Brian Green completed his fourth season leading the Cougars after being named the 17th baseball coach in Washington State history June 3, 2019.
In four seasons leading the Cougars, Green led WSU to four-straight winning seasons, produced three MLB Draft picks, a two-time All-American, 32 Pac-12 Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll selections, six Academic All-District selections, three Academic All-Americans and 11 All-Pac-12 selections.
The 2023 season saw the Cougars post a 29-23 record including a 10-19 mark in Pac-12 Conference play, the 29 wins were the most since 2015. WSU started the season 11-1 for its best start since 1980, opened league play by taking two of three at No. 15 Oregon State for the first series win in Corvallis since 2009 and appeared No. 20 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper the following week, WSU’s first national ranking since 2010. Green saw the Cougars go on to post series wins over No. 12 UCLA, Arizona, at California, WCC champion Santa Clara and claimed the season series over Gonzaga, 2-1. WSU put up impressive numbers in all three phases, hitting the tenth-most home runs in program history (54), recording the most stolen bases since 2015 (70), was hit by the pitch the third-most in program history (92), fielded at a .974 clip for the fourth-best fielding percentage in program history and the pitching staff set the strikeout record for the second straight season (518).
Following the season, five Cougars received All-Pac-12 recognition led by two-time All-West Region designated hitter Jacob McKeon who was also named an Academic All-American and the Pac-12 Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Three Cougars earned Academic All-District accolades and WSU posted a program-record 3.21 team GPA during the fall semester. In the community, for the second-straight year WSU partnered with WSU ROAR, a two-year postsecondary education program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, to host a Lentil Cookoff at Bailey-Brayton Field.
In 2022, WSU posted their third straight winning season with a 27-26 record and closed the year with series wins in four of the final five weekends, clinching series at No. 10 Oregon, USC, Utah Valley and wrapped up the season with the first sweep over Arizona State in program history. The Cougars posted a pair of road series wins over Top-10 teams for the first time in program history after taking two of three at ninth-ranked Arizona and No. 10 Oregon, notching road series wins in Tucson and Eugene for the first time since 2012. Green also saw his club post its first series win over USC since 2014, record a walkoff win against No. 4 Oregon State for WSU’s first win over a Top-5 team since 2014, and the 11-6 win over eventual College World Series participant Texas A&M at the Frisco Classic in Texas was career win No. 200 for Green.
Following the season, three players earned All-Pac-12 Conference honors highlighted by designated hitter Jacob McKeon who earned first-team honors and was later named to the ABCA All-West Region Second Team. On the mound, WSU set a program record for strikeouts with 473, relievers Chase Grillo and Cam Liss each tied for the fourth-most appearances in WSU history and starter Grant Taylor closed the season with Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors after firing a two-hit shutout over Arizona State, WSU’s first shutout performance since 2018. The Cougars continued to send players to the professional ranks as catcher Jake Meyer signed a free agent contract with Colorado Rockies while 2021 second-round pick Kyle Manzardo was named the Tampa Bay Rays Minor League Player of the Year.
Green’s program continued to produce impressive numbers off the field, in the community and in the classroom. WSU placed nine on the Pac-12 Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll led by McKeon and infielder Jack Smith who each earned CoSIDA Academic All-America accolades with Smith named to the first team and McKeon to the second, the first set of Cougar teammates to earn Academic All-America in the same season since 1973. As a team, the Cougars posted 3.14 team GPA in the fall and spring semesters, their highest spring semester team GPA in program history. Off the field, Green and the Cougars debuted the RV Tailgate program and enjoyed record numbers in the stands highlighted by the 3,609 fans who attended the home-opening series against Oregon State set a program record for a home-opening series attendance. In the community, WSU partnered with WSU ROAR, a two-year postsecondary education program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, to host a Lentil Cookoff at Bailey-Brayton Field.
