Former University at Albany men’s basketball coach, Will Brown, known for leading the Great Danes to five America East Conference titles, is set to be introduced as the new head coach for the College of Saint Rose women’s basketball program. This information comes from a reliable source. Saint Rose has scheduled a news conference for Friday to announce the appointment of a prominent and well-known basketball figure in the Capital Region, who will replace Whitney Edwards, the former head coach of their Division II program. Edwards recently left to become associate head coach at Northeastern University.
When asked for a comment, Brown responded with two enthusiastic “thumbs up” emojis. Interestingly, he is returning to the campus where he once served as a Saint Rose men’s basketball assistant coach from 1995 to 1998. During that time, he played a crucial role in helping the Golden Knights reach two Division II Elite Eights. Brown worked under Brian Beaury, who recently ended his retirement to once again serve as the Saint Rose men’s head coach.
Brown’s most recent coaching experience was with the Albany Patroons of The Basketball League, where he successfully led the team to the league championship series in the previous season. It is worth noting that hiring Brown as the women’s head coach is a bold move by Saint Rose athletic director, Lori Anctil. Although Brown has never coached women’s basketball before, his impressive track record of 315 victories over 20 seasons at UAlbany (University at Albany) made him an attractive choice. Unfortunately, UAlbany did not extend his contract after the 2020-21 season.
Efforts to reach Anctil for comment were unsuccessful. It is interesting to note that Brown was recently a finalist for the Division II Edinboro men’s coaching position but chose to withdraw his name from consideration. This switch from coaching men to coaching women’s teams is not unprecedented. Former Boston University men’s head coach, Dennis Wolff, who had a presence in the America East from 1994 to 2009, made a similar transition and became the head coach of the Virginia Tech women’s team.
In the previous season, the Saint Rose women’s team finished with an overall record of 11-16 and a conference record of 7-13 in the Northeast 10 Conference. Under Edwards’ leadership, the team’s overall record over three seasons was 17-40. However, the team has not achieved a winning record since the 2015-16 season, when they finished 14-13 under Karen Haag.
Saint Rose women’s basketball was once a force in the Northeast region under the guidance of head coach Curt Bailey, reaching the Elite Eight in 2000. Now, it will be Brown’s responsibility to rebuild the program and bring the Golden Knights back into contention. This is precisely what he accomplished at UAlbany, taking charge of the Great Danes during their third season in Division I and leading them to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2005 and 2006, as well as securing a three-peat in 2013, 2014, and 2015. However, his final three seasons at UAlbany resulted in losing records, leading athletic director Mark Benson to make the decision to part ways.
Overall, the appointment of Brown as the new head coach brings excitement and anticipation for the future of the Saint Rose women’s basketball program.
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