Roger_65

BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University head men's basketball coach Alvin Brooks will not be retained for the 2026-27 season announced Vice President and Director of the Athletics Jeff O'Malley Tuesday afternoon. The announcement comes following a 2025-26 season that saw Lamar post a 12-19 (.387) overall record and miss the Southland Conference Championship tournament with a 7-15 (.318) league record. "I would like to personally thank Coach Brooks and his staff for their hard work and dedication to our men's basketball program," said O'Malley. "Alvin is a decorated member of the Cardinal Hall of Honor and we wish him, and his family, all the best moving forward." Brooks had served as Lamar's head coach for the previous five seasons. A national search for the Cardinals' next head coach has begun.

Brandon Chappell is in his first season as an assistant coach at Arizona after joining the staff in May 2025. He spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Texas. In three seasons at Texas, Chappell (“shuh-PELL”) and the Longhorns advanced to the NCAA Tournament all three seasons, advancing to the Elite Eight in 2023, and averaged 23 wins per season. The Longhorns also won the 2023 Big 12 Tournament championship and finished the year ranked No. 5 in the final Associated Press poll. Prior to Texas, Chappell was an assistant coach at UNLV for the 2021-22 season, helping three Rebels earn All-Mountain West postseason accolades. From 2017-21, the native of Beaumont, Texas, spent four seasons on Tic Price’s staff at Lamar University. At his alma mater, the Cardinals won 20 games in 2019 and David Muoka was named Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2021. Chappell spent one season (2016-17) as an assistant coach at Arkansas-Fort Smith on the Division II level, winning the regular season and conference tournament championship. Prior to that, he served as a graduate assistant for two seasons at Northern Arizona University for then-NAU head coach and current Arizona associate head coach Jack Murphy, where the Lumberjacks tied the program record for wins in 2015. He began his coaching career at Armstrong State, an NCAA Division II school in Savannah, Ga., for the 2013-14 season.

Hamilton and White do have another year. I have heard that they are coming back for one more year. Knight was hurt when the season started and tried to play through the injury. I’m sure his injury affected his play in the few games he played. I believe he will be back, too.

Knight is injured and out for the year. I believe Gambrel is recovering from an injury suffered in High School.