Angelo State University Athletics

Kevin Brooks has guided the Angelo State baseball program to seven NCAA Division II College World Series appearances with seven South Central Championships and has compiled an impressive 834-364 overall record since starting the ASU program in 2005. In 2023, the Rams claimed the Division II National Championship for the first time in program history.
 
The only coach in ASU baseball history, he has recorded 12 trips to the NCAA postseason. The Rams are the only Lone Star Conference team to ever make the College World Series and the first team since 2007 to appear in the National Championship series in back-to-back seasons. Brooks has taken the team there seven times in 20 seasons at the helm, including back-to-back appearances in 2015-2016 and four consecutive seasons in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The Rams have also won the Lone Star Conference tournament championship six times, including sweep­ing the competition in 2015, 2021, 2022, and while also winning in 2007 and 2012. The Rams have never had a losing season under Brooks and have compiled 40-plus wins in 12 seasons.
 
His list of accomplishments includes the 2023 NCAA Division II national title, the NCAA Division II South Central Regional titles in 2007, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The Rams earned LSC regular-season titles in 2012, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, and 2023 while winning the tournament championship in 2012, 2015, 2021, 2022, and 2023. He has coached 151 All-Lone Star Conference selections, 66 All-Region picks and 32 All-American selections. Brooks has also prepared his players for the next level as 52 former Rams have played or are currently playing professional baseball.
 
In 2024, ASU finished 32-16 in the LSC that rolled into a 44-21 overall record. After a second round exit in the Lone Star Conference tournament, the Rams swept through the South Central Regional before taking two of three against top seeded Lubbock Christian in the Super Regional which led to appearance number 11 at the Division II College World Series where the Brooks led the team to a second consecutive national championship appearance, becoming the first team to do so since 2007. 

The Rams finished the 2023 season with a 56-9 overall record, setting the program and LSC record for wins in a season on their way to the national title. ASU finished with a 40-8 conference record to win the regular-season before sweeping the conference tournament and earning the top-seed in the regional tournament. Kade Bragg set a conference record with a 15-1 overall record on the mound while earning NCAA Division II Pitcher of the Year by three different organizations.
 
In 2021, the Rams claimed the LSC Tournament Championship and the South-Central Regional Championship to punch their ticket to the World Series in Cary, N.C. The Rams opened the World Series with back-to-back wins over Wingate and Seton Hill to advance to the semifinals, making it the farthest the team has ever gone in program history. ASU finished the season with a 44-9 overall record while leading the LSC in tame batting average and ERA on the year.
 
The Rams ended the 2020 season with an overall record of 19-3 while holding the No. 1 ranking in all of Division II.
 
In 2019, the Rams accumulated a 46-12 overall record and won the South-Central Regional before falling to Colorado Mesa in the Super Regional. The Rams advanced to the LSC Tournament Title game but fell just short against Cameron.
 
Angelo State finished the 2017 season with a 43-15 overall record, winning its second straight Lone Star Conference regular season championship as well as hosting the LSC tournament for the second straight year. The Rams also finished the regular season as the No. 1 team in the South Central Region, earning the right to host the regional championship tournament for the first time in program history.
 
For the second straight season and the third time in his career, Brooks led the Rams to the College World Series in 2016. ASU stormed through the regular season with a 39-22 overall record, including a 16-6 showing at home and a 25-10 performance in conference play, earning them the Lone Star Conference regular season championship. The Rams then swept their way to another South Central Regional Championship, defeating St. Edward’s 9-2 in the final to advance to the College World Series. A pair of 1-0 losses in the World Series finally eliminated the Rams. Brooks secured the LSC Coach of the Year award for the team’s performance as well as the American Baseball Coaches Association South Central Region Coach of the Year. Several other Rams were honored by the conference as well, including LSC Player of the Year Paxton Delagarza, who led the conference in both home runs and doubles, Pitcher of the Year Bryce Zak and Academic Player of the Year David Goggin. Both Zak and DeLaGarza earned D2CCA, ABCA/Rawlings and NCBWA All-Region honors as well, while Zak was named to the ABCA/Rawlings All-American third team.
 
In 2015, Brooks and the Rams advanced to the College World Series for the second time in program history after sweeping their way through the LSC Championship and then winning the NCAA DII South Central Championship by taking four straight elimination games for their second regional title. The Rams earned a 5-0 win over Wilmington in the College World Series, but were eliminated with a pair of losses to Henderson State. The 2015 team set multiple records, including running off a 15-game winning streak at the beginning of the season and the pitching staff had a program-low 3.11 ERA. Finishing the season with a 42-18 record, ASU and Brooks compiled the fifth season of 40 or more wins.
 
Brooks led the Rams to the NCAA DII South Central tournament for the fourth time in 2013 with an at-large bid as the region's fourth seed. ASU went 1-2 at the tournament, including a 9-1 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville before a 7-6 loss in 13 innings ended its season. The 2013 Rams included 10 players who were honored with LSC postseason awards and Lee Neumann who earned the ABCA/Rawlings South Central Player of the Year and was named an All-American for the second straight season. Andrew LaCombe, who was the LSC's first-team catcher, earned first-team Capital One Academic All-American honors. The Rams went 37-21 to win 30 or more games for the eighth time in program history.
 
Under Brooks’ guidance, the 2012 Rams went 20-8 in LSC play and celebrated the LSC tournament title on their home field. ASU hit .321 as a team in 2012 with 120 doubles, 36 home runs, 23 triples and stole 105 bases. The pitching staff had a earned run average of 3.87 in 457.2 innings of work and limited opponents to a .270 batting average. The Rams outscored their opponents 409-241 in the course of the 57-game season. ASU owned its home field, going 24-4 at Foster Field.
 
The 2007 Rams finished with a 51-20 (.718) mark and set five individual and seven team Lone Star Conference records along the way. The program itself set a new record by reaching the Division-II College World Series in only its third season of existence, the fastest such trip in NCAA history. Brooks’ Rams have only finished lower than second in the Lone Star Conference postseason tournament once since the ASU program was revived in 2005 and he earned the Sportsman of the Year award from the San Angelo Standard-Times for his outstanding leadership and success on the field in 2007.
 
Prior to his arrival at Angelo State, Brooks was an assistant coach at Hardin-Simmons University from 2000-03 and an assistant coach at the University of Texas-San Antonio in 2000. Preceding that, he was a volunteer assistant coach at Texas A&M in 1999 helping the Aggies to the Big XII title in their run to the NCAA Division I College World Series. He served as an assistant coach at the University of Incarnate Word from 1994-1998 and lent his knowledge to the Jayhawk League where he worked as a summer coach in 1993 and for the Hays (Kan.) Larks in 1995.
 
In Brooks’ 20 years of coaching experience, he coached Major League Baseball National League All-Star Lance Berkman when he played summer ball for the Hays Larks. With Brooks’ guidance, the Hays Larks finished second in the 1995 National Baseball Congress (NBC) World Series behind the 1996 USA Olympic Baseball Team.
 
A graduate of Baylor University, Brooks earned his bachelor’s degree in secondary education and played baseball for the Bears baseball team from 1988-1991. He also holds a master’s degree in physical education from Incarnate Word.
 
The Brooks household includes his wife Robyn, Sons Kannon & Jake, daughters Bailey, Reese and Bree.