Hicks takes over as girls varsity head coach at Carroll

Carroll County girls basketball assistant Brandon Hicks has been named varsity head coach effective immediately and will hit the ground running with one-on-one workouts and strength conditioning for returning Lady Panthers next week.

Hicks, a varsity assistant to head coach Scott Anderson in recent years, has coached girls and boys basketball over the last 13 years as an assistant while two of his three children played the sport. When Anderson resigned as coach earlier this year to become Carroll County’s athletic director, Hicks agreed to take on the bigger role

“I just love working with kids and watching them improve their skills,” he said.

Hicks said he had to mull it over before applying for the head coaching position since he will no longer have a child playing basketball for the Panthers. However, his desire to stay involved in athletics and a love for the game helped him make his decision.

“We’re going to play an exciting style of basketball that the fans and community will enjoy watching,” he pledged.

“I am very excited to turn the program over to Brandon Hicks. His work ethic, coupled with his love of Carroll County, is a combination that will keep this program competitive for years to come,” said Anderson. “Our girls program couldn’t be in better hands than with Coach Hicks.”

The Panthers graduate their primary ball handler and floor general from last season and their leading scorer. Therefore, the identity of the team is still somewhat unknown, but Hicks to improve said one of the keys moving forward defense and he is ready to take on that challenge by having players in for one-on-one workout sessions and spending a lot of time getting stronger the weight room to help fill any voids in the lineup.

“We will be small again so we plan to play an up and down game. We will play fast and shoot a lot of three’s,” he said. “It’s going to be exciting. It’s not going to be slow basketball.”

Open gym begins next week and Hicks is encouraging anyone interested in playing basketball to attend.

The team will also attend a camp at Transylvania University in June, a program that won the NCAA Division III national championship in 2022-23 and went undefeated in 2022-24 before losing to eventual champion New York University in the national semifinals.

Brandon and his wife, Tessie, live in Carroll County and have a son and two daughters. Son, Austin, played for the Carroll boys and graduated in 2023 and oldest daughter, Madie, was a senior for the Carroll girls this past season.