John Brackett enters his 32nd season as head softball coach at North Carolina Wesleyan University and fourteenth as Academic Advisor for the Department of Athletics. Prior to accepting his advising position, Brackett served as head women's basketball coach for 20 seasons, and is currently the program's all time's winningest coach. During his time as head women's basketball coach, Brackett won conference coach of the year three times, and led his teams to two conference titles as well as two NCAA Tournament appearances. To go along with his women's basketball acolades, he also holds the career wins mark in softball, having recently eclipsed the 575-win mark during the 2022 season.

In softball, Brackett was named Conference Coach of the Year in 1996 after leading the Battling Bishops to their third straight regular season conference championship. He went on to earn East Region Coach of the Year accolades in 1998 after helping Wesleyan to a program-best 31-13 overall record and the team's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

Brackett then earned 2019 USA South Coach of The Year for leading his team to a Regular Season East Division Championship with 20 wins and a 12-4 conference record. 

Brackett's teams made it to the NCAA Regional Final in both 1998 and 1999 and narrowly missed the opportunity to compete in the College World Series. In 2006 and 2007, Brackett led NCWC to back-to-back 20-win seasons and coached the program's first All-American selection in the form of Ashlee Bass. At the 2009 USA South Conference Tournament, his Bishops made their second semifinal appearance in four years. Most recently in 2021, the Lady Bishops won the East Division Tournament Championship before falling  in the conference finals and just missing the opportunity to compete in the NCAA Tournament.

A native of Mechanicsville, Virginia, Brackett is an alum of North Carolina Wesleyan. He graduated with a degree in Psychology in 1988 after a four-year career with the Bishop men's basketball team. With over 25 years of service to the Department of Athletics, he became the 12th head coach to garner NCWC Hall of Fame induction in 2014 and the first to also call North Carolina Wesleyan his alma mater.

Brackett and his wife, Suzanne, have two children: Michael and Ashlee. The family currently resides in Rocky Mount.

SOFTBALL ACCOMPLISHMENTS UNDER JOHN BRACKETT

Conference Regular Season and/or Tournament Champions
1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2019, 2021

NCAA Tournament Regional Finalist
1998, 1999

Conference Runner-Up
1993, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2021

Regional Ranking
1997, 1998, 1999, 2019 

National Ranking
1997, 1998, 1999

* Best Record: 31-13 (1998)

* Numerous players named All-Conference, All-Tournament, and All-Region

* Numerous players named Academic All-Conference

* One player named All-American (Ashlee Bass)