Briona Brown enters her first season as an Assistant Coach and Director of Recruiting on the Alabama A&M University women’s basketball coaching staff.
Brown comes to Alabama A&M after spending the previous three seasons as an assistant coach under head coach Dawn Thornton at Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
While at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Brown coordinated skill development for position players, while serving as the recruiting and camp coordinator. She conducted weekly, bi-weekly academic meetings with student-athletes and assisted Thornton with defensive game and practice planning. In addition, she assisted in the structure of official visits and the presence of social media.
Brown also played a part in the Golden Lions’ success over the past three seasons, as Coriah Beck and Maori Davenport received Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Second Team Honors. Maya Peat also earned All-SWAC Second Team recognition and became UAPB’s all-time leading rebounder. Zaay Green earned the SWAC’s Newcomer of the Year, Preseason Player of the Year, Al-SWAC First Team and became UAPB’s all-time leading scorer.
Prior to joining the UAPB staff, Brown was an assistant at Jacksonville University for three seasons. Brown helped the Dolphins to a four-game improvement, three in conference play, from year one to year two. Known for her on-floor leadership and versatility, she passed that along to the young front court that she has tutored the last three seasons.
After spending two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Warner University in Lake Wales, Florida, Brown returned to her alma mater. During her time with the Royals, she was responsible for the holistic development of Warner's post players, individual skill development, and overseeing the team's academic progress.
As a former student-athlete at JU standout for the Dolphins from 2012-16, Briona Brown earned back-to-back ASUN Conference All-Tournament Team honors in 2015 and 2016 and was a 2016 All-ASUN Second Team selection. Behind her leadership on the court as a senior and team captain, the Dolphins won the 2016 ASUN Tournament and earned the program's first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament. She still ranks among the program's leaders in points with 1,215 (5th all-time), rebounds with 650 (5th all-time), blocks with 82 (6th all-time), and steals with 134 (10th all-time).
Following her collegiate career at Jacksonville, Briona Brown became one of two Dolphins to play professionally overseas when she inked a deal in September 2017 with SBS Ostrava in the Czech Republic.
Brown graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Communication Degree from Jacksonville in 2016 and received a Masters of Elementary Education from Warner in 2017.
