The Alcorn State University (ASU) Braves announced on March 23rd that they would not be renewing the contracts of Head Men’s Basketball Coach Montez Robinson and Head Women’s Basketball Coach Courtney Pruitt.
Robinson took the head coaching position in 2015 replacing Luther Riley. For the 2015-2016 season he had a 15-15 overall record and was 13-5 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). In the 2016-2017 season Robinson’s overall record improved to 18-14 and had yet another 13-5 record in SWAC play. During the season Robinson was named SWAC Coach of the Year. The 2017-2018 season did not bode well for Robinson with him finishing 11-21 overall and 8th in the SWAC with a 7-11 record. Robinson’s decline continued in the 2018-2019 season as he tied for 7th place in the SWAC with a 6-12 record and finished 10-21 overall. His last season (2019-2020) as Braves’ Head Coach saw him finish with a 15-15 overall record and tied for 7th place in the SWAC at 11-7. Robinson finished his coaching career with the Braves with a 69-86 (.445) overall record and a 50-40 (.556) SWAC record.
Pruitt became the Lady Braves’ coach during the 2015-2016 season. During that time she took the Lady Braves to the 2nd round of the SWAC Tournament, a feat that hadn’t been done since the 2011-2012 season. Pruitt coached stellar athletes such as Norianna Hayes who was the 2015-2016 SWAC Player of the Year. In the 2016-2017 season Pruitt coached Henrietta Wells who was named SWAC Defensive Player of the Year and Alexus Freeman who was named Newcomer of the Year. The 2017-2018 season saw Pruitt coach Tia Sanders in becoming the program’s single season leader in three points made with 70. The Lady Braves, in the 2018-2019 season, had a less than stellar overall record finishing 4-26 and 3-15 in SWAC play. Pruitt’s final season (2019-2020) saw a slight improvement with the team finishing 13-18 overall and 9-9 in SWAC. While at Alcorn Pruitt had a 49-102 record.
Derek Horne, Director of Athletics at ASU, stated, “We (Alcorn) will begin a national search immediately to identify their successors.”