🔒Stepping up to the plate: Brooke Cooper’s climb through the WooSox depth chart has made her the first woman GM in franchise history

Brooke Cooper took a baseball bat to the proverbial glass ceiling in March, when she was named general manager and executive vice president of the Worcester Red Sox, becoming the first woman GM at any level in Red Sox franchise history in the process.

Rapidly climbing up the depth chart of then-Pawtucket Red Sox since first joining the club as an intern in 2015, Cooper’s emotional intelligence and communication skills had made her a great fit for the role, according to other top WooSox leadership. Cooper’s time with the ballclub has left an impression on employees who have been with the franchise for decades.

“About 12 years ago, Brooke applied for an internship with the Pawtucket Red Sox. We receive more than 500 applicants for about a dozen internship positions each season, and Brooke did not get a spot that year,” said Bill Wanless, WooSox vice president, communications, who has been with the franchise for 40 years. “The next year Brooke applied again, and I remember telling some of our people that we should absolutely hire her. She had been the captain of her high school soccer and basketball teams and led both teams to back-to-back state championships. Brooke was a winner then, and she’s been a winner ever since.”

Little league to minor leagues

A lifelong resident of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Cooper’s passion for sports began at a young age. She had an early interest in baseball, despite the fact her local youth league wasn’t used to accommodating female players.

“I found my little league certificate, and you could tell that there weren’t many girls in the league,” she said, “It said ‘We commend Brooke on his accomplishment.’”

Her attention later shifted more toward basketball and soccer. Following high school, she attended Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire, where she was a member of the basketball team. After her undergraduate studies, Cooper received her MBA from Providence College.

She had a strong desire to work in the nonprofit sector, driven by the idea of opening a community center in her hometown. But first, her MBA studies required a business internship.

When her first application for an internship with the PawSox resulted in rejection, Cooper was undeterred.

“The competitor in me was like ‘You know what? They rejected me the first time, and I'm gonna get it this time.’” Cooper said. “I applied again and was much more assertive, much more confident the second time around.”

After her second application with the PawSox was successful, she ended up as a merchandise intern. Cooper’s desk was isolated near the team pro shop at McCoy Stadium, away from the rest of the front office staff. Still, she found a way to leave an impression on members of the team’s leadership.

“You can either call it a baseball wonderland of merchandise or solitary confinement,” WooSox President Charles Steinberg said of Brooke’s initial workstation. “Both would be true. She wasn't able to interact that much, but she was able to interact enough that fellow colleagues had this great respect for her.”

Her time as intern made her realize the social impact of the ballclub could meet her desires to have an impact in the community.

By the time her grad school graduation rolled around, her attention was solely on the PawSox. Despite others telling her she should go to the ceremony, her focus was on that day’s game.

Starting full time as an assistant to the director of merchandising in 2015, Cooper quickly worked her way up the ranks. By 2019, as the team was preparing to make the move to Worcester it announced the previous year, Cooper was vice president of marketing.

After the club’s move to Worcester in 2021, she received her fourth promotion in six years when she was named the club’s senior vice president and assistant general manager in 2022.

The WooSox’s 2023 sale to Diamond Baseball Holdings, a New York-based sports ownership group, which has snatched up more than 40 Minor League Baseball franchises since its formation in 2021, ended up presenting another opportunity for career growth.

With former WooSox General Manager Dan Rea III moving on to a position with Diamond Baseball, the firm’s CEO Peter Freund asked Steinberg in a phone call who he had in mind to fill the position. Cooper was his first choice.

Freund “came into town, met with her and said, ‘I see what you mean. I get it. She's terrific,’” Steinberg said. “I had known Brooke for nine years at that point. What I didn't know was that putting her in the leadership position of executive vice president, general manager would actually create an environment where her leadership skills could flourish even more.”

Stepping up to the plate

Cooper was named to general manager and executive vice president in March. Despite being in her early 30s and her status as the first woman in the role in the franchise’s history, those who work with her say she instantly took to the role.

Cooper’s ability to read the room made her the perfect leader in the midst of an ownership change and around the time of the passing of Larry Lucchino, said Jack Verducci, executive vice president/corporate partnerships & sales of the WooSox.

A longtime baseball executive, Lucchino was the club’s principal owner before the sale and was still heavily involved in operations when he passed away in April.

“She had that emotional intelligence to understand this isn't necessarily business as usual,” Verducci said, referencing Diamond Baseball’s purchase and Lucchino’s passing. “People may be insecure about their jobs, and it was just a lot of change, which can be uncomfortable. But I knew Brooke could take on this challenge.”

As general manager of the franchise, her day-to-day life varies, particularly when comparing the season to the off-season. As a minor league GM, the focus is on the business side of operations, rather than managing players.

The season is dominated by the fast-paced nature of game day operations, while the off-season allows time for Cooper to lead the charge in finding clever new ways to entice fans to the ballpark.

The mother of two young sons in an industry still largely led by men, Cooper credits her husband Ellis Cooper with playing a key role in helping her balance her family obligations with the realities of a career, where rain delays and make-up days can wreak havoc on one’s plans.

“Baseball has no time clock, right?,” she said. “So you never know. It could be a quick game, and you're out in a little over two hours; or you could … have a rain delay, and six hours later and you're just wrapping up.”

The next inning

While minor league general managers focus most of their attention on the business side of operations, Cooper’s position working for a club one step away from Major League Baseball and the Boston Red Sox lead to frequent interactions with Brian Abraham. A Worcester native and College of the Holy Cross graduate, Abraham works as the Boston Red Sox’s director of player development.

With Cooper trying to put the most entertaining product on the field at Polar Park and Abraham focused on what’s best for Boston, there could be conflict. Instead, Abraham says working with Cooper is easy.

“We have constant communication about doing what is best for the affiliate in Worcester and for the fans in the community, but also, most importantly from my perspective, the players and the coaches so they can maximize their ability to ultimately get to Boston,” he said.

Abraham admires Cooper’s ability to be reasonable yet confident in her role.

“She's a great communicator, she's open, she's honest, and she's willing to have tough conversations with our staff or her staff, to make sure that we're putting the player and the coaches at the forefront, on top of making sure that she is fulfilling her duties as general manager,” he said.

The sports news publication The Athletic ranked the Red Sox’s farm system as the second best in all of baseball for 2025, meaning Cooper and Abraham likely will have many conversations about players coming and going from Worcester.

Considering her rapid rise through the ranks of the Boston Red Sox’s top minor league team, it’s fair to assume Cooper might follow in the footsteps of WooSox players and be called up to the majors.

For now, she’s more than content in Worcester and focused on personal growth.

“I'm really happy with where I am right now with our organization and the support we get in the city of Worcester,” Cooper said. “It's tough for me – who's usually a type-A planner – but for some reason in my career, I've very much just gone with the flow, and it's worked out. I can’t say I’d ever be against working for a major league team, but that’s not my goal.”

Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.