Utah State Names Men's, Women's Basketball Head Coaches

Utah State University Vice President and Director of Athletics Diana Sabau culminated a busy three weeks by formally introducing Jerrod Calhoun and Wesley Brooks as new head coaches for the Aggies’ men’s and women’s basketball programs, respectively, Tuesday morning inside the Wayne Estes Center.

“This community truly cares about Utah State and Utah State Athletics, but more importantly, we care about basketball, both for our men and for our women,” Sabau said. “You have been a part of this great tradition and this great history, so thank you. This is a community that cares. A community that cares about its people and its basketball from Logan to Cache Valley to the Wasatch Front, and I’m very proud to be a part of that. I’m even more proud today to introduce our two newest members and their families to our athletics family here in Logan. This is a new day in Utah State University basketball. To grow, there must be change, and this is a unique moment in time for our women’s and our men’s basketball programs.”

Calhoun is the 22nd head men’s basketball coach in school history, while Brooks is the 10th head women’s basketball coach.

Calhoun spent the last seven seasons (2018-24) as the head coach at Youngstown State, where he logged a 118-106 (.527) record. During his last two years at YSU, his teams posted a 46-20 (.697) record, which included a 29-11 (.725) league mark, as the Penguins posted consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time in their Division I history.

“We are really excited to be here,” Calhoun said. “I cannot thank all of you enough for coming out. It speaks volumes to the impact that this community can have on one another. I want to thank our players. The most important people are the players. These guys have been, as Diana has said, unbelievable. They just got done playing, making history. I’m excited to work with these guys. We’re going to have a tremendous chemistry with one another and we’re ready to get started.

“So, why Utah State? This is not a rebuild. This is a reload. We want to reload our talent and we want to develop our talent. We want to have a style that fans gravitate to coming into the Spectrum. I know the expectation level around here and I welcome that. I had a chance to reach out to former coaches and players, and one thing they constantly said was how special Logan is and how special the Spectrum is. You get goosebumps as you go in there.

“People always want to know our style and it’s pretty simple. We want to play the right way and we want to stay connected. We want to find advantages on the floor, whether that’s a post-up, a ball screen or an off-ball screen. We want to be on the attack, and we want to score in the 80s. We want to have a fun style to play.”

During his time at Youngstown State, Calhoun led the Penguins to the 2023 Horizon League regular season championship and three postseason appearances, including the 2023 National Invitation Tournament.

For his efforts, Calhoun was named the 2023 Horizon League Men's Basketball Coach of the Year and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District 12 Coach of the Year.

During his time at Youngstown State, Calhoun led the Penguins to five-straight winning seasons for the first time in their Division I era (since 1981-82) after posting a 22-10 mark in 2023-24. During his last three years, the Penguins won a Horizon League-best 41 conference games and a league-high 65 games overall. YSU also won 41 home games over the last three years, including a Division I school record 14 games in each of its last two seasons.

Calhoun also served as the head coach at Fairmont State for five seasons (2013-17), leading the Fighting Falcons to a 124-38 (.765) record and four appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament, including a national runner-up finish in 2017.

In his 12 years as a head coach at two institutions, Calhoun has a 242-144 (.627) overall record.

Calhoun was a successful assistant coach at Walsh (2005-07) and at West Virginia (2008-12) under Bob Huggins. He spent four years at WVU as the director of basketball operations before serving as an assistant coach in 2011-12.

Brooks brings 20 years of collegiate experience with him to Utah State, most recently serving as an assistant coach at The Ohio State University. He previously worked as an assistant at Michigan, Utah, North Texas, Texas Southern and Robert Morris, and as a graduate assistant and director of basketball operations at West Virginia. In all, he has helped 11 teams to postseason berths with eight NCAA Tournament appearances, including in each of the past six years.

“I am excited and am looking forward to establishing a program that everyone here can be proud of,” said Brooks. “Our goal will always be to win championships. My ethos as your head coach will be guided by my faith, family and doing what’s best for Utah State University and our players. You can expect us to play hard, you can expect us to play fast, you can expect us to play smart and you can expect us to play together. Our players will be engaged in the community. We understand the importance of being role models in inspiring the next generation of athletes.

“Every day our staff and I will look to empower, compete and conquer. We empower by building and developing the skills in our student-athletes, so that they can go out and conquer on and off the court. Despite the change in landscape of college athletics, I still believe in preparing the student-athlete for four years so that they can be successful for the next 40 years of their life.”

Brooks comes to Utah State after spending the past three seasons (2022-24) as an assistant coach at Ohio State. Under head coach Kevin McGuff, Brooks helped the Buckeyes to a pair of Big Ten regular season titles and three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including a run to the Sweet Sixteen in 2022, the Elite Eight in 2023 and the second round in 2024.

During his time in Columbus, Ohio State compiled a 79-21 (.790) overall record with a 42-12 (.778) mark in Big Ten play. During that span, the Buckeyes lost just three regular season games to teams ranked outside of the Associated Press Top 25.

Prior to his time at Ohio State, Brooks spent four seasons at Michigan (2018-21), where he primarily worked with the team's guards and wings. The Wolverines earned three-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament and were poised to qualify for the 2020 NCAA Tournament that was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During his stint at Michigan, the Wolverines compiled an 82-39 (.678) record with a 40-25 (.615) mark in Big Ten play.

During Brooks' final season in Ann Arbor, Michigan earned the program's first-ever trip to the Sweet Sixteen and climbed as high as No. 11 in the AP Poll, the highest ranking in program history, as the Wolverines finished with a 16-6 record during the shortened season.

Before joining Michigan, Brooks spent two seasons at Utah, helping the Utes to 34 wins and a pair of postseason appearances in the WNIT. Prior to joining the coaching staff at Utah, Brooks was an assistant at North Texas for four seasons (2012-15), an assistant at Texas Southern for three years (2009-11) and spent one season on the sidelines at Robert Morris (2008), where he helped the Colonials to a 23-10 record, a Northeastern Conference Championship, and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The Richmond, Virginia, native got his start at West Virginia, serving as a graduate assistant coach for two seasons (2005-06) and as the director of basketball operations for one year (2007). During his time as an undergraduate student at West Virginia, he served as a manager for the men's basketball program under head coach John Beilein.