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE
2005-06 NJCAA Division I national champions (Arkansas-Fort Smith)
2006-07 NJCAA Division I national champions (Midland)
2007-08 CBI championship series (Bradley)
2008-09 CIT championship game (Bradley)
2012-13 NCAA, first round (Kansas State)
2013-14 NCAA, first round (Kansas State)
2016-17 NCAA, Sweet 16 (Baylor)
2017-18 NIT, second round (Baylor)
2018-19 NCAA, second round (Baylor)
2019-2020 NCAA. projected #1 seed (Baylor)
2020-21 NCAA National Champions (Baylor)
2021-22 NCAA, second round (Baylor)
2022-23 NCAA, second round (Baylor)
2023-24 NCAA, second round (Baylor)
