Brendan Rooney heading to Menlo College
The Cal Maritime University Men's Basketball Program says goodbye to another Coach Rooney.
After replacing his brother Bryan Rooney three years ago, Brendan Rooney has stepped down as the men's basketball coach to take the head coaching position at Menlo College in Atherton, Calif.
As the Head Coach of Men's Basketball at Cal Maritime, the youngest of the Rooney brothers continued – and elevated – the success of the program under his watch.
The Stockton, Calif. native set the program record for wins in the first three years of any coach's tenure at Cal Maritime. He also has the second-highest winning percentage in program history at .604% and his Keelhaulers teams have received votes in the NAIA National Top 25 four times. Last season, Men's Basketball went 20-9 overall and 8-6 in the Cal-Pac.
"I thought it was just a good time for myself and my family," Said Rooney, who lives in Livermore, Calif. "The opportunity to go to Menlo and not have to move was a factor. Menlo just checked a lot of boxes."
With Brendan Rooney at the helm of Men's Basketball, Cal Maritime has had nine all conference selections, one Cal Pac Freshman of the Year, and one NAIA All-American. He recruited and developed Cal Maritime's all-time leading scorer in Zavier Lucero, the program's 2nd all-time leading scorer, Josh Hauser, and the all-time leader in blocks, Ben Borja.
In his time as Head Coach, the Keelhaulers set school records for three-point percentage in a season (37.3%), three pointers made per game (10.1), and defensive rebounds per game (31.8) in the 2018-19 campaign.
The program recorded the top two seasons its history for points per game in 2017-18 and 2018-19 at 78.8 and 75.1 respectively, along with blocks in both of those seasons with 88 and 105. In the past two seasons the Keelhaulers have ranked 14th and 15th in the country in defensive field goal percentage.
"My favorite memories of coaching at Cal Maritime are just being around the players and staff every day," Rooney said. "The quality of human beings that they are, the road trips and locker rooms after games, it always showed."
Rooney felt the small, specialized, and structured environment of Cal Maritime helped him bring in the type of player he wanted for his program.
"The uniqueness of the University allowed us to build a culture of young men that succeeded on the floor, in the classroom, and eventually in their careers," Rooney noted. "I can't show enough appreciation and thankfulness to Marv and the university for supporting us the opportunities they gave Bryan and I."
Brendan took over as Head Men's Basketball Coach after serving as an assistant for three seasons under his brother Bryan who moved on to Cal State East Bay.
As an Assistant Coach for Men's Basketball at Cal Maritime, Brendan helped the Keelhaulers win three regular season Cal Pac Titles and two conference tournaments, leading to two NAIA National Tournament Births and a Sweet 16 appearance in the National Tourney.
During that time as an assistant he was the head of opponent scouting, the lead recruiter of high school players and the head of the strength and conditioning program with the Keelhaulers.
Cal Maritime announced a change in athletic director in May as Karen Yoder replaced longtime administrator Marv Christopher and the hiring of a new Men's Basketball Coach isn't expected to occur until after Yoder takes over on July 1.
"I love Marv Christopher," Rooney said. "He's really special to me, especially since he gave my brother and I our first head coaching opportunities. At the same time, I'm excited to see what Karen Yoder can bring to the department."
Rooney said once he got the head coaching position at Menlo, he called his returning players and told them about the switch.
"As soon as it became official, I called every one of them and a few of their parents," he said. "That was actually the most miserable part of the experience. There were definitely some tears shed."
Rooney said he wasn't sure if any of his Cal Maritime assistant coaches might be interested in the new Keelhaulers' job. He said he hoped that Cal Maritime and Menlo could play in the next preseason.
"My family and I are forever grateful for the opportunities given to us at Cal Maritime." Rooney remarked. "I was very fortunate to be around their program and to be given my first opportunity as a college head coach there."
Rooney has always taken his players academic success, development into young adults, and their positions as ambassadors to the program and University very seriously. He spent the past three seasons as Cal Maritime's Champion of Character Liaison, overseeing the athletic department's pursuit of the NAIA's Five Core Values. He also coached 29 athletes who were honored as members of the Cal Maritime Dean's List (GPA Between 3.25-3.75) and 16 athletes who were honored as members of the Cal Maritime President's List (GPA Above 3.75).
It's that scholastic emphasis and Champions of Character role that sticks out the most for Christopher about Brendan Rooney, while of course appreciating the success he had on the court.
"Brendan Rooney has continued to lead a winning men's basketball program here at Cal Maritime, and he has been part of a very unique program that builds young men with character into winning student athletes." Christopher said. "The Cal Maritime basketball program is a tradition founded in the Rooney culture of hard work, teamwork, commitment, and family. The tradition that Brendan carried on has stimulated very strong support from Keelhauler Alumni. We will miss Brendan as he moves on to Menlo College, but we will never forget his true belief in the Champions of Character program."
Brendan studied sports medicine at the University of the Pacific and became a Doctor of Physical Therapy in 2013 and was the team captain of the St. Mary's of Stockton Basketball team in his senior year.