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Woonsocket native, Brooke Cooper, named GM of Woo Sox, led rebranding effort from Pawtucket
Longtime official is first woman to hold the post in franchise history
Photo: Worcester Red Sox
The Worcester Red Sox today announced they have promoted Brooke Cooper to Executive Vice President/General Manager. Now in her 10th year with the club, the native of Woonsocket, RI, had been Senior Vice President/Assistant General Manager since 2022 after serving as the club’s Vice President/Marketing in 2021. Cooper, who holds an MBA from Providence College and bachelor’s degree in sports and recreation management from Franklin Pierce University, started her career with the Pawtucket Red Sox in 2015 as an intern in Merchandising. She later rose to Manager of Merchandising and Director of Marketing & Merchandising.
“I am both honored and excited to take on the role of General Manager for the Worcester Red Sox,” said Cooper. “I’ve gained an incredible education in the business of baseball over the past several years, having the distinct advantage of working closely with my predecessor, Dan Rea. I am thankful to Larry Lucchino and Charles Steinberg for continuing to entrust me with opportunities to grow and help lead this awesome organization.
“It’s a privilege to continue working with the dedicated and talented individuals at Polar Park who inspire me daily. Having enjoyed the past three seasons in Worcester, the passion for both baseball and community in this city and the surrounding region is truly remarkable, and something I am proud to be a part of.
“I am grateful to Diamond Baseball Holdings for their enthusiasm and belief in our organization and the larger world of Minor League Baseball, and excited for the ways in which they can help us amplify and further improve all that is great about WooSox baseball.”
Rebranding role
Blending her responsibilities in merchandising and marketing, Brooke spearheaded the rebranding when the club moved from Pawtucket to Worcester. She was instrumental in coordinating the WooSox inaugural merchandise launch at the Mercantile Center in November 2019. Cooper now heads the business management operations for the club.
“Brooke Cooper is a rising star in Minor League Baseball. She has earned universal respect within the organization because of her integrity, intelligence, and professionalism and we are absolutely thrilled to recognize the exceptional career she has built with her appointment as GM of the WooSox,” said Pat Battle and Peter Freund, Executive Chairman and CEO of Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH), majority owners of the WooSox. “The WooSox have created a beloved community gem with Polar Park and we are excited to watch Brooke lead the club into its best chapter yet.”
Cooper becomes the fourth woman to hold the position of General Manager among clubs owned by DBH, and the third at the helm of a Triple-A club. In addition to the Red Sox Triple-A franchise in Worcester, other female GM’s in the DBH roster include Katie Beekman (Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, New York Yankees Triple-A), Erin McCormick (Gwinnett Stripers, Atlanta Braves Triple-A) and Shelly Haenggi (Midland RockHounds, Oakland A’s Double-A).
“We have relished the rise of Brooke since meeting her in 2015,” said WooSox President Dr. Charles Steinberg. “In our early days in Pawtucket, I remember asking colleagues who might be our best person when it comes to organized, detail-oriented, thoughtful, compassionate work habits, and heads turned like dominoes as each of her colleagues said, ‘Brooke.’ Her integrity makes her trustworthy, and that quality is priceless.”
Cooper, 31, and her husband Ellis, have two sons, Braxton (3 years old) and Cole (3 months old). The outstanding athlete helped lead the Woonsocket High girls basketball team to a pair of Rhode Island State Championships in 2009 and 2010 and the girls soccer team to State Titles in 2008 and 2009. Cooper (nee: Coderre) was also Senior Class President. At Franklin Pierce, she played varsity basketball for four years as well.
Brooke played and loved Little League baseball as a child but switched her athletic focus to basketball once she recognized there wasn’t a clear path for her to pursue baseball any further. She grew up going to PawSox games at McCoy Stadium.
Cooper stood upon the stage at Minor League Baseball’s Winter Meetings in December 2021, when the WooSox received Minor League Baseball’s highest honors for Community Outreach and Latino and Hispanic Outreach after the inaugural season of the WooSox and of Polar Park.
Dan Rea, who previously served as the WooSox (and PawSox) Vice President/General Manager since November 2015, has transitioned to an expanded role within DBH where he will utilize his background as EVP of Business and Real Estate for the WooSox to focus on ballpark neighborhood development and growth.
Dan has overseen the day-to-day business functions of the WooSox while managing its relationship with the Boston Red Sox and has been the organization’s point person on real estate development around Worcester’s Polar Park. In this capacity Rea has served as a liaison to political, business, and community leaders in Central Massachusetts and beyond, including a stint on Governor Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito’s Economic Development Planning Council.
Prior to joining the PawSox, Dan spent 10 years with the Boston Red Sox, starting during his freshman year at Harvard and rising to Special Assistant to Red Sox President/CEO Larry Lucchino.
In their second and third seasons, the WooSox led all of Minor League Baseball’s 120 clubs in tickets sold and are the only club of the 120 to have sold more than 500,000 tickets each of the past two years. On Polar Park’s second anniversary, May 11, 2023, Ballpark Digest named Polar Park “Best Ballpark in Triple-A Baseball” in a vote of more than 87,000 fans.
The year-round community gathering place has also hosted high school and college football in the fall, high school and college baseball in the spring, and hundreds of community, family, and business events each year.