After spending five seasons at South Dakota State University under Eric Henderson, Billy Brown joined Drake as an assistant coach in April of 2025. At SDSU, he spent two years as a graduate assistant and two more as Director of Player Development before becoming an assistant coach in his final season, which is the role he carried over to Drake.
Brown was part of four regular season title teams along with two NCAA Tournament squads while in Brookings. He played an integral part to SDSU having a run of 14 consecutive seasons with First Team All-Summit League performers.
A native of Spirit Lake, Iowa, Brown was a four-year letterwinner at the University of North Dakota. He started all 63 games over the final two years of his career for the Fighting Hawks. As a senior in 2019-20, he led the team with 32 steals, and as a junior, his .458 success rate on 3-pointers was a team high.
Brown was named to the Iowa Newspaper Association All-State second team as a senior in high school. He ranked fourth among all Class 3A players in scoring at 21.7 points per game and first in assists, tallying 5.6 per game.
Brown earned his bachelor's degree in banking and financial economics at UND. He completed his master's degree in sport and recreation administration at SDSU in 2022. His younger sister, Anna, played for the Drake women’s basketball team during the 2023-24 season as a graduate transfer.
