Melissa Brooks completed her second season as Head Women's Basketball Coach during the 2019-20 season. She became the 13th head coach in program history when she was hired in June of 2018.Â
In her second season as head coach, Brooks helped lead FDU to five conference wins, surpassing their total from the 2018-19 season. During the 2019-20 season, freshman Jayda Bing became only the second Devil in women's basketball history to score over 300 points and grab over 200 rebounds. She also earned MAC Freedom Honorable mention for her freshman campaign.Â
During her first season, the Devils won nine contests with Kayla Croswell leading the MAC Freedom with 18.1 points per game. Croswell was tabbed a Second Team All-MAC Freedom and was twice named the Division II/III Metropolitan Basketball Writers Player of the Week.
Brooks joins the Devils after spending two seasons at United States Military Academy as an Assistant Coach. The Black Knights won 39 games in her two seasons, including 22 in 2016-17 which was the fifth straight campaign they notched 20 or more wins in a season.
No stranger to Division III, Brooks was the lead assistant at nearby Stevens Institute of Technology for three years, leading the Ducks to a pair of NCAA Tournament Appearances. In 2015-16, Stevens went 23-7 and advanced to the Sweet 16 before falling to Amherst College. Before Stevens, Brooks served as an Assistant Coach at Washington College and Marymount University.
Brooks played collegiately at Division II Holy Family in Philadelphia, Pa., where she helped lead the Tigers to a 116-13 overall record, four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) titles in 2007 and 2008. She finished her playing career with 1,115 points and collected a number of conference honors, including CACC Rookie of the Year in 2006 and CACC All-Tournament Team praise in 2007 and 2009.
Additionally, Brooks was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team in 2008 after helping Holy Family to a 32-1 record and a berth in the NCAA Regional Finals.
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Following her graduation from Holy Family, Brooks spent two years as an assistant girls basketball and softball coach, physical education instructor, photography and film editor, and dorm teacher at The George School in Newtown, Pa. Brooks also brings experience as a coach with the United NJ AAU team, where she has served as head coach of the 8th, 9th and 10th grade girls squad since 2014.
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The 2005 Bucks County (Pa.) High School Player of the Year, Brooks was inducted into the Neshaminy High School Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Hall of Fame in 2017. She graduated from Holy Family in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Arts Communications.
| Year |
Overall |
Conference |
Postseason |
| 2019-20 |
7-18 |
5-9 |
|
| 2018-19 |
9-16 |
4-10 |
|
| Career |
16-34 |
9-19 |
|
| 2020 All-MAC Freedom Honorable Mention |
Jayda Bing |
| 2019 All-MAC Freedom Second Team |
Kayla Croswell |
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