In just his second season leading the Cougars, Green guided WSU to its first winning season since 2015 and the most Pac-12 Conference wins since 2014 after posting conference series wins at Utah, at California, against No. 8 Oregon and Washington. WSU went 26-23 overall and 13-17 in conference play while tying for the most road wins (16) by any Power-5 Conference team. In the classroom, Green saw his team post a program-record 3.09 GPA in the fall semester as 30 players recorded a GPA of 3.0 or higher and 17 players earned Pac-12 Spring Academic Honor Roll honors. Green also signed his second-straight nationally ranked recruiting class for the 2022 season including the best junior college class in the country according to JBB baseball. Also in 2021, Green served as the West Region representative on the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-American Committee.
Green saw his offense finish the 2021 season leading the Pac-12 and fifth in the country in doubles-per-game (2.4), second in the conference in hitting (.302), third in extra-base hits (101) and third in scoring (7.2 runs/g) while pacing the league with 74 doubles in conference games. First baseman Kyle Manzardo was named to the All-America First Team by Collegiate baseball, earning All-America honors for the second straight season after hitting .365 with 19 doubles, 11 home runs and 60 RBI, the first Cougar with 60 RBI since 2008. The Cougar pitching staff produced a pair of Major League Baseball draft picks; Zane Mills (4th) and Brandon White (12th), Mills won two Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week awards and reliever Michael Newstrom set the program record for appearances while the staff finished fifth in the Pac-12 in strikeouts-per-game (9.3) and recorded the second-most strikeouts (437) in program history.
The Cougars produced three draft picks in 2021 led by two-time All-American Manzardo who was selected in the second round and No. 63 overall by the Tampa Bay Rays, the highest Cougar draft pick since 1991. Manzardo was joined by Zane Mills (4th round, St. Louis) and Brandon White (12th round, Miami) to give WSU three draft picks in the first 12 rounds for the first time since 1977. Green also saw three players earn All-Pac-12 Conference honors as Manzardo and designated hitter Tristan Peterson were named the All-Pac-12 team while catcher Jake Meyer received honorable mention, the first Cougar catcher to earn all-conference honors since 2013.
Green’s first season with the Cougars was limited to just 16 games due the COVID-19 pandemic but saw WSU post impressive numbers on and off the field. Green and his coaching staff focused on building a culture as the Cougars connected with the Pullman community immediately in Green’s first fall semester at WSU, volunteering with a number of organizations including the Salvation Army and Whitman County Special Olympics. In the classroom, 22 players posted a fall semester GPA of 3.0 of higher and the team combined for a 3.05 team GPA, the highest team GPA in program history.
The culture Green created in the fall carried over into the spring as the Cougars opened the 2020 season claiming a 5-2 win at CSU Bakersfield, WSU’s first season-opening win since 2011. Washington State tallied three wins in their final at-bats, recorded a series win over Rutgers in Arizona, the first series-win over a Big Ten Conference opponent in program history, and followed with a four-game series sweep of Niagara at Bailey-Brayton Field. The Cougars went 9-7 overall, won seven of their final nine games and went 4-1 at home.
WSU finished the season third in the Pac-12 in hits, home runs and hit-by-pitches and tied for second in the country in sacrifice bunts. Individually, first baseman Kyle Manzardo was named to the All-America Third Team by Collegiate Baseball, becoming WSU’s first since 2006 after finishing the shortened season with a .435 batting average, seven doubles, three home runs, 14 RBI, a .500 on-base percentage and a Pac-12 best 27 hits. The pitching staff posted improved numbers in nearly every category in the first season under Green led by Zane Mills who tied for third in wins, was fourth in strikeouts and was seventh in batting average against while senior A.J. Block made the most of his decision to return to school after being drafted in the 17th round the prior summer. Block led the Pac-12 in innings, tied for second in strikeouts and became the first Cougar pitcher in the last 33-plus seasons to record 10-strikeout games in three straight starts.
In the 2020 Major League Baseball Draft, Green saw one of his former players make history as New Mexico State infielder Nick Gonzales, the 2020 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper National Player of the Year, was selected as the seventh overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates, becoming the highest drafted player in program history. For the Cougars, with the MLB Draft limited to just five rounds, WSU senior lefthander A.J. Block signed a free agent contract with the Kansas City Royals.
