Title: | Head Men's Basketball Coach/Assistant Athletic Director |
Phone: | 260.665.4843 |
Email: | millerb@trine.edu |
Brooks Miller just completed his 13th season as the Head Coach of the Trine University Men’s Basketball program and has 24 combined years of collegiate basketball playing and coaching experience. Miller has compiled an overall record of 226-116 at Trine including a 131-69 record versus Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) opponents. In 2024, Miller led the program to its first ever NCAA Division III National Championship behind a 29-4 record. The 29 wins is a record for the school’s most wins in a season. It is now back-to-back seasons that the program has crossed the 20-win mark after going 22-4 overall last season. Coach Miller has also guided the Thunder to MIAA Championships in 2019, 2021 and 2024. Trine swept both the MIAA regular season and MIAA Tournament Championships in 2021 finishing conference play undefeated with a 17-0 mark during a COVID shortened season.
Miller’s career at Trine University has been highlighted by being named the 2020-2021 NCAA D3 National Coach of the Year by both Hoopdirt.com/Just Play Sports Solutions and Basketball Times Magazine. In March of 2024, Miller was again named NCAA DIII National Coach of the Year for the second time receiving those accolades from D3Hoops.com, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), as well as being named the Eddie Robinson CollegeInsider.com National Coach of the Year for NCAA DIII.
The 2024 Trine Thunder National Championship team included a record five All-MIAA performers including D3hoops.com Fifth Team All-American Cortez Garland. Cortez became the fourth player to receive All-American honors during Coach Miller’s tenure at Trine. Emmanuel Megnanglo was named MIAA Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in 2024. Both Cortez and his brother Fred Garland were named to the MIAA’s First Team while Aidan Smylie & Brent Cox were tabbed as Second Team All-MIAA performers. Brent’s recognition marks the third time he received All-MIAA throughout his highly decorated career having been named First Team in 2021 and 2023.
In 2022, the Thunder posted an 18-9 overall record for the season that saw them appear as high as seventh in the D3hoops.com national poll. Their 10-4 MIAA mark was good enough for a third place finish and included having three players named to All-MIAA teams. Nick Bowman was selected as First Team All-MIAA for the second straight season while both Bryce Williams and Mitch Geller received Second Team recognition.
The 2020-21 Trine Thunder completed the regular season undefeated at 17-0 including a 15-0 record versus MIAA opponents which led to the Thunder being crowned the MIAA regular season and MIAA Tournament Champions for the first time in school history. The 2021 season also saw the Thunder climb as high as number two in the D3Hoops.com National poll which earned them a postseason contest against the top-ranked Randolph Macon College in Virginia for the D3Hoops.com poll Championship. Although the Thunder came up short in that contest they finished the season ranked number six nationally and completed the year with a 17-1 overall record.
The 2021 Trine squad was a highly decorated group with Junior Nick Bowman being recognized by both D3Hoops.com & Basketball Times Magazine as a First Team All-American. Bowman was also named Great Lakes Region Player of Year by D3Hoops.com as well as being named MIAA MVP. Freshman Emmanuel Megnanglo was voted as the MIAA Defensive Player of Year, Sophomore Brent Cox also garnered First Team All-MIAA accolades, while Junior Bryce Williams rounded out the group claiming Second Team All-MIAA honors.
The 2019 MIAA Title was the first MIAA Championship in Trine history and marked the first outright MIAA Championship by a school other than Hope College or Calvin College since 2005. The team was led by senior Pete Smith who was named the MIAA’s MVP as well as Marcus Winters who would earn the MIAA’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
In Miller’s time at Trine, the Thunder have been the only MIAA program to finish in the top four of the conference in each of his twelve years and have had 13 First Team All-MIAA members with 19 total selections. The list includes three MIAA MVP’s Nick Bowman, Pete Smith, and Ian Jackson. Jackson was also named third-team All-American by the NABC in 2013. In 2016 senior Jared Holmquist was named the Capital One Academic All-American of the Year and DIII News National Player of the Month for November. Jared was also a two-time First Team All-MIAA performer. The Thunder have had four players named MIAA Defensive Player of the Year including Emmanuel Megnanglo in 2021 and 2024, Marcus Winters in 2019, Maurice Hunter 2018, and Ellis Cummings in 2017. Will Dixon is the lone Thunder player during Miller’s tenure to be named First Team All-MIAA on three separate occasions and leads a list of eight players that have scored over 1,000 points during their Trine careers with 1,799 points.
Miller's basketball career started when he was a player at the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio and continued at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Mich. At Hillsdale in 2003, Miller was selected team captain, Academic All-Conference, and team "Defensive Player of the Year." Hillsdale reached the NCAA Division II National Tournament in back-to-back years for the first time in school history during Miller’s sophomore and junior seasons in 2001 and 2002.
Miller worked as an assistant men's basketball coach for three Hall of Fame coaches that amassed seven National Championships throughout their careers. Miller began his collegiate coaching career working for BCAM Hall of Fame Coach Ed Douma (one National Championship) whom he previously played for at Hillsdale College. In 2007, his career took him to Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, where he served as a graduate assistant coach to Naismith Hall of Fame Coach Bob Knight (three National Championships) and was involved with on-campus recruiting and player development. In 2009, he became the Head Assistant Men’s Basketball coach and National Recruiting Coordinator at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas for Junior College Hall of Fame Coach Steve Green (three National Championships). While at South Plains, Coach Miller coached and or recruited nine players that would transfer on to NCAA Division I universities.
Miller resides in Angola, Indiana with his wife Gretchen their two children Champ and Jordan, and their dog Rambo.