Oakland University Athletics

Joining Oakland ahead of the 2021 season as an Assistant Coach and the program's Recruiting Coordinator, Brian Nelson helped guide the Golden Grizzlies to a school-record 60 wins over the 2022 and 2023 seasons, reaching Championship Saturday of the Horizon League Tournament each year.

Coaching third base on game days, Nelson also worked with the outfielders and with the offense, leading to Oakland posting a Horizon League-leading .283 team batting average and 113 stolen bases in 2022.

On the recruiting trail, he teamed with head coach Jordon Banfield to compile two of the best classes in program history in 2021 and 2022, highlighted by Temperance, Michigan third baseman Brandon Nigh taking home Horizon League Freshman of the Year honors in 2022, Troy, Michigan right-hander Hunter Pidek developing into one of the conference's best starting pitchers and Twinsburg, Ohio center fielder Reggie Bussey earning a spot on the league's All-Freshman Team in 2023.

The 2023 class continued this upward trend of success for Nelson and Banfield with high-ceiling, college-ready recruits, as the Golden Grizzlies signed six student-athletes rated in the top-50 of their state by Prep Baseball Report (PBR), including four in the top-45.

Before joining Oakland, Nelson was the commissioner and a head coach in the Texas Collegiate League (TCL) for three years and also served as the tournament director for the Collegiate Summer Baseball Invitational (CSBI) in June 2020. This tournament was the first live televised baseball event to take place in the United States after the initial COVID-19 lockdowns and served as a blueprint for sports to be able to return in 2020.
 
Prior to being named commissioner of the Texas Collegiate League, Nelson was the head coach of the league champion Brazos Valley Bombers. Nelson was named Coach of the Year during his last season at the helm where he led the Bombers to back-to-back regular season titles while capturing the sixth league title in Bombers’ History.
 
Before joining the Bombers and the TCL, Nelson spent two seasons at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley as an assistant coach (2015-17) alongside Banfield. In addition to his coaching and recruiting duties at UTRGV, Nelson managed all aspects of team operations, including budget management and travel.
 
In his first season with the program, Nelson helped the pitching staff drop its ERA nearly a full run from 5.41 to 4.55. This included developing staff ace and sophomore Johnny Gonzalez, who had a 2.83 after posting a 4.01 ERA as a freshman, and fellow sophomore weekend starter Robert Quinoñez, who went from a 4.24 ERA to a 3.74 ERA while lowering his opponents’ batting average from .279 to .222.
 
Another player that benefited from Nelson’s guidance was George Lamb, who recorded two saves and a 0.82 ERA, striking out 30 in 22 innings. The previous season, Lamb allowed 11 runs without striking out anybody in 6.2 innings.
 
Nelson also helped to revitalize senior Parker Gallegos, changing his arm angle and his role. Gallegos became one of the team’s most valuable arms out of the bullpen, posting a 3.19 ERA and walking just eight in 31 innings after posting a 5.75 ERA with 28 walks in 51.2 innings as a junior.
 
In addition, Nelson’s responsibilities also included working with outfielders and catchers. In his second season with the program, Nelson coached an outfield unit that came up with 15 outfield assists while making just five errors for a .983 fielding percentage. Nelson also coached the catchers to a combined .987 fielding percentage while nailing 23 would-be base stealers.
 
Prior to UTRGV, Nelson spent two seasons (2013, 2014) as the volunteer assistant pitching coach at Lamar University where his impact on the pitching staff was felt immediately. In his first season with the Cardinals, he helped the pitching staff drop its ERA from 4.07 in 2013 to 3.68. The staff’s ERA in 2014 was the lowest Lamar had seen in a decade.
 
In his two seasons, Nelson worked with three Major League Baseball draft picks in J.T. Autrey, David Carver and Collin Chapman. Autrey, who was 1-0 with a 7.24 ERA in 20 appearances in 2013, improved to 6-2 with a 3.59 ERA in the same number of appearances in 2014. Carver saw his ERA drop from 5.74 to 4.14 as well.
 
Another beneficiary of the Nelson’s work was left-hander Chase Angelle, who posted a 2.01 ERA in 2015, lowering his career ERA from 3.49 to 2.86.
 
Nelson also played a significant role in the maturation of Danny Fernandez moving the senior into a starter’s role after he spent his first three years in the bullpen. In 2015, Fernandez accounted for a 4-4 record and a 3.15 ERA.
 
In his first collegiate stint at the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor (UMHB), Nelson primarily worked with pitchers and catchers. During his time there, he helped the Crusader catchers improve in every statistical category while finishing second in the conference in fewest stolen bases allowed.
 
During the 2012 season, Nelson helped direct Chris Joshlin to the American Southwest Conference batting title and a spot on the ABCA All-Region team.
 
After UMHB, Nelson moved on to Brazos Christian High School, where he led the program to a runner-up finish in the 2013 state championship game and coached three All-State players.
 
Nelson’s first stint in summer collegiate baseball was during the 2012 and 2013 summer seasons with the Brazos Valley Bombers as an assistant coach. The Bombers put up a record-breaking 2013 season that culminated with Perfect Game awarding the team the summer league national championship.
 
The 2013 season marked the second-straight year the Bombers won the TCL title, finishing with a 46-14 league-record mark. With Nelson on the staff, they amassed an 88-37 record and had 19 TCL All-Stars, 14 Perfect Game top prospects, and seven Baseball America top prospects.
 
Nelson, a native of Bastrop, Texas, attended the United States Air Force Academy to play both baseball and football after high school, but shoulder surgeries cut his career short. He transferred to Texas A&M University where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Management before earning his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Sam Houston State.
 
Nelson and his wife, Samantha, now reside in College Station, Texas with their daughter, Sloan.