On the recruiting front in his first season with the Cougars, WSU signed the fifth-ranked junior college recruiting class led by a Preseason Junior College Two-Way Player of the Year and also signed four of the Top-10 high school prospects in the state of Washington. The entire 2021 class was ranked the No. 29 recruiting class in the country by Collegiate Baseball, ahead of conference foes Oregon State, Oregon, California and Washington, along with SEC members Texas A&M and Kentucky. Green continued the recruiting success with an impressive 2022 signing class, signing the nation’s best junior college class according to JBB.
Green spent the previous five seasons as the head coach at his alma mater New Mexico State where he led the Aggies to a 2019 Western Athletic Conference regular-season championship and an NCAA Regional appearance in 2018. Green led NMSU to an historic four-year stretch that saw the Aggies record 34 wins or more in each of the last four seasons and also signed four-straight nationally recognized recruiting classes along the way. Green has appeared in seven NCAA Regionals as a head coach or assistant coach at the Division I level.
In his five years at NMSU, Green produced nine All-Americans including three 2019 first-team selections, 26 All-WAC honorees, a pair of Player of the Year selections, one Pitcher of the Year, one Freshman of the Year and 22 WAC All-Academic selections. Since 2016, Green helped send 12 players to the professional ranks, including a trio of top six round picks the last three years.
Green’s offense finished the 2019 regular season with a NMSU-record .356 batting average and led the country in batting average, runs, runs per game, hits, triples, on base percentage, slugging percentage and hit by pitch. Individually, shortstop Joey Ortiz was named the WAC Player of the Year, a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award (best shortstop in the country) and Dick Howser Award (best player in the country) while second baseman Nick Gonzales was also a semifinalist for the Howser Award and the Golden Spikes Award (national player of the year).
Defensively, the Aggies posted an impressive .974 fielding percentage a year after breaking the single-season school record with a .977 clip in 2018. On the mound, Green watched Chance Hroch put together one of the best seasons by an Aggie pitcher in program history, finishing with a 10-1 mark and a 2.74 ERA in 15 starts while earning first team All-Conference accolades.
Off the field, Green's program earned the NMSU Athletics Community Service Award for the fourth straight year in 2019 and set the program attendance record for the fourth time since 2015. The program accumulated over 6,000 hours of Community Service since Green took over the program. The Aggies partnered with Special Olympics New Mexico, the Meca Miracles and the Las Cruces Special Needs in establishing each groups specific day at the ballpark to interact with the Aggie Players. In the fall of 2015, NM State Baseball was recognized for Community outreach with their video production of “Special Needs Day”.
The Aggies excelled in the classroom since Green took over in the fall of 2014, posting a cumulative team GPA of 3.01, placing 13 players on the WAC All-Academic team and 34 Aggie ball players were named Crimson Scholars.
Green guided the Aggies to a historic season in 2018, leading the team to a 40-22 overall record, a 17-7 mark in WAC play, the first WAC Tournament title and the fourth NCAA Regional appearance in program history. In his second season, Green guided the Aggies to the best win improvement in all of college baseball. The turnaround was a few wins shy of the biggest turnaround in NCAA history. After compiling a record of 11-38-1 in 2015, Green and the Aggies finished 2016 with a record of 34-23.
NMSU placed seven players on the 2018 All-Conference Team and three claimed All-American honors, Jonathan Groff became the first conference pitcher of the year in program history while Nick Gonzales earned WAC Freshman of the Year honors, the first Aggie to receive the honor in the school’s history in the WAC. Groff, pitcher Kyle Bradish and Gonzales all captured All-American honors with Groff earning Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Second Team honors while Bradish was named a third-team selection by Perfect Game/Rawlings and Gonzales captured Freshman All-American honors from three different publications (Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, NCBWA and Perfect Game/Rawlings).
