When Mike Brandt picked up his family and moved them 1,532 miles cross country, no one could question his desire to compete at a high level or his commitment to winning.  

As Brandt begins his sixth season at the helm of the USC Aiken women’s basketball program, he has the Lady Pacers poised for another Peach Belt Conference championship run.

Known as an intelligent basketball mind, a compassionate human being, and an involved member of the community, Brandt took over an up-and-coming program at USCA and continues to elevate it.  

“Mike Brandt is not only a successful coach in terms of wins and losses, but he exhibits all the qualities we want in one of our head coaches,” said Randy Warrick, USCA Athletic Director.  

Brandt has continued to use a philosophy of bringing academically and athletically talented student-athletes into the program at USCA.

Many enter as freshmen out of high school and stay until they graduate.  Some junior college transfers fill in as well, but only the right kind of student-athlete will fit.  

Based on a core of seasoned sophomores and juniors, Brandt’s Lady Pacers posted a 20-9 season in 2006-07 including an 11-5 mark in the tough Peach Belt Conference, good enough for the program’s first PBC North Division Title in five years and an outright second-place finish overall.  

During the 2005-06 campaign, Brandt put one of the youngest teams in the league on the floor, experiencing plenty of highs and lows, finishing 11-17 overall and 7-13 in the PBC, snapping the program’s streak of six-straight non-losing seasons.  

In 2004-05, Brandt led USCA to a 19-13 overall record and the team’s second berth in the NCAA Tournament.  In addition, the Lady Pacers were a factor in the conference race finishing 9-7, nearly winning the North Division title.  

The Lady Pacers bolted out of the starting gate in 2003-04 to the tune of a 7-2 record.  A buzzer beater away from upsetting Division I Georgia Southern, USCA had 11 losses by seven points or less leaving the team’s final tally at 14-14 overall (6-10 PBC).  

In his first season, Brandt led the team to a 19-13 overall record, just one win shy of its third consecutive 20-win campaign.

The .594 winning percentage in his rookie season was the second best among new coaches in school history.  In Dru McPherson’s only year, she posted a .630 winning percentage.  The 19 wins, however, was the most ever by a first-year coach.  

Prior to coming to USC Aiken, Brandt was regarded as one of the top junior college women’s basketball coaches in the country.  

In 2001-02, while the Lady Pacers were making the school’s first trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament, Brandt was taking the Plainswomen of Northeastern Junior College “dancing” for the 12th-straight time.

In his final season at NJC, Brandt guided the Plainswomen to a 29-7 record, a NJCAA regional championship, and a number nine finish at the NJCAA national championships.  Brandt was named the NJCAA District G Coach of the Year.  

Brandt, 253-129 in 13 seasons at NJC, posted 12 consecutive winning seasons and eight 20-win seasons.
His teams at least shared a sub-regional championship or better each year and he coached five NJCAA All-Americans.  
But success on the hardwood is not all that Mike Brandt is about.  Success in the classroom by his student-athletes is important as well.

Point guard Sarah Kendrick was selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-American Third-Team in 2003-04 while Mindy Allee was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District as a junior in 2005-06.  

Kendrick was also honored as the Peach Belt Conference’s Outstanding Female Student-Athlete of the Year, a first for USC Aiken.  

In 2003, Jami Cornwell was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Second-Team for the third-straight year and 10 Lady Pacers were named to the AD’s Honor Roll.  

Brandt’s 2001-02 Northeastern team finished 11th in the WBCA Academic Top 25 Honor Roll for Junior/Community Colleges with a 3.22 team GPA.  He has had over 53 student-athletes earn academic recognition.

Brandt began his collegiate playing career at Northeastern (1981-83) where he led the Plainsmen to a 26-7 record as a sophomore.  After transferring to Sterling College in Sterling, Kan., he finished out his playing career and earned his Bachelor’s of Science in Physical Education with a minor in Computer Science in 1986.  Brandt continued on to receive his Master’s of Education degree from Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan., in 1988.

A dedicated family man, Brandt and his wife Gina are the parents of two children, Jaiden Lee Patriot, age 16, and Amaura Lyn America, age 13.  The Brandt family has basketball in the bloodlines with Jaiden and Amaura playing basketball for Augusta Christian High School.  Gina serves as the head volleyball coach at North Augusta High School.  

The family is involved in the Aiken community and are active members of Millbrook Baptist Church.

Cindy Hilbrich begins her first season as assistant women’s basketball coach at USC Aiken.  

Hilbrich comes to the Lady Pacers after spending the 2006-07 season as an assistant coach on the Mount Olive College staff, an NCAA Division II institution in North Carolina.  She helped lead the Trojans to a 15-13 record in the competitive Conference Carolinas (formerly the CVAC).  

Prior to her time at Mount Olive, Hilbrich was a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in 2005-06.

She has also been a coach in the high school ranks, serving as the junior varsity head coach and varsity assistant coach at Johnson Creek High School in Wisconsin from November 2003 to August 2005.

Hilbrich is a 2002 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she played both basketball and softball (1998-2002).  

A member of the Division III program, Hilbrich was a point guard who finished her career 10th in steals and earned the Coach’s Award and the Hustle Award.   

At USC Aiken, Hilbrich coordinates recruiting, oversees the Lady Pacers academic program, and assists in on the court coaching.