Women's Basketball

Michael Hootner, who played for Mesa College (CA) from 1988-1990, will enter his sixth year as the Lady Olympian Head Coach.

A fiery competitor and a dreamer himself, Coach Hootner demands that his players have a passion for the game and aren't afraid to dream. “I want these women to dream big,” said Coach Hootner. “In order to make those dreams come true, they have to be disciplined in the classroom, in their personal lives, and on the hardwood,” concluded Coach Hootner.

In Hootner's first thirteen years at the community college level, he is very proud of the many players he has helped continue their academic goals and playing careers at the 4-year level, including nine alone during his first four years on the women's side.

Some of these schools include, UC-Irvine, Cal Berkeley, Presbyterian, Liberty University, Cal State Dominguez, San Diego Christian, Susquehanna University, Polytechnic, Lehman College, East Central University, Holy Names, Fresno Pacific, Midwestern State University, Oklahoma Panhandle State University, Utah State, Colorado State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Cumberland College, St. Mary's of Kansas, and the University of Regina. While at Mesa, Hootner has coached two dozen All-Conference players, including 12 1st-Team All-Conference selections; three in the 2011-12 season.

Hootner's teams have won more games during each of the past four years (3,4,10, and 21), including it's first PCAC Title in 2011-12 since the 2001-02 season. During the 2011-12 year, the Olympians finished the year with a 17-game winning streak before bowing out to the #1 team in the state, Mt. San Antonio College in the second round of the CCCAA State Playoffs. Mesa finished with a 21-7 record overall and a 12-0 record in the PCAC. It was Coach Hootner's first PCAC Title since he took over the reigns in 2007.

Coach Hootner has also been a pioneer during his time at Mesa with regards to using the latest technology to help better market his student-athletes, the program, and Mesa College. Hootner decided in 2007 that he wanted to use the power of the internet to get information out to the masses. And that is exactly what he has done.

Hootner has used www.Facebook.com, www.Twitter.com, www.viddler.com, www.veoh.com and most recently, www.justin.tv/mhootner. The latter has been used to broadcast all home and away games live on the internet during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. Viddler and Veoh have several unedited, digital, full games saved online for anyone to view at anytime.

For the 2012-13 campaign, Mesa will broadcast all games at, qik.com/mesacollegewomensbasketball. "qik is a little more stable and clearer than Justin," said Olympian Head Coach, Michael Hootner.

“These (free) services have taken our program to a completely new level,” said Coach Hootner. “We have been able to market our players and the program in a whole new way and we feel this has given our players and the program an edge when it comes to helping players try and earn scholarships as well as with recruiting,” added Coach Hootner. This model has also helped the players and the coaching staff save time, money, and allow everyone to focus their energies on other things while still getting the most important information out to everyone instantaneously,” concluded Coach Hootner.

Coach Hootner has also helped many high school and college coaches use these services to help their programs. “It's always about the student-athletes,” said Coach Hootner. “So, anything we can do to help these young women live their dreams, even if they are from our rivals, we are going to do whatever we can to help them,” concluded Coach Hootner.

Prior to becoming the Head Women's Basketball Coach, Hootner spent eight years as the Associate Head Men's Basketball coach at Mesa under the tutelage of Head Coach Ed Helscher. From 2004-08, Coach Hootner also served as the Assistant Men's Tennis Coach.

Prior to returning to Mesa in 1999, Hootner served as the Assistant Men's Basketball Coach at Goucher College (MD) from 1994-1999. During Hootner's five years at Goucher, the Gophers went 100-38 while advancing to the NCAA Division III National Tournament three times, including three conference championships.

In Hootner's final three campaigns, the Gophers had back-to-back-to-back 20 win seasons by going 23-6, 20-7 and 23-5. The final year resulted in a school record for most wins and fewest losses. Hootner also coached three regional All-Americans and three Conference Players-of-the-Year.

In addition to his basketball responsibilities, Hootner also served as the Head Men's Tennis Coach for three years and Intramural Director for five. During his three year stint as tennis coach, Hootner led his team to 12-6 and 16-3 records during his final two years. The 16-3 record, a school record for most wins and fewest losses, included a team regional #11 ranking.

