Brendan Gooch, a Belleville, IL native, comes to the Hawks after serving last season as an assistant coach at fellow GLVC member Illinois-Springfield.
With UIS, Gooch helped the team to an 18-13 record and a berth to the GLVC tournament, where the Prairie Stars fell to a NCAA-bound Lewis University. The Prairie Stars had four GLVC All-Conference honorees and had the best team three-point percentage in the GLVC.Â
Gooch graduated from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. He played 69 games in three seasons as a Saluki. Gooch transferred to McKendree where he appeared in 37 games over two years and earned Second Team All-GLVC honors after the 2020-21 season. Gooch averaged 14.7 points per game and led the GLVC in three pointers scored (51). He went on to play professionally for the Drogheda Wolves National League Team in Drogheda, Ireland in 2022.Â
