Sam Brooks Returns to UK Men’s Soccer as Volunteer Assistant
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Former Kentucky men’s soccer player Sam Brooks is coming home.
On Wednesday, 10th-year head coach Johan Cedergren announced the addition of Brooks to the UK coaching staff as a volunteer assistant. Brooks joins Cedergren, associate head coach Chase Wileman and assistant coach Josh Oldroyd, as well as director of operations Marcus Aldaba, on the Kentucky sidelines ahead of the 2021 season.
After beginning his collegiate playing career at in-state Cumberlands of the NAIA, Brooks transferred to Kentucky for his final two seasons in 2010 and 2011. The 6-foot-2 defender appeared in 34 of 39 matches over that span, making 18 starts. Brooks scored five goals—including three game winners—and dished out three assists for the Wildcats.
The most recent stop on Brooks’ college coaching career was Northern Kentucky, where he was an assistant under Norse head coach Stu Riddle the past three seasons. Brooks helped guide NKU to a banner year in 2020, clinching the Horizon League regular season title and the program’s first appearance in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25.
A native of Solihull, England, Brooks’ college coaching carousel around the Commonwealth of Kentucky began with one season as an assistant coach at Centre of NCAA Division III in 2017.
Admission to all 2021 UK soccer matches at Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex is free to the public. For the latest on the Kentucky men’s soccer team, follow @UKMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKAthletics.com.
