Alex Brown, who helped orchestrate one of the Northwest Conference's fastest turnarounds, has been named the head coach of the Pacific University women's basketball program.

Brown joins Pacific after three seasons as an assistant coach at George Fox, where he helped guide the Bruins from six wins in 2023-24 to consecutive appearances in the Northwest Conference Tournament championship game the past two seasons.

"We welcome Coach Brown to the Boxer Nation as our new head women's basketball coach," Pacific Director of Athletics Keith Buckley said. "His passion for the women's game and relational focus, coupled with his Northwest recruiting ties, make him an exceptional addition to our department. We are excited for the program's future under his leadership."

During Brown's final two seasons, George Fox posted a 21-11 record in Northwest Conference play while advancing to the conference tournament championship game each year.

"I'm thrilled about having this opportunity," Brown said. "I thank Keith, the committee and everyone on campus who was a part of the process. It's a great opportunity to lead a program that has a history of success. I'm really excited about being able to build a culture."

Brown's path to coaching began as a practice player for the Gonzaga women's basketball program under Kelly Graves. After earning his degree, Brown taught English abroad in Costa Rica and South Korea before beginning his collegiate coaching career as a volunteer assistant at the University of Portland in 2017.

"I really like teaching and I really like sports, so coaching was the natural combination of the two," Brown said. "Once I realized that, I started pursuing coaching."

Before joining the staff at George Fox, Brown spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Warner Pacific from 2019-21 before serving as head coach at Mt. Hood Community College from 2021-23.

Brown said establishing a strong culture will be one of his top priorities at Pacific.

"I think coming in and establishing your own culture is really important, what you value, and just setting program expectations and accountability," Brown said. "Leaning into player development and creating a cohesive team on and off the court."

Brown said the culture he hopes to establish at Pacific begins with building relationships.

"Trust has to be the backbone of any strong culture," Brown said. "A trust that you care about the student-athletes as people is really important. A positive culture, where players want to come to practice every day is challenging. It's a lot of work, but the hard work is easier because you're enjoying the process."

Brown also wants his teams to embrace competition every day.

"This is a very competitive conference, and I think practicing being competitive every day is important," Brown said. "It's a skill that you work on daily, and if you can do that consistently, it eventually translates to results."

Brown describes himself as process-oriented.

"I'm much more process over results," he said. "I try really hard not to focus on results. I focus on whether our process is going to lead to good outcomes more often than not. If you're taking good shots, you don't worry whether they're going to go in because, over time, they will."

Brown plans to implement a more free-flowing offense that teaches players to read the game rather than memorize a series of set plays.

"We'll definitely run sets, but I don't want my players looking over at me," Brown said. I want to create an environment where they are the ones reading the game. Not just on an individual basis but on a collective basis. I want to develop a team that understands how to play rather than feeling like they have a script that they have to follow."

Brown has also served as a player development logger for the WNBA's Portland Fire, an experience he said has helped shape his own coaching philosophy.

"I've been able to go to practice and watch and learn and observe," Brown said. "That's been an amazing experience. Their team culture is amazing. The coaching staff is brilliant. Being able to learn from everything they're doing has been a really cool experience."

Brown said he and his family are eager to become part of the Pacific community.

"My wife and kids are excited, too," Brown said. "I got a really positive feel for the staff and what type of community Pacific is. I feel really good about the whole thing. Everyone has been super welcoming and nice. I appreciate how everyone has embraced me so far."

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