Brett MacConnell, a former assistant coach at Princeton University and Stanford University, has joined the Big Green as the new head coach of men’s basketball. He replaces David McLaughlin’s decade-long tenure at the helm, excited to right the ship after a disappointing 11-16 winter season. MacConnell’s coaching career began at Delaware Valley University in 2008 before he eventually joined the Princeton Tigers in 2012. He spent last season in Palo Alto coaching for the Stanford Cardinals, and MacConnell will take on his first head coaching role at Dartmouth.
In an interview with The Dartmouth, MacConnell emphasized the importance of a player-led program and a culture of belief, having tasted top-level success with a Sweet 16 run in 2023 with the Princeton Tigers.
How has the energy been being on campus and meeting with the team over your first few weeks, and how has it been settling into a smaller town like Hanover?
BM: It’s been awesome. First of all, I love the guys on the team that I’m fortunate enough to coach. I met the team in late March, and I had asked the staff and the administration to order some food for us so we could hang out that night over some burritos. I got an unbelievable feel for the type of guys in the program and the connection that they had with each other. The players are really good guys that I enjoy being around, that my staff loves being around and that love being around each other. I think that’s the most important thing. When you take over a program, you don’t know exactly what you’re inheriting, but we have a great group of high-character guys, and they really work hard. They want to get better. The energy has been awesome.
Dartmouth is losing some key contributors not only on the floor but to the team culture with Brandon Mitchell-Day ’26, Jackson Munro ’26 and Jayden Williams ’26 graduating this spring. Who are you looking to step up and fill these valuable leadership roles?
BM: First of all, those three guys you mentioned, I’ve gotten to know just a little bit, and I’ve been really impressed with them. Everybody in this program and in this community speaks really highly of those guys. I think their impact will be felt even after they leave – they’ve laid a foundation because of their leadership, their hard work and their commitment to the program. As far as the next line of leadership, I always believe your seniors have to lead you and be totally bought in. Patrick Tivnan ’27 and Nikola Abusara ’27 have already taken on big roles in leadership. I love the approach that these guys have had, with Cameron McNamee ’28 standing out as well. I really believe in a player led program, and I want all my guys to feel comfortable using their voice and leading.
You’ve coached Ivy League basketball for over a decade, starting in 2012 at Princeton University. Why did you choose to come to Dartmouth?
BM: I loved my time coaching in the Ivy League as well as at Stanford, which certainly has a lot of overlap with the Ivy League. I really have loved coaching guys that want to be great at everything they do, and the quality of people that I coached at Princeton and Stanford was so high. I was so fortunate to be around really awesome kids and awesome people, and I couldn’t think of a better league to coach in. Haldeman Family Director of Athletics and Recreation Mike Harrity also had an incredible vision for the department overall, but also specifically the men’s basketball program. I had done a lot of research when I was approached about this job about the Dartmouth athletic department, about Mike Harrity and about the recent success of the women’s soccer, the men’s hockey and the football programs. They’ve had long standing success and the impact that Mike’s had on the department has been profound. I also got a chance to get to know some of the coaches. I met with the head football coach, the women’s hockey coach and the men’s soccer coach, and I had dinner with them on the first night of my interview here. They really made me feel comfortable and excited to be a part of this community and the tremendous group of coaches that are here.
Thinking back to that Sweet 16 run in 2023 with Princeton, what did you take away from that season that you carry with you to Dartmouth?
BM: The first thing I think about that team and that season is belief. Nobody thought that team could make the Sweet 16 and beat University of Arizona, who was the No. 2 seed, and then go on to beat University of Missouri in the second round. I think about that with our current Dartmouth team: Nobody thinks we can make the NCAA tournament. That Princeton team, multiple times throughout the regular season, was counted out to win the Ivy League. We lost to Dartmouth that year, and had one of the most heartbreaking losses ever to Yale University at home. We were down by maybe 18 at halftime at home in our regular season finale against University of Pennsylvania, and we needed that game to win the regular season title. We ended up coming back, and had a total battle to win against Penn in the semifinals of the Ivy League Tournament, then another battle to beat Yale in the final. Even just getting out of the Ivy League came with tremendous adversity and beating the odds. So for me at Dartmouth, it starts with belief, and I want the guys to believe it.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
