John Brannen (basketball)

John Brannen (born September 7, 1973) is an American former college basketball coach and former player. He served as the head coach at Northern Kentucky University from 2015 to 2019 and at the University of Cincinnati from 2019 to 2021.

Brannen played college basketball at Marshall University, where he was a guard. Following his playing career, he began his coaching career as an assistant coach at various schools, including Eastern Kentucky University and the University of Alabama.

At Northern Kentucky, Brannen led the Norse to two Horizon League tournament titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances (2017 and 2019). He was named Horizon League Coach of the Year in 2017.

He was hired as the head coach at Cincinnati in April 2019, replacing Mick Cronin. In March 2021, Brannen was placed on paid administrative leave following allegations of NCAA violations within the program. He was subsequently fired by the university in April 2021 for cause. The specific allegations included impermissible text messages and phone calls to recruits, and payments to a family member of a recruit.