After a National search, Hiram College Athletics, and Director of Athletics Ellen Dempsey, are pleased to announce that Phil Brua will take the reins of the Terrier baseball program for the 2018-19 academic year.
Brua starts his first stint as a head coach after taking over for Howard Jenter, who retired following the 2018 season.
"We are very excited for Phil to begin the new chapter of Hiram Terrier baseball," remarked Dempsey on the hire. "Throughout the entire interview process, Phil continued to stand out to the search committee thanks to his experience in building winning cultures. His positive energy and his desire to cultivate a successful program pushed him to the forefront of the candidate pool."
Coach Brua begins his tenure with Hiram after serving two seasons at Pomona-Pitzer, a Division III affiliate of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
In two seasons with the Sagehens, Brua served as the main assistant, while also spending the fall of 2017 as the interim head coach.
Brua helped Guide Pomona-Pitzer to winning records in one of the two campaigns. In 2018, the Sagehens earned their way into the SCIAC Championship Tournament, posting a 12-win mark in conference play.
Additionally, in his two seasons, Pomona-Pitzer saw five earn all-conference honors; two garner All-Region selections; and one player named an All-American.
Under Brua's tutlage, Tanner Nishioka was also named the SIAC Player of the Year before going on to be drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the ninth round of the MLB draft. Along with Nishioka, right-handed pitcher David Gerics signed a minor-league contract with the Minnesota Twins organization.
Along with his west-coast experience, Brua, a native of Avon, Ohio, has a familiarity with the North Coast Athletic Conference.
A graduate of Oberlin College in 2011, Brua was a four-year member of the Yeomen baseball program. Currently, he still holds the record for pitching appearances (65) and ranks second in career wins (15).
Following his collegiate playing career, Brua went on to play two years of professional baseball in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. Pitching between short-season Class A Vancouver and full-season Class A Lansing, Brua compiled a record of 12-2 to go along with six saves and a 3.80 ERA. He appeared in 56 games as a professional, and in 2011 he helped the Vancouver Canadians win the North West League Championship.
Following his playing days, Brua spent three seasons on the coaching staff at Oberlin, helping lead the Yeomen to a NCAC Championship Tournament title in 2015.
While at Oberlin, Brua mentored Mike McDonald '14 to All-NCAC First-Team and Third-Team All Region selections. In 2015 he guided Sean Kiley '18 and Milo Sklar '18 to All-NCAC Tournament team honors. Sklar, who was tournament MVP, also earned Second-Team All-NCAC in 2016.
After two years away from the state of Ohio, Brua returns to the North Coast Athletic Conference and takes the reins of the Terrier program that looks for a fresh start.
Brua becomes just the third head baseball coach for Hiram since 1960.