University of Illinois Springfield Athletics

Matt Brock took the helm of the Prairie Stars men’s basketball program in the 2019–20 season and most recently completed the 2024–25 campaign. He holds a career head coaching record of 169–123.

In the last five years, Brock has transformed UIS into a winning program and a force to be reckoned with in the GLVC. 
 
In 2023-24, UIS finished with 18 wins, second most in the NCAA era, while playing one of the toughest schedules in the country. After a slow 1-4 start, the Stars won 10 of their next 11 games and for the second year in a row, received votes in the NABC Top 25 poll. UIS would go on to make their third consecutive trip to the GLVC Championship powered by the top offense in the league (1.18 OER) and one of the best shooting teams in all of NCAA Division II. The Prairie Stars were 2^nd nationally in three-point percentage and #3 in field goal percentage. 
 
Jordan Rice was selected first-team All-GLVC averaging 14.0 points per game and a team leading 4.7 assists per game. Jack Weber and Jacob Hanna were named second-team All-GLVC and Hanna was also named to the GLVC All-Defensive team for the second year in a row. Max Kunnert led the league and was #3 in NCAA Division II in three-point percentage shooting 48% from behind the arc on 85 makes.
 
2022-23 was exceptional year for UIS basketball. Despite being picked 9th by league coaches in the preseason, the Stars finished with a record 19 wins and record 13 GLVC wins to place 2nd in conference and gain the highest tournament seed ever in a GLVC Championship. A stunning 83-77 win at NCAA Division I Northern Illinois, the first ever win over a DI opponent, would be a precursor to the best season in UIS history.
 
Using its best ever start (8-1) Brock’s squad received votes for the first time in the NABC Top 25 poll. UIS would go on to win seven of their last eight games, moving into the NCAA Midwest Region rankings for the first time.
 
Brock's offense was one of the league’s best in 2022-23. The Prairie Stars were #1 in the GLVC in effective field goal percentage, 3pt makes per game and 3pt attempts. They used that shooting paired with an assist to turnover ratio and total turnovers both in the top ten in NCAA Division II, to a super-efficient 1.13 points per possession on offense. 
 
Weber was a unanimous selection on the first-team All-GLVC after leading the team in scoring and field goal percentage, Kunnert was recognized as second-team All-GLVC and Hanna made the All-Defensive team.
 
In 2021-22, Brock and the Prairie Stars finished the season with a 12-17 overall record. With 11 freshmen and sophomores on the roster, UIS had a seven-game winning streak during the campaign, its longest during its NCAA era. 
Brock helped Chase Robinson be named a second-team all-GLVC selection. Two Prairie Stars were included on the all-Freshmen team in Evan Altman and Rice, the third and fourth selections in the past three years.
 
Brock led UIS to an 8-12 record during the COVID-19 GLVC-only schedule in 2020-21. Weber was named to the GLVC All-Freshmen team and led the GLVC in field-goal percentage. 
 
In his first season in 2019-20, Brock led the Prairie Stars to a 14-14 record, the best mark for a first-year coach at UIS. The team’s biggest accomplishment was setting a program record by defeating three nationally-ranked teams, with two wins over Indianapolis, the number one team in the region, and the first-ever win over Bellarmine, which was ranked No. 8 in NCAA Division II at the time. UIS improved both its points per game and points allowed per game during the 2019-20 season. The offense was led from behind the arc where UIS ranked fifth in NCAA Division II with 12.3 three-pointers a game.
 
Brock helped Daniel Soetan to be named first-team All-GLVC, the second player in program history to earn that honor. Robinson was also honored on the GLVC All-Freshman team.
 
Off the court, the UIS men’s basketball team earned the NABC Team Academic Excellence award for the first time in 2019-20, and then repeated the honor in 2020-21 and 2022-23. The Stars had the highest team GPA in the GLVC in 2020-21 and received the GLVC Team Academic All-Conference award, which recognizes team GPA’s above 3.30 for the year. 
 
Prior to coming to UIS, Brock had been the head coach at Missouri Baptist, and he had a four-year record of 87-40. He took over a program that won just seven games in each of the previous two seasons, and led the Spartans to a 12-win improvement in his first season on the bench. After finishing above .500 in his second season, Missouri Baptist had back-to-back 20-win seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
 
In 2018-19, Brock led Missouri Baptist to its best season in program history. The Spartans finished the year with a 28-5 overall record, and it won the American Midwest Conference regular season title with a 19-3 mark. They reached the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in 14 years, and set school records for wins and the highest national ranking with a No. 3 mark.
 
Brock built his success at Missouri Baptist on the defensive side of the ball. The Spartans ranked in the top-20 in the NAIA in each of his four seasons in scoring defense, and they improved each year. In 2018-19, Missouri Baptist led the nation by allowing 60.7 points a game and a .378 field-goal percentage defense, and it was third with a .303 three-point field-goal percentage defense.
 
Brock’s players at Missouri Baptist earned six All-American honors and 11 all-conference awards in four seasons. In his final season, he coached the AMC Player of the Year, and Brock was named the conference Coach of the Year. Academically, Missouri Baptist has won the NABC Academic Excellence Award and the NAIA Scholar-Team Award in each of Brock’s seasons. In the fall 2018 semester, the basketball team set a program record with a 3.35 GPA.
 
Prior to coaching at Missouri Baptist, Brock was the associate head coach at Columbia College from 2012-2015. While he was at Columbia, the Cougars went 93-11, won two AMC regular season titles, two AMC postseason tournament titles, and advanced to three national tournaments. The 2012-13 team went 30-0 in the regular season and was ranked first in the NAIA National poll. Columbia led the nation in scoring defense in two of those seasons.
 
Brock coached at  NCAA Division II Pittsburg State from 2008-2012. The Gorillas improved by four wins in each of Brock’s final two seasons in Pittsburg, and they reached the MIAA Tournament Championship game in 2012.
 
Brock was also an assistant coach at Hannibal-LaGrange in 2007-2008, and was the head coach at Green City High School in 2006-07. His Hannibal-LaGrange squad picked up the most wins in eight seasons, and his Green City team won 20 games, and was the conference and district runner-up.
 
Brock played basketball at Truman State University. Brock was the team captain his senior year, and helped Truman State to 20 wins and a berth in the NCAA Division II National Tournament.
 
Brock graduated from Truman State in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science. He earned his Master of Arts in Education from Truman State in 2007.
 
Brock is originally from Camdenton, Mo., where he played high school basketball for his father, Skip, a member of the Missouri Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. His brother, Tomas Brock, is the head men’s basketball coach at Columbia College (MO). 
 
Brock and his wife, Sheryl, have three children, Hope, Matthew and Joel.

Brock Year-by-Year Head Coaching Record