Mike Brennan was the head men’s basketball coach at American University from April of 2013 until March of 2023. Brennan led the Eagles to a 125-166 record in his 10 seasons as head coach, including a 75-96 record in Patriot League play.
Brennan became the fifth AU head coach to reach 100 career wins with a 74-62 road win over William & Mary on Nov. 12, 2021. He finished his career at AU ranked third all-time with 125 wins. The Eagles ended the 2022-23 season in the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament. In 2021-22, American topped Holy Cross in the first round of PL Tournament to advance to the quarterfinals before falling to No. 2 Navy.
In a unique season marked by cancellations and pauses, Brennan led the Eagles to a 4-6 record and the No. 5 seed in the Patriot League Tournament in 2020-21. Jamir Harris was named First Team All-Patriot League and NABC Second Team All-District after a remarkable senior season that saw the sharpshooter average 20.5 ppg and lead the nation in 3-pointers per game (3.9). Brennan also coached his second Patriot League Rookie of the Year (Johnny O’Neil) and the first player in program history to be named Patriot League All-Defense twice (Stacy Beckton Jr.). For his efforts in the classroom and on the court, Connor Nelson was named Academic All-Patriot League.
The 2019-20 season saw Brennan lead the Eagles to a 12-6 record in Patriot League play, earning the No. 2 seed in the PL Tournament. It was the highest seed for American since the 2013-14 season and marked the second straight season that the Eagles hosted a playoff game in Bender Arena.
That season saw the end of Sa’eed Nelson’s legendary career, culminating with him becoming American’s all-time leading scorer with 2,116 points. The guard from New Jersey also was named Patriot League Player of the Year, the first AU player to earn the award since Derrick Mercer in 2009. Nelson was also tabbed as a Lou Henson All-American, which honors the best mid-major players in Division I basketball.
Joining Nelson on the 2019-20 All-Patriot League teams was Stacy Beckton Jr. He was named Third Team All-Patriot League and also All-Defensive Team, becoming only the second Eagle to do so (Charlie Jones, 2017).
In 2018-19, Brennan coached American to a 15-15 record, a fourth-place finish in the Patriot League, and a home playoff game. Sa’eed Nelson was named First Team All-Patriot League for his efforts, while Jacob Boonyasith earned a spot on the All-PL Rookie Team.
Featuring a slew of newcomers, the 2017-18 season saw American in a rebuilding phase. A preseason trip to Australia allowed the Eagles an opportunity to train earlier in their offseason, a move that allowed Brennan's staff to work with six underclassmen. Sam Iorio averaged nearly 15 points per game and earned a place on the All-PL Rookie Team. Nelson ranked second in the league by averaging nearly 18 points per game and was named Second Team All-Patriot League.
In his fourth season at the helm in 2016-17, Brennan saw another influx of younger players which included a pair of PL All-Rookie Team members in Nelson and Mark Gasperini. The young squad was immediately put to the test with a tough non-league slate featuring Maryland, Texas A&M and defending national champion Villanova. Senior Charlie Jones was named the Patriot League Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the third recipient under Brennan’s tutelage.
The 2015-16 Eagles secured their third straight spot in the PL Semifinals after a second-half comeback that saw the squad win 10 of its last 13 league games to finish tied for fourth. The Eagles knocked off third-seeded Boston University on the road and faced Lehigh in the PL Semifinals. Freshman Delante Jones was selected as the PL Rookie of the Year after averaging 12.0 points per game in his first year with the Eagles.
In his second season with the Eagles, Brennan guided the squad back to the Patriot League Championship, but a tough Lafayette squad pulled out a 65-63 victory in Easton, Pa. Academically, Reed was named the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year and joined Kevin Panzer, Jones, and Schoof on the National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court.
In his first season, Brennan led the Eagles to the top of the Patriot League and a berth in the NCAA Tournament - the third in program history. After a second-place regular season finish, Brennan's squad upset top-seeded Boston University, 55-36, in Boston, to claim American's third-ever Patriot League Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The 2013-14 Eagles ranked nationally in the top 10 in field goal percentage (.495) and points allowed per game (59.1), finishing seventh in each category. The Eagles were also 37th in the country with 15.1 assists per game, using the offense taught to Brennan by legendary Princeton coach Pete Carril.
Brennan was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year and was honored as a finalist for the Joe B. Hall (top first-year head coach) and Hugh Durham (top mid-major head coach) Awards. The Eagles were transformed under Brennan's guidance, surpassing a ninth-place preseason prediction to make their first NCAA Tournament since 2009. Brennan has been a constant for AU, sitting on the bench for each of AU's PL championship teams.
Brennan went down as one of the greatest first-year coaches ever at AU, winning more conference games (13) than any other coach, and tying Ed Tapscott for most overall victories (20). He is the only AU coach to lead his squad to the NCAA Tournament in his first season.
Under Brennan, four Eagles earned All-Patriot League honors in his first season, while senior center Tony Wroblicky had a career year, earning PL Defensive Player of the Year Honors. Junior guard Pee Wee Gardner also flourished with Brennan's tutelage, being selected as the Patriot League Tournament MVP. American was also successful off the court as sophomore guard Jesse Reed earned Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors to lead five Eagles in the conference Academic Honor Roll. Junior guard John Schoof was also named to the NABC Honors Court.
Brennan came back to AU after serving four years as an assistant coach at Georgetown University under John Thompson III. The Hoyas captured a share of the Big East regular season championship and a No. 2 seed in the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
During Brennan's four seasons at Georgetown, the team accrued 93 wins, posting at least 21 victories in each year while boasting all-conference players in Otto Porter, Jason Clark, Austin Freeman, and Chris Wright, as well as NBA star Greg Monroe.
In Brennan's two seasons as an assistant coach at AU from 2007-09, the Eagles experienced their two greatest years in program history, winning back-to-back Patriot League Regular Season and Tournament Championships, advancing to the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament. AU posted back-to-back 20-win seasons in Brennan's time as an assistant, posting a program-best 24-8 record in 2008-09, including a 13-1 mark in Patriot League play.
Brennan came to AU from his alma mater, Princeton University. He spent seven seasons with the Tigers, guiding the squad to three Ivy League titles as the top assistant. He spent a total of 12 years with Ivy League institutions, serving one season as a volunteer assistant coach at Columbia University after culminating an impressive playing career at Princeton.
He was a four-year starter as an undergraduate at Princeton under legendary head coach Pete Carril. Brennan helped lead his team to Ivy League Championships and the NCAA Tournament in 1991 and 1992. He was named Second Team All-Ivy in 1994.
After earning his bachelor's degree in English from Princeton in 1994, Brennan went on to play professionally in the European Basketball League for teams in Germany, Belgium, and Portugal.
