Jamal Brunt enters his second season as Penn State’s Associate Head Coach in 2024-25. Brunt came to Happy Valley after serving on head coach Mike Rhoades’ staff at both VCU (2018-2023) and Randolph-Macon (2003-05), in addition to playing for Rhoades at Randolph-Macon. The Baltimore native also owns coaching experience at Miami (Fla.) and Richmond.
Brunt helped lay a strong foundation during his first season at Penn State in 2023-24. As defensive coordinator, Brunt engineered a Penn State defense that led the Big Ten in steals per game (8.3), turnover margin (+3.6) and three-point percentage defense (30.3%) in 2023-24, while also mentoring 2024 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Ace Baldwin Jr. Brunt played a key role in Penn State making an immediate impact on the recruiting trail, helping to land a top-25 recruiting class in the staff’s first cycle at Penn State with the signing of four highly-touted prospects for the Class of 2028.
Prior to joining Rhoades’ staff at Penn State, Brunt engineered one of the nation’s top defenses throughout his time at VCU as associate head coach and defensive coordinator, helping the Rams to three NCAA Tournament appearances, four national postseason berths, a pair of Atlantic 10 regular-season titles and an A-10 tournament championship during his five seasons on Rhoades’ VCU staff. Under Brunt’s guidance, the Rams ranked top 15 in the nation in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric in four his last five seasons.
Brunt has proven to be an elite recruiter at multiple stops. He played an integral role in signing the Atlantic 10’s top recruiting class in three of the last four years while at VCU, in addition to landing the best recruiting classes in program history at Miami in back-to-back seasons during his time in Coral Gables. Brunt was recognized as one of 50 Impactful Mid-Major Assistant Coaches by Silver Waves Media in 2020.
Brunt joined VCU following three seasons as assistant coach at Miami (Fla.), where he served as the team’s offensive coordinator. During Brunt’s tenure in Coral Gables, the Hurricanes reached the NCAA Tournament three times, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2016, and won 20 or more games each season. The 2015-16 team’s 27 wins were the second-most in school history, and that that squad finished the season ranked No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 10 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. The Hurricanes were ranked in the top 15 for a school-record 14 weeks that year.
He was an integral piece in landing the best recruiting classes in Miami history in back-to-back seasons. For the 2017-18 campaign, the staff inked three ESPN Top 100 players, including McDonald's All-American and Jordan Brand Classic All-American guard Lonnie Walker. That class was ranked seventh nationally by ESPN, eighth by Scout and 12th by Rivals. In 2016, Brunt helped the Hurricanes assemble a recruiting class that included McDonald’s All-American Dewan Huell, as well as Jordan Brand Classic All-American Bruce Brown. The group was ranked No. 9 by 247Sports, No. 10 by Scout, No. 13 by both ESPN and Rivals.
In 2015-16, Miami’s offense was ranked 11th nationally in adjusted efficiency. The Hurricanes averaged 75.2 points per game that season, fourth-most in the ACC. Under Brunt’s tutelage, Miami’s .479 field goal percentage that year was its best since the 1988-89 season. Miami’s .749 mark at the free throw line was the program’s best since the 2001-02 season.
Prior to Miami, Brunt spent 10 seasons on staff at Richmond. Brunt started at Richmond as director of operations in 2005 and was promoted to an assistant coach in 2007 and associate head coach in 2013.
Brunt helped guide Richmond to six postseason appearances, five 20-win seasons and final national rankings of No. 24 in 2009-10 and No. 21 in 2010-11. After winning their first Atlantic 10 Championship in 2010-11, the Spiders advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. In 2015, Brunt helped Richmond earn a top-four seed in the National Invitation Tournament, falling to eventual runner-up Miami in the quarterfinals.
In seven of Brunt’s final eight seasons at Richmond, the Spiders defeated 12 nationally-ranked opponents. From 2009-14, Richmond earned more wins than any other Atlantic 10 school, averaging 21.5 over that span. In addition to on-court coaching, Brunt was responsible for scheduling, which helped the Spiders consistently carve out a top-100 RPI, and aided Richmond’s march to an NCAA at-large bid in 2010. Richmond finished in the top-100 of the RPI in five of Brunt’s last six seasons. The Spiders finished 25th in RPI in 2010 and 41st in 2011.
In his six seasons as an assistant, Brunt was integral in signing some of the most highly touted recruits in school history, beating out Power Five programs in the process. In 2011, Richmond’s Justin Harper was selected 32nd overall in the NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Brunt also mentored Spider student-athletes in academics, helping the men’s basketball team achieve its highest GPA on record.
Before joining the Spiders basketball staff in the summer of 2005, Brunt was an assistant coach alongside Rhoades at Randolph-Macon for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. At Randolph-Macon, Brunt was involved in all aspects of coaching, including player development, recruiting, monitoring academics, film exchange and breakdown, opponent scouting and on-court coaching.
Brunt played four seasons as a guard for Rhoades from 1999-2003 and helped lift the Yellow Jackets to NCAA Division III Sweet 16 appearances in 2002 and 2003.
He received a bachelor’s degree in international relations with a concentration in business economics from Randolph-Macon in 2003. He is married to the former Erica Glasper. The couple has two daughters, Peyton and Price, as well as a son, Jalen.
