Kentucky’s Alvin Brooks III, Mikhail McLean Selected to Inaugural Roots 66 Most Impactful List

Roots is a collection of coaches, administrators, scouts, agents and influencers who share a commitment to advancing the game. It provides members with the tools, connections and visibility needed to thrive both on and off the court.

Brooks and McLean were both a part of head coach Mark Pope’s inaugural staff at Kentucky in 2024-25 and helped the Wildcats to a 24-12 overall record and the program’s first appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament since 2019. Along the way, the Wildcats tied an NCAA record with eight wins over Associated Press Top 15 teams, became the first team in program history to finish the season with six players averaging double-digit points and set a program record for the most made 3-pointers in a single season with 341. UK accomplished all that with zero returning points from the 2023-24 roster, becoming the first team to advance to the Sweet 16 with no returning scoring production in NCAA Tournament history.

In his first season with the Wildcats, Brooks had a hand in nearly every facet of UK’s success as he was involved in recruiting, defensive schemes, scouting and was a key in the development of UK’s forwards in Ansley Almonor, Andrew Carr and Trent Noah. Almonor became the first player in program history to finish a season with a 50-40-90 shooting split when he averaged 50.4% from the field, 42.4% from 3-point range and 90.6% from the line. He logged 5.3 points per game and ranked third on the team with 39 made 3s. Carr was one of six Wildcats to average double-figure points, the first time a squad had six such scorers in program history.

Prior to arriving at Kentucky, Brooks coached eight seasons at Baylor, serving as both an assistant and associate head coach. The Bears went 194-72 during Brooks’ tenure, including a 94-46 record in Big 12 action, 12-5 in NCAA Tournament games and 22-15 against Associated Press top-10 ranked foes, while also capturing the 2021 national title.

A Houston native, Brooks began his coaching career at the junior college level. He spent two seasons at Arkansas-Forth Smith, helping the Lions to the 2006 NJCAA Division I championship. He then joined the staff at Midland, where he again was on staff for an NJCAA title team in 2007.

McLean was involved in scouting, recruiting and the development of UK’s bigs. McLean worked closely with center, Amari Williams, who had a remarkable season which included registering just the fourth triple-double in program history, posting 10 double-doubles and averaging 39.6 points/rebounds/assists per 40 minutes, the eighth most of any player in the country. Williams was tied with Lamont Butler for the most assists (115), the tallest player in program history to lead the team in that category. Williams, along with Koby Brea, were selected in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Prior to joining UK’s staff, McClean spent three seasons at Lamar as an assistant coach where the Cardinals steadily improved year-to-year, culminating in a record-breaking 19-14 season in 2023-24.

In addition to his collegiate coaching career, McLean is a native of The Bahamas and serves as the associate head coach on the Bahamian National Team staff. He has been a part of the program since 2021 and is the squad’s defensive coordinator.

Team Bahamas made history in 2024 by being one game shy of qualifying for the Olympics after a championship loss to Spain on their home court. Before that, Team Bahamas defeated both the No. 15 and No. 20 ranked teams in the world in Poland and Finland, while also tallying a victory over Lebanon in Olympic qualifying. In 2023, the Bahamas defeated Argentina, who ranked fourth in the world, twice during the Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament.