Brett MacConnell (born 1986 or 1987)[1] is an American college basketball coach. He is currently the head coach for the Dartmouth Big Green men’s basketball team. He previously worked as an assistant coach for the Delaware Valley Aggies, Holy Family Tigers, Saint Peter’s Peacocks, Princeton Tigers and Stanford Cardinal.
Early life
MacConnell is the son of Kevin MacConnell, who served as an administrator for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.[2] He decided he wanted to become a basketball coach at age 10.[3] He attended Montgomery High School in New Jersey where he played soccer.[4] After high school, MacConnell attended Rutgers University starting in 2004 and was a student manager with the basketball team from 2004 to 2008.[3] He graduated in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and sports studies.[5]
Coaching career
Assistant coach (2008–2026)
After MacConnell’s graduation from Rutgers, he began working as an assistant basketball coach for the Delaware Valley Aggies in 2008.[4] He served one season in that role before being promoted to associate head coach, then joined the Holy Family Tigers as assistant coach in 2010.[4] After a year at Holy Family, MacConnell became the director of basketball operations for the Saint Peter’s Peacocks for a season before joining the Princeton Tigers in that role in 2012.[4] He was promoted to assistant coach at Princeton in 2013.[4] Across 12 years at Princeton, MacConnell coached four players to Ivy League Player of the Year honors while helping recruit Tosan Evbuomwan and Devin Cannady, both of whom went on to play in the NBA.[6] Nearly 20 players he coached played professionally, while he helped Princeton reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2023.[6] In 2025, MacConnell left to become an assistant for the Stanford Cardinal.[7]
Dartmouth (2026–present)
In March 2026, MacConnell was hired as the new head coach of the Dartmouth Big Green.[8]
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dartmouth Big Green (Ivy League) (2026–present) | |||||||||
| 2026–27 | Dartmouth | 0–0 | 0–0 | ||||||
| Dartmouth: | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | |||||||
| Total: | 0–0 (–) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
References
- ^ Carino, Jerry (March 22, 2023). “For Princeton basketball, assistant coach Brett MacConnell’s skills are paying off”. Asbury Park Press.
- ^ Sullivan, Tara (March 15, 2017). “Coach values ties to Rutgers”. The Record. p. 1S, 2S – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Franklin, Paul (August 18, 2023). “Brett MacConnell reflects on the road less traveled to Princeton basketball”. Courier News.
- ^ a b c d e Peruffo, Nick (June 11, 2013). “COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Princeton assistant Brett MacConnell rising quickly through coaching ranks”. The Trentonian.
- ^ Franko, Kyle (March 30, 2026). “Brett MacConnell hired by Dartmouth men’s basketball to be next head coach”. The Trentonian.
- ^ a b Thamel, Pete (March 30, 2026). “Dartmouth names ex-Stanford assistant Brett MacConnell new HC”. ESPN.
- ^ Fonseca, Brian (July 1, 2025). “Ex-Rutgers basketball manager, longtime assistant at N.J. college lands job at ACC program”. NJ.com.
- ^ Fonseca, Brian (March 30, 2026). “Ex-Rutgers basketball manager, longtime assistant at N.J. college earns 1st head coaching job”. NJ.com.