Hootner's coaching career began in 1992 at Frostburg State University (MD), where he spent two full campaigns with the Bobcats. Hootner's teams went 17-12 and 14-12 during those two years while advancing to the ECAC Championship during the 1992-1993 campaign.

Coach Hootner has also worked and directed several summer basketball camps including the Philadelphia 76ers, Metro-Index All-Stars, Syracuse University, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Mike Dunleavy, University of California at Irvine, George Lynch, the Nike All-Star Basketball Camp and several high school camps.

Following his two-year stint as a player at Mesa, Hootner transferred to Goucher College to play on the first team in the history of the program. Hootner averaged 13.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3 assists per contest in route to being named the first team ‘MVP' in school history.

In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Hootner is also the Head Men's Tennis Coach at Mesa while teaching Health, Online Health, Physical Education and Exercise Science classes at Mesa College and Grossmont College. In 2009, 2010, and 2011, his tennis teams have won back-to-back-to-back Pacific Coast Athletic Conference (PCAC) titles while winning 27 consecutive PCAC matches, dating back to 2008.

Hootner earned his A.A. degree in Journalism from Mesa College, his B.A. in Communication from Goucher College and his Master's Degree in Health and Physical Education from Frostburg State University.

Hootner resides in San Diego and is engaged to Heather Kiley. They have a daughter, Emelia Kiley. Hootner also has a stepson, Ethan Simley Jr.

Coach Bruton, who begins his sixth year on Coach Hootner's staff brings a wealth of knowledge to the players, on and off the court. Bruton, who owns his own marketing firm, currently works with high profile professional athletes in the NBA and NFL, as well as a number of corporate businesses such as Fatheads/LLC.

Prior to starting his own company, Bruton worked for The Upper Deck Company where he was the Vice President of Marketing.  During his time with Upper Deck, Bruton's marketing team managed exclusively the image, likeness and signature for Michael Jordan, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and Tiger Woods.

Despite having a great deal of success off the court, Bruton wanted to give something back to a sport he loves and played in college. “I wanted to give back to this wonderful game that has been so good to me over the years,” said Bruton.  “I love college basketball and hope I can share some of the lessons that I have learned along the way with our student-athletes.”

After playing scholastically at St. Laurence High School in Chicago, Bruton went on to play varsity basketball at St. Mary's University from 1981-1983, as well as for Ealing College in London, England, in 1984, where his team won the International Sports Tournament in Paris, France.

Coach D. has been a major reason why the Olympians have won more games each of the past four years. "Coach D. has great insight into the game has been with me since the beginning," said Olympian Head Coach, Michael Hootner. "He was a big reason why we had a 17-game winning streak and more than doubled our win total from a year ago," concluded Coach Hootner

Coach Bruton was an Assistant Men's Basketball Coach here at Mesa from 2002-2004. This is where he and Coach Hootner first met. “I'm very lucky that I was able to start this journey with Dan. He's made me a better person, a better coach and been instrumental in helping turn the program around,” said Coach Hootner. “Coach D. is a tremendous teacher of the game and a wonderful communicator,” concluded Coach Hootner.

Prior to his arrival at Mesa, Dan coached at University High School in Chicago, Illinois, during the 1998-1999 campaign, where the Lady Maroons finished 18-6, including a League Championship.

Bruton is a graduate of St. Mary's University in Winona, Minnesota, where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing and Management in 1985. He later went on to earn a Master's Degree in Business Administration from Loyola of Chicago in 1987.  

Bruton, a Chicago native, currently makes his home here in San Diego with his wife, Kathy.  They are expecting their first child in November.

Stephanie Cornell, who will begin her first year on Head Coach Michael Hootner's staff, comes to San Diego after spending the last two years as the Recreation Coorindator at ASI Recreation at Cal State East Bay.

In addition to her duties at Mesa, Cornell is also the Student Development Coordinator at the University of San Diego's Campus Recreation Department.

Cornell earned her Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Cal State East Bay in 2010. She played two years of college basketball at Sonoma State University prior to transferring to Cal State East Bay.