In June of 2018, Bradish became the highest drafted player in program history when the Los Angeles Angels selected him in the fourth round (121 overall). Bradish became the third Aggie since 2016 to be drafted in the top six rounds.
In 2017, Green led the Aggies to a 35-20 overall record and 19-5 mark in Western Athletic Conference in 2017. At season's end, NMSU ranked in the top-25 nationally in multiple categories. Under Green’s leadership the Aggies saw seven players earn postseason honors, the most in school history since 2012. Behind the plate, Fishback earned a Second-Team All-American nod from the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Sakurai was also named to the Midwest All-Region Second-Team as voted on by members of the. Following the season, pitcher Marcel Renteria was selected in the sixth round by the New York Mets, just the fifth NMSU player all-time to be drafted in the first 10 rounds.
In just his second season, Green helped guide the Aggies to the best win improvement in all of college baseball. The turnaround was a few wins shy of the biggest turnaround in NCAA history. After compiling a record of 11-38-1 in 2015, Green and the Aggies finished 2016 with a record of 34-23. Among the 34 wins was a road upset of nationally ranked and eventual College World Series participant, Texas Tech.
In the offseason leading up to the 2016 campaign, Green and his staff were recognized for having the 37th-best recruiting class in the country as rated by Collegiate Baseball. Green didn’t stop there as Collegiate Baseball ranked their 2017 recruiting class 33rd best in the country, marking the 12th-consecutive year he has racked up a ranked class from a national publication.
Green mentored five players from the 2016 roster that earned all-conference honors at the conclusion of the 2016 regular season – including Johnson, the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year. Johnson was the easy choice for WAC Player of the Year after batting .382 with 12 home runs, 50 RBI and 29 stolen bases, earning ABCA/Rawlings Third Team All-American honors while finishing the 2016 campaign fourth in the country in hits.
Green helped engineer a near 3-run improvement in team ERA from 2015 to 2016, compiling a 4.61 team ERA in 2016, the second-best in program history. At the conclusion of the 2016 campaign, pitcher Kyle Bradish became the first Aggie hurler to earn Freshman All-American honors, finishing the season with the most strikeouts by a freshman in program history.
Of the three players that were drafted in the 2016 MLB Draft, Johnson went in the fifth round to the Washington Nationals, the second-highest draft pick in school history while Galindo was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 13th round and Erwin was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 23rd round. In 2015, Quinnton Mack went in the 35th round to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Aggies also set school records for season ticket sales in back-to-back years and almost tripled the previous record, as well as setting records for gate attendance and revenue earned since the fall of 2014. In addition, Aggie baseball had RV’s routinely in attendance for home baseball weekends.
Prior to making a return to New Mexico State, Green was an assistant coach at Kentucky for six seasons (2009-14) where he transformed the Wildcat offensive attack as UK’s offensive coordinator and infield defensive coach. Green’s dynamic offense was paced by one of the best players in the history of college baseball in 2014, two-way star and Golden Spikes Award Winner, AJ Reed. The first pick of the second round in the 2014 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros, Reed was named the Dick Howser Trophy Award winner, the Baseball America College Player of the Year, and the John Olerud Award, given to the nation’s top two-way player.
A native of Temecula, Calif., Green was a four-year assistant coach at UCLA (2005-08) before going to Kentucky as one of the top hitting instructors in college baseball. Green helped lead the Bruins to three consecutive NCAA Regional appearances and to the Super Regionals in 2007. Green’s shortstop at UCLA, Brandon Crawford, solidified himself as one of the best young shortstops in the big leagues while playing with the 2012 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants and earned another championship ring in 2014.
Other stops for Green include Hawaii, Oregon State, San Diego, Chapman University, Cal Poly-Pomona, Riverside Community College and New Mexico State.
Green, 48, graduated from New Mexico State with a degree in business management in 1995 and earned his master’s degree in education from National University in 1997.
He is married to the former Becki Francis and they have two daughters, Emily and Zoe.
