Brown began his season by winning the gold medal at 2015 Ondrej Nepela Trophy. At his first Grand Prix event of the season, 2015 Skate America, he won the bronze medal after placing eighth in the short program and third in the free skate. He then won the silver medal at 2015 CS Ice Challenge. Brown withdrew from the 2015 NHK Trophy due to a back injury. He returned to the ice two weeks later but the injury resurfaced and forced him to withdraw from the 2016 U.S. Championships. On January 22, NBC Sports reported that he had petitioned U.S. Figure Skating for a spot on the world team despite his inability to compete at the national championships. His petition cited his world ranking, international experience and competitive record. The USFSA denied his petition and named Adam Rippon, Max Aaron and Nathan Chen, who was later replaced by Grant Hochstein due to injury.