WooSox promote longtime employee to be first female general manager in team history

Image | Courtesy of Worcester Red Sox Brooke Cooper, the executive vice president/general manager of the WooSox

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The Worcester Red Sox have promoted Brooke Cooper to the role of executive vice president and general manager. Cooper is the first woman to hold this position for the franchise, dating back to its founding in 1970 as the Pawtucket Red Sox.

With this promotion, Cooper becomes the third female general manager in Triple-A Minor League Baseball, according to a press release issued by the WooSox on Wednesday.

Cooper is taking over the role from Dan Rea, who had served in the role since 2015, before the team’s 2021 move to Worcester. Rea is moving on to a role with Diamond Baseball Holdings, the majority owner of the WooSox and 28 other Minor League Baseball teams. Rea’s new role will involve assisting Diamond with ballpark neighborhood growth and development.

“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,” Cooper said in the press release. “I am thankful to [Chairman] Larry Lucchino and [President] Charles Steinberg for continuing to entrust me with opportunities to grow and help lead this awesome organization.”

Cooper previously held the role of senior vice president and assistant general manager, a position she had held since 2022. She began her career with the team in 2015 as a merchandising intern, when the team was still located in Pawtucket.

“We have relished the rise of Brooke since meeting her in 2015,” Steinberg said in the press release. “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.”

A native of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Cooper holds an MBA from Providence College and a bachelor’s degree in sports and recreation management from Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire.