New Leadership For Mountain Brook Hoops

MOUNTAIN BROOK, AL — A changing of the guard has occurred for Mountain Brook High School basketball over the last several weeks, as the school hired new head coaches for both the boys and girls teams.

The Mountain Brook Board of Education in May approved the hiring of Sara Halasz as Mountain Brook High School's varsity girls head basketball coach. Halasz held the same position for the past four seasons at Pinson Valley High School.

Halasz enjoyed a stellar playing career from 2008-09 to 2013-14 at the University of New Mexico, where she earned both bachelor's and master's degrees. She tallied more than 1,000 points and 500 rebounds as a guard for the Lobos. Following her collegiate career, Halasz played professionally in Germany and the Czech Republic before she started coaching.

"Mountain Brook has shown they have lofty goals not just for their students but for their athletes as well," Halasz said. "That's good to see, and we are looking forward to achieving those goals."

Earlier this week, the school board approved the promotion of Tyler Davis to Mountain Brook High School varsity boys basketball head coach. Davis coached the junior varsity boys team and served as a varsity assistant for the past 11 seasons.

"Coach Davis is a wonderful person and already has a great working relationship with everyone in our athletic department," MBHS Athletics Director Benny Eaves said. "He is a loving and committed father and husband — someone with a great appreciation of the responsibility the position holds and is committed to developing our student-athletes, not just athletically, but socially and emotionally as well."

As a varsity assistant to former head coach Bucky McMillan, Davis played a key role in the Spartans’ rise to national prominence over the past decade. Mountain Brook advanced to seven state finals and won five state championships from 2013-2020. In 2019, the team ended the season ranked fifth nationally by USA Today.

"I’m honored and humbled to be a part of and lead this program," Davis said. "I take this responsibility seriously and will continue to work hard as we strive to reach new heights."

Davis starred as a point guard at Concord High School in Elkhart, Indiana, and earned a full basketball scholarship to Samford University. He played for the Bulldogs from 1994-98 before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in physical education.

Davis began his coaching career in 1999 at Vestavia Hills High School, where he led the JV program and assisted with the varsity program during his nine-year tenure. He came to Mountain Brook in 2008 and coached the Mountain Brook Junior High ninth-grade team for one year. He then moved into his long-held role with the JV and varsity squads.

Davis said plans to continue building the winning culture he helped establish with McMillan, who was hired this spring as the Samford men’s basketball coach.

"We’re not going to change very much. We’re going to come in here, work hard, press, play fast on offense," Davis said. "I think it will be a smooth transition."

While many people point to the similarities between McMillan and Davis, one aspect Davis brings to the table is the fact that he is a father and therefore relates to players differently than McMillan.

"I think maybe that is the biggest difference between us," Davis said Thursday. "But you'd probably have to ask the players what they think."