Sean Brown

Biography

Sean Brown enters his second year as the jumps coach with the UC Irvine track & field program in 2024-25. Previously, Brown was the Anteater’s pole vault coach (2022). This past season, Brown’s student-athletes produced two individual conference titles, three All-Big West awards and two NCAA West First Round qualifying marks. He mentored Kailah McKenzie, who was named the 2024 Big West Women’s Freshman of the Year. McKenzie brought home UCI’s first conference title in the high jump since 2009. She also made her way onto the podium in the long jump where she finished third. McKenzie (High Jump) and Kenechukwu Okonkwo (Triple Jump) qualified for the NCAA regional meet. During the indoor season, Reyna Johnson won the long jump at the MPSF Championships with a school-record 5.97 meters (19-7). Teammates Jolie Robinson (5.84m/19-2) and McKenzie (5.80m/19-0.5) also rank second and third, respectively, in indoor program history. Overall, Brown saw his student-athletes set 13 marks that rank among UCI’s all-time top-10 in his first year. Brown’s prior coaching experience was at his alma mater, Cal Poly, where in his first year as a grad assistant (1998), he coached Bianca Moran who became the Mustangs' first NCAA Champion in the women’s pole vault. In 1999, he coached Brad Pickett in his senior year. Pickett cleared 5.50m (18-0.5) and placed 10th at NCAA Championships. Brown then moved to Los Angeles to work with then UCLA pole vault coach Anthony Curran, where Brown continued to tra