James "Travis" Brewster was announced as Chaminade University's women's basketball head coach on June 17, 2025, the sixth head coach in program history.

The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native has an extensive coaching resume in NCAA Divisions I and II and NAIA, totaling 26 years before arriving at Chaminade. He has compiled a 186-176 record in 12 years as a head coach.

Before arriving to Kalaepohaku, Brewster was the head coach at Division II Chadron State in Nebraska, for two seasons (2023-24, '24-25) where they had one of the toughest non-conference schedules in Division II in his second year, finishing 6-20 with their 12th place finish in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference being its highest in nine years. The Eagles were particularly dangerous from long range, dropping 165 3-pointers, the program’s most since 2010, an average of 6.3 per game, ranking seventh in the conference.
 
Prior to his time at Chadron State, Brewster was head coach at Saint Xavier University in Chicago, compiling a 45-16 mark during the 2021-22 and ’22-23 seasons. In his first year, the Cougars were 25-7, captured the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season title with a 21-1 mark and earned a berth in the NAIA National Tournament.
 
Brewster spent eight years running the helm at Division I University of North Dakota from 2012 through 2020, going 128-120 with the Fighting Hawks. A two-time Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year, his teams captured two regular season co-championships, a Big Sky tournament title and the program’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. He also led North Dakota to three more postseason appearances in the WNIT and Women’s Basketball Invitational. Among UND's notable victories includes a Dec. 2012 upset at Utah of the Pac-12 Conference, the program's first-ever win over a Power Five member.

Player development was an intricate part of Brewster's success at North Dakota and that ideology paid dividends with forward Lexi Klabo, a two-time All-Summit League selection, the member of the Hawks named to the all-Summit League. Prior to the start of the 2018-19 season, Klabo was named to the Cheryl Miller Award Preseason Watch List by the Naismith Hall of Fame and WBCA. She backed up her candidacy with 18.2 points, 8.2 rebound and 1.6 block averages, finishing as a top-10 finalist for the award in Feb. 2019 and was the only player from a mid-major conference named as a finalist.

In six consecutive years at North Dakota, Brewester had a member of his teams named first-team all-conference; Klabo (Summit League 2018-19); Makailah Dyer (Big Sky, 2017), Mia Lloyd (Big Sky, 2015-16) and Madi Buck (Big Sky 2014).

Brewster had two different stints as an assistant at UND, the first in 2001-02 with the men’s program then moved to the women from 2002-06. He returned in 2008 then promoted to Associate Head Coach a year later before being elevated to the head coaching spot in 2012.

He also had assistant coaching roles at Division I schools Idaho State (2020-21), South Dakota State (2007-08) and Milwaukee (2006-07).

Brewster played at Iowa Lakes Community College for two years (1989-91) before transferring to Charleston Southern University in South Carolina for two seasons (1991-93) where he was a tri-captain and defensive MVP.
 
Following graduation, Brewster played professionally in Switzerland and Ireland before coming back to the United States to pursue a coaching career, where his first venture in the profession was returning to Iowa Lakes CC as a men’s assistant for three years. It included the 1999-2000 squad which was inducted into the school's athletics Hall of Fame in 2025.

Brewster and his wife, Rebecca, have three children; daughter Reganne; and sons Drake and Kaid.

HONORS:
2021-22 (Saint Xavier):  Chicagoland and IBCA Coach of the Year
2016-17 (North Dakota):  Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year, first-ever appearance in the WNIT
2015-16 (North Dakota):  WBI appearances (first in school history to win a postseason game)
2013-14 (North Dakota):  Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year, school's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance
 

Brewster's Coaching Record

Season	School	Overall	Pct.	Conf.	Pct.	Conf. Finish	Postseason
2012-13	North Dakota	11-18	.379	6-14	.300	T-9th
2013-14	North Dakota	22-10	.688	15-5	.750	T-1st	Big Sky Reg./Tourn. Champs; NCAA Tournament, 1st Round
2014-15	North Dakota	17-15	.531	9-9	.500	T-5th	WBI 1st Round
2015-16	North Dakota	19-14	.576	13-5	.722	T-2nd	WBI Quarterfinals
2016-17	North Dakota	20-11	.645	15-3	.833	T-1st	Big Sky Champions, WNIT 1st Round
2017-18	North Dakota	12-18	.400	5-13	.278	T-9th
2018-19	North Dakota	12-19	.387	6-10	.375	6th
2019-20	North Dakota	15-15	.500	6-10	.375	7th
	UND TOTAL (8 yrs.)	128-120	.516	75-69	.521
2021-22	Saint Xavier	25-7	.781	21-1	.955	1st	CCAC Champions, NAIA Opening Round
2022-23	Saint Xavier	20-9	.690	16-4	.800	T-4th
	SXU TOTAL (2 yrs.)	45-16	.738	37-5	.881
2023-24	Chadron State	6-20	.231	4-18	.182	14th
2024-25	Chadron State	6-20	.231	5-15	.250	T-12th
	CSC TOTAL (2 yrs.)	12-40	.231	9-33	.273
	CAREER (12 yrs.)	185-176	.512	121-107	.531