Azusa Pacific University Athletics

Brooke Lincoln is entering her ninth season (2026) as head coach of the Azusa Pacific women's soccer program after taking over the program in January 2018.

During her tenure in the Canyon City, Lincoln has methodically rebuilt the program into a national contender, restoring the level of prominence it enjoyed throughout the 1990s and 2000s. The resurgence was highlighted by the Cougars' first-ever NCAA Division II Sweet 16 appearance in 2025, which came during their second consecutive NCAA Tournament berth.

Lincoln has guided Azusa Pacific to 6 consecutive winning seasons, the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance in 9 years, and its first Pacific West Conference championship under her leadership. She is coming off the most successful season of her tenure with the Cougars.

In 2025, Lincoln led Azusa Pacific to a 12-4-5 overall record and a PacWest-best 8-2 conference mark. She then guided the Cougars on a memorable NCAA Tournament run, opening with a victory over 2022 NCAA Division II national champion and conference rival Point Loma before defeating 2023 national champion and West Region No. 1 seed Western Washington in penalty kicks on its home field. The Cougars eventually fell to defending national champion Cal Poly Pomona in the Sweet 16.

During the season, Lincoln coached 10 All-PacWest selections and led the Cougars to 10 consecutive shutouts, surpassing the previous program record of nine set by the 2001 team.  All tolled, she has coached 25 all-conference players in her time at APU, including a freshman-of-the-year (Mayilen Salazar) and a defender-of-the-year (Sofie Emerson - 2025)

Lincoln's 2024 squad returned Azusa Pacific to the national stage by earning an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament despite narrowly missing the inaugural four-team PacWest Tournament. The Cougars finished fifth in a competitive conference race, posting an 8-3 conference record and a 12-4-1 overall mark. In the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, Azusa Pacific fell to defending national champion Western Washington in the final minute.

Since the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the Cougars have compiled a 52-21-17 record (.661 winning percentage) across 5 seasons, averaging more than 10 victories per year. Among the 6 coaches who have led the Azusa Pacific women's soccer program since its inception in 1989, Lincoln ranks second in career victories with 67. 

Lincoln arrived at Azusa Pacific after spending 5 years at NAIA member Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, where she became the program's first female head coach. In her first collegiate head coaching position, she transformed an Eagles program that had gone 25-35-3 over the previous 3 seasons, leading it to a 34-22-1 record over her first 3 years, including 2 Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships.

Her final Asbury team in 2017 posted a program-best 14-5-1 record and won the River States Conference Tournament, securing the program's third NAIA National Tournament appearance.

A 2007 graduate of Mississippi College, Lincoln earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education. She began her coaching career in 2008 at Terry High School in Mississippi, serving two seasons as head coach of the Bulldogs. She later returned to school to pursue a master's degree in sports administration at Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi, where she spent two years as a graduate assistant with the Blazers before accepting the head coaching position at Asbury.