Andrew Brown, who spent the previous five seasons on the bench with WCU head coach Tim Craft at Gardner-Webb, joined the Catamount men's basketball coaching staff in March 2024. Brown will also serve as the program’s recruiting coordinator.
In his debut season in Cullowhee during the 2024-25 season, he helped guide the senior Bernard Pelote to eclipse 1,000 career points as the senior finished sixth in league play averaging 16.3 points per game to pace the Catamounts. Pelote also finished second in the league with 227 total rebounds and 181 defensive rebounds for WCU. He finished third in league play with 133 total boards while tallying a team-high six double-doubles, including five against SoCon opponents. Redshirt sophomore Marcus Kell had a breakout season with a pair of SoCon Player of the Week awards averaging 14.7 points per game in SoCon play while eclipsing double figures 16 times, including 12 straight to close the season. Classmate Cord Stansberry also set the school-record for free throw percentage on the year at 91.3 (min. 70 makes). As a team, WCU led the conference in defensive rebounds per game (28.1) and was second in total rebounds per game (38.4).
Brown, who brings over 15 years of collegiate coaching experience to Cullowhee, joined the Runnin’ Bulldogs staff in Boiling Springs ahead of the 2019-20 season. On the bench with Craft, Gardner-Webb secured 77 victories over the past five years including three wins in the Big South Conference tournament with a trio of appearances in the league semifinals.
Before joining Craft, Brown previously coached at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro where he helped the Aggies to a 19-13 overall record and a berth in the MEAC Championship semifinals in 2018-19 under head coach Jay Joyner. His coaching experience also includes three seasons at Winston-Salem State, finishing his time with the Rams as Associate Head Coach for the 2016-17 season. Brown also served as interim head coach following the 2017-18 season before making the move to Boiling Springs, N.C.
Brown was a three-year letter winner at current Southern Conference foe Mercer while the Bears were a member of the ASUN Conference. A three-time ASUN All-Academic Team selection, Brown led Mercer with a 15.5 point per game scoring average as a senior. He opened his collegiate career at Owens Community College in Toledo, Ohio, helping his team to a 28-6 record.
Following his collegiate career, Brown had a brief professional career in Germany’s second league and also toured overseas to the Czech Republic and Bulgaria with Athletes in Action in 2008.
A 2006 graduate, Brown holds both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master’s degree in education from Mercer University. He also received his Master’s Degree in Sport Education from Gardner-Webb. Brown earned his coaching start back at his alma mater, spending two seasons on the bench with former head coach Bob Hoffman. He helped lead Mercer to the 2010 ASUN Conference title game.
Brown also worked under head coach John Meeks at Wallace-Hanceville Community College in Alabama in 2010-11 before starting his tenure in the state of North Carolina at St. Andrews University. Beginning as an assistant coach, Brown earned valuable head coaching experience at St. Andrews increasing the program’s win total each of his three seasons.
Originally from Pontiac, Mich., Brown is married to Paula Brown and the couple has a daughter, Peyton, and a son “Drew-Drew.”
