BROOKS SAVAGE | ASSISTANT COACH

Brooks Savage joined the Wake Forest basketball staff in May 2020 after a highly-successful five-year stint as an assistant coach at East Tennessee State University alongside head coach Steve Forbes.

During his five seasons in Johnson City, Savage helped the Buccaneers compile an overall record of 130-43 (.751) and a Southern Conference record of 71-19 (.789).  The Bucs earned a pair of first place finishes in the Southern Conference and NCAA Tournament berths in 2017 & 2020.  During his five seasons with the Bucs, ETSU reached the SoCon Tournament championship game four times.

Savage has served as ETSU’s recruiting coordinator while also supervising the academics program that has helped the Bucs compile a perfect graduation rate. Savage also was the point person of ETSU’s non-conference schedule. While the success of the program created challenges in scheduling, the Bucs amassed a non-conference record of 47-18 (72%) in five years, including going 16-4 in series started during the Forbes era.  ETSU recorded numerous marquee non-conference wins including three over Power 5 schools during this time defeating Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, and LSU.

Prior to ETSU, Savage coached at Chattanooga from 2013-2015.  He helped the Mocs to a 40-25 record in his two seasons, finishing 2nd in the SoCon both seasons.  During his seven years in the Southern Conference, his teams posted a 98-26 (79%) conference record finishing in the Top 3 each year.

Before UTC, Savage entered the D1 Assistant ranks in the Big South conference by helping lead Presbyterian College through the Division 1 transition during the 2012-13 season. This followed a championship year in 2011-12 as an Assistant at Northwest Florida State College where the Raiders 32 wins set a school record, won the Panhandle Conference title and finished as the National Runner-Up. At NWF, Savage helped recruit and develop eleven players that went on to earn Division 1 scholarships. In 2010-11, Savage served as the Director of Video and Player Development at Tulane University.

Over Savage’s nine years as an assistant coach his teams have amassed a record of 210-92 overall while finishing first or second in conference play in seven of those nine seasons.

Since the 2018 offseason, Savage has been invited to participate in TopConnect.  This college basketball networking event provides a platform for up-and-coming assistant coaches and athletic directors from around the country to learn from one another and help prepare the assistants to become future head coaches.

Savage was also named one of “50 Impactful Mid-Major Assistants” by Silver Waves Media in 2020.

A 2008 graduate of Tennessee, Savage holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sports management/business.  As an undergrad, he worked as a student manager and graduate assistant from 2004-10 and was a part of five Volunteer NCAA Tournament teams in his six seasons. Savage and his wife Lauren are the parents of a daughter, Waverly.