Jamal Brunt Coaching History
2003-05 – Randolph-Macon, Assistant Coach
2005-07 – Richmond, Director of Operations
2007-13 – Richmond, Assistant Coach
2013-15 – Richmond, Associate Head Coach
2015-18 – Miami (Fla.), Assistant Coach
2018-21 – VCU, Assistant Coach
2021-23 – VCU, Associate Head Coach
2023-present – Penn State, Associate Head Coach
Brunt helped lay a strong foundation during his first season at Penn State in 2023-24. As defensive coordinator, Brunt engineered a Penn State defense that led the Big Ten in steals per game (8.3), turnover margin (+3.6) and three-point percentage defense (30.3%) in 2023-24, while also mentoring 2024 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Ace Baldwin Jr. Brunt played a key role in Penn State making an immediate impact on the recruiting trail, helping to land a top-25 recruiting class in the staff’s first cycle at Penn State with the signing of four highly-touted prospects for the Class of 2028.
Prior to joining Rhoades’ staff at Penn State, Brunt engineered one of the nation’s top defenses throughout his time at VCU as associate head coach and defensive coordinator, helping the Rams to three NCAA Tournament appearances, four national postseason berths, a pair of Atlantic 10 regular-season titles and an A-10 tournament championship during his five seasons on Rhoades’ VCU staff. Under Brunt’s guidance, the Rams ranked top 15 in the nation in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric in four his last five seasons.
Brunt has proven to be an elite recruiter at multiple stops. He played an integral role in signing the Atlantic 10’s top recruiting class in three of the last four years while at VCU, in addition to landing the best recruiting classes in program history at Miami in back-to-back seasons during his time in Coral Gables. Brunt was recognized as one of 50 Impactful Mid-Major Assistant Coaches by Silver Waves Media in 2020.
Brunt joined VCU following three seasons as assistant coach at Miami (Fla.), where he served as the team’s offensive coordinator. During Brunt’s tenure in Coral Gables, the Hurricanes reached the NCAA Tournament three times, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2016, and won 20 or more games each season. The 2015-16 team’s 27 wins were the second-most in school history, and that that squad finished the season ranked No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 10 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. The Hurricanes were ranked in the top 15 for a school-record 14 weeks that year.
He was an integral piece in landing the best recruiting classes in Miami history in back-to-back seasons. For the 2017-18 campaign, the staff inked three ESPN Top 100 players, including McDonald's All-American and Jordan Brand Classic All-American guard Lonnie Walker. That class was ranked seventh nationally by ESPN, eighth by Scout and 12th by Rivals. In 2016, Brunt helped the Hurricanes assemble a recruiting class that included McDonald’s All-American Dewan Huell, as well as Jordan Brand Classic All-American Bruce Brown. The group was ranked No. 9 by 247Sports, No. 10 by Scout, No. 13 by both ESPN and Rivals.
In 2015-16, Miami’s offense was ranked 11th nationally in adjusted efficiency. The Hurricanes averaged 75.2 points per game that season, fourth-most in the ACC. Under Brunt’s tutelage, Miami’s .479 field goal percentage that year was its best since the 1988-89 season. Miami’s .749 mark at the free throw line was the program’s best since the 2001-02 season.
Prior to Miami, Brunt spent 10 seasons on staff at Richmond. Brunt started at Richmond as director of operations in 2005 and was promoted to an assistant coach in 2007 and associate head coach in 2013.
Brunt helped guide Richmond to six postseason appearances, five 20-win seasons and final national rankings of No. 24 in 2009-10 and No. 21 in 2010-11. After winning their first Atlantic 10 Championship in 2010-11, the Spiders advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. In 2015, Brunt helped Richmond earn a top-four seed in the National Invitation Tournament, falling to eventual runner-up Miami in the quarterfinals.
In seven of Brunt’s final eight seasons at Richmond, the Spiders defeated 12 nationally-ranked opponents. From 2009-14, Richmond earned more wins than any other Atlantic 10 school, averaging 21.5 over that span. In addition to on-court coaching, Brunt was responsible for scheduling, which helped the Spiders consistently carve out a top-100 RPI, and aided Richmond’s march to an NCAA at-large bid in 2010. Richmond finished in the top-100 of the RPI in five of Brunt’s last six seasons. The Spiders finished 25th in RPI in 2010 and 41st in 2011.
In his six seasons as an assistant, Brunt was integral in signing some of the most highly touted recruits in school history, beating out Power Five programs in the process. In 2011, Richmond’s Justin Harper was selected 32nd overall in the NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Brunt also mentored Spider student-athletes in academics, helping the men’s basketball team achieve its highest GPA on record.
Before joining the Spiders basketball staff in the summer of 2005, Brunt was an assistant coach alongside Rhoades at Randolph-Macon for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. At Randolph-Macon, Brunt was involved in all aspects of coaching, including player development, recruiting, monitoring academics, film exchange and breakdown, opponent scouting and on-court coaching.
Brunt played four seasons as a guard for Rhoades from 1999-2003 and helped lift the Yellow Jackets to NCAA Division III Sweet 16 appearances in 2002 and 2003.
He received a bachelor’s degree in international relations with a concentration in business economics from Randolph-Macon in 2003. He is married to the former Erica Glasper. The couple has two daughters, Peyton and Price, as well as a son, Jalen.
Jamal Brunt Coaching History
2003-05 – Randolph-Macon, Assistant Coach
2005-07 – Richmond, Director of Operations
2007-13 – Richmond, Assistant Coach
2013-15 – Richmond, Associate Head Coach
2015-18 – Miami (Fla.), Assistant Coach
2018-21 – VCU, Assistant Coach
2021-23 – VCU, Associate Head Coach
2023-present – Penn State, Associate Head Coach