Brad Brubaker enters his third season leading the Franklin & Marshall softball team in 2022 after being named the program's 12th head coach on August 12, 2019. Although his first two seasons have been shortened campaigns, Brubaker is just the third coach in program history to lead the Diplomats to a winning record during each of his first two seasons. In addition to F&M's increased success on the field, the team also had the most student-athletes named to the Centennial Conference Academic Roll in 2021 with 15 honorees. That list was highlighted by 2021 Centennial Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year Jamie Belfer '22, who also earned CoSIDA first-team Academic All-District Honors; the first Diplomat softball player to do so since 2006. In addition in 2021, Belfer and Sam Martin '22 earned honorable mention recognition on the All-Centennial Conference Team. It was the first season in which multiple Diplomats were honored since 2018.
In addition to his coaching duties, Brubaker serves on F&M's newly-formed Staff Council. During the 2020-21 academic year he was a facilitator in F&M's Harwood Leadership Forum and was chosen to attend the NCAA's Leadership Academy Workshop, a six-month course to teach administrators and coaches how to develop on-campus leadership development programs.
Brubaker arrived in Lancaster after spending the 2017-19 seasons as the assistant softball coach at Messiah College where his primary responsibilities included the development of the program's outfielders and slappers, as well as assisting in practice planning and recruiting efforts. The Falcons enjoyed perennial success during Brubaker's tenure, accumulating an 80-48 record over three seasons, including a 33-15 mark in Commonwealth Conference action. The Falcons won the 2018 Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Commonwealth Championship and earned a pair of bids into the NCAA Division III Tournament; reaching as high as the No. 3 ranking in the nation in 2017.
"I have been privileged to join the F&M family and be a part of the Diplomat athletic program," said Brubaker. "F&M represents the best of combining academics and athletics to provide a rewarding and developmental experience for its student-athletes. I wish to thank former Director of Athletics & Recreation Patty Epps and the entire search committee for the opportunity to represent the College, build a winning culture on and off the field, and to engage the College's student-athletes at a critical time in their lives as young adults."
Before Messiah, Brubaker was the head softball coach at Lancaster Bible College from 2014-16 where he helped resurrect a program that had returned to varsity status for the first time in 12 years. He built the Chargers into a competitive program before stepping down in May 2016 as the softball team's winningest coach, as well as holding program records for overall victories in a season and the most conference wins in a season. Brubaker's collegiate coaching experience also includes a pair of stints at his alma mater, Elizabethtown College as the lead assistant from 1990-92 and 2005-09.
Through his 16 years of experience at the collegiate level, Brubaker has produced six NFCA all-region, 22 all-conference selections, two conference rookie of the year recipients, as well as two CoSIDA Academic All District 1st Team honorees.
His vast, 26 years of coaching experience extends to the high school level where he was at the helm of Lancaster Mennonite from 2011-13, as well as Columbia High School in 2010. Brubaker is the only head coach in Lancaster-Lebanon League history to lead two separate L-L Section 4 schools to postseason play (Columbia H.S. in 2010; Lancaster Mennonite H.S. in 2013).
Brubaker has also held roles with several club programs, including the Pennsylvania Shooting Stars 18U Showcase Team, the Keystone Krush, the Lancaster Lazers, and the Donegal FastPitch Indians. Those programs garnered 22 top-three tournament finishes, including 15 appearances in championship games, notching seven tournament titles over a six-season span.
In addition to his coaching experience, Brubaker retired from a successful 32-year business career as a Global Sales and Marketing Executive in August 2019.
Brubaker, who resides in Lancaster, graduated from Elizabethtown College in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with concentrations in Marketing and Corporate Communications. He was a goalkeeper on two nationally-ranked Blue Jay soccer squads and played in the 1984 NCAA Division III National Tournament.
He also enjoyed a men’s fastpitch playing career as an outfielder for several ASA Class “A” and “B” teams in the 1980s and 1990s winning numerous invitational tournaments, and advancing to regional play.
$website.include("Brubaker_record")
