QUEENS, N.Y. – Less than a decade removed from claiming BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year honors as the ace of the Red Storm staff, George Brown has returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach.
Most recently having served as the pitching coach at Stony Brook, Brown will take over the same duties under the direction of Head Coach Ed Blankmeyer.
“I’m excited to have George Brown back as our new pitching coach,” said Blankmeyer. “George had an outstanding career here at St. John’s and has professional experience as well as an outstanding coaching resume. He will no doubt do an exceptional job with our pitching staff.”
“I am beyond excited to return to St. John’s as an assistant coach,” said Brown. “I want to thank Coach Blankmeyer and the entire staff, along with our Director of Athletics Anton Goff, for the chance to come home. It is an honor to have the opportunity to give back to the place that has given me so much. I cannot wait for the players to return, and get to work in pursuit of another championship.”
In his four years as a student-athlete at St. John’s, Brown put together a record of 22-3 and is one of just three pitchers in program history alongside Frank Viola and Michael O’Connor to record at least 20 wins and fewer than five losses. In addition, Brown, whose 22 wins rank fourth in school history, was part of the only four-year class in St. John’s history to win 40 or more games in each of its four campaigns.
A 27th Round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2008 MLB Draft, Brown played three seasons in the organization before seeing his career cut short due to injury, rising as high as Class-A Advanced for the 2009 and 2010 campaigns.
A team captain on the 2008 squad that won a then-school record 42 games and claimed the BIG EAST Regular Season Championship, Brown captured the conference’s top pitching honor after going 9-1 with a 2.91 ERA in 14 appearances, all of which were starts, while registering 59 strikeouts and just 12 walks. The Syracuse, N.Y., native earned a pair of All-America honors that season, finding spots on both the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Collegiate Baseball All-America Second Teams. A standout in the classroom as well, Brown was also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team.
In his first year as a starter in 2007, Brown went 6-2 with a 3.09 ERA, which was remarkably his highest single-season ERA as a Johnny.
As a freshman and sophomore, Brown was used primarily as a reliever, going 5-0 with a 2.14 ERA as a sophomore after compiling a 2-0 record with a 2.82 ERA in his rookie campaign.
Prior to his arrival back in Queens, Brown spent the past two years on Matt Senk’s staff at Stony Brook, guiding the Seawolves to a pair of successful seasons. In his first year with the Seawolves, the team made it to the championship round of the America East Tournament before falling to top-seeded Binghamton.
Brown guided rookie right-hander Brian Herrmann to spots on the Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-America Team and All-America East First Team in 2017. In his first year on staff with the Seawolves, Brown helped right-hander Bret Clarke garner America East Rookie of the Year accolades.
Before his stint at Stony Brook, Brown spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Monmouth and one year as a pitching coach/recruiting coordinator at Siena.
