Sergio Brown joined the Arizona baseball program as an assistant coach on July 9, 2015. Brown serves as the recruiting coordinator and first base coach. He recently concluded his fourth season with the Wildcats in May 2019.
“Getting Sergio to come to Arizona is a huge lift for our program,” head coach Jay Johnson said at the time of his hiring. “He is an outstanding recruiter who will help us in our effort to put Arizona baseball back at the forefront of the minds of the top players across the country. He is a tremendous coach as well and had a large hand in both UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton reaching the College World Series during his time at each school. I look forward to the impact Sergio has on Arizona baseball.”
Brown's postseason experience as a coach is extensive, having been to eight NCAA Regionals, six NCAA Super Regionals, and four College World Series while with Arizona, Cal State Fullerton, and UC Irvine.
With the Wildcats
Since joining Arizona, Brown and the Wildcats recruiting efforts have brought numerous high-profile student-athletes to campus and secured a pair of top-five nationally ranked recruiting classes. Brown and the staff's second recruiting class in 2016 was ranked as the No. 4 class in the country by Collegiate Baseball, while their 2018 recruiting class checked in at No. 3 nationally by Collegiate Baseball.
Under Brown's tutelage, numerous Wildcat position players have been tabbed with All-American honors by an array of national publications including: Zach Gibbons (2016), Cody Ramer (2016), JJ Matijevic (2017), Alfonso Rivas (2017), Jared Oliva (2017), Nick Quintana (2017, 2019), and Cameron Cannon (2019).
Brown's work with the hitters helped shape the Wildcats 2019 offense that ranked as one of the most potent in the country. Arizona's offense averaged 9.8 runs per game, the second-best mark in the nation and the best mark posted by an Arizona team since the 1975 team averaged 10.07. Arizona finished the year ranked second in the nation in slugging percentage and on-base percentage and third in batting average. In addition to spectacular team numbers, multiple players also thrived - Quintana led the Pac-12 during the regular season with 77 RBI while Cannon finished the year leading all Division I players in the nation with 29 doubles.
Before Arizona
Brown, who won a national championship as a player at Cal State Fullerton in 1995, carries with him a wealth of experience at top West Coast programs, including two stints at his alma mater (2001-03 and 2007-10) as well as time with UC Irvine (2004-07), UC San Diego (2012) and Cal State Northridge (2013). A highly-regarded recruiter at each of his stops, Brown has twice been to the College World Series as a coach, including appearances with Cal State Fullerton (2009) and UC Irvine (2007).
Brown comes to Arizona after last serving as an assistant coach at Cal State Northridge during the 2013 season. He helped coach the Matadors to 31 wins and 15 conference victories.
Prior to Cal State Northridge, Brown served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at UC San Diego during the 2012 campaign.
Before heading to San Diego, Brown helped put Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine on the map, both of which are now national college baseball powerhouses. During his time at both Big West schools he helped guide their teams to the College World Series.
In Brown’s time at Cal State Fullerton, the Titans won a pair of Big West championships in 2008 and 2010 and finished seventh at the 2009 College World Series. Brown helped lead the Titans to three Super Regionals and 14 total postseason wins. As the recruiting coordinator in 2009, he boasted the nation's fifth-best class, while in 2010 his group was ranked eighth and in 2008 it was tabbed 14th nationally. During his final two seasons at Fullerton, Titan hitters led the Big West in batting average, hits, runs, RBI, on-base percentage and sacrifice bunts.
While at Fullerton, Brown helped develop 11 All-Americans, seven All-Conference players, and numerous student-athletes that have since gone on to log over 1,000 games of Major League Baseball experience. The program excelled on defense during his time with the Titans as well - the 2008, 2009, and 2010 squads all posted fielding percentages that rank among the top 10 marks in school history. Brown also played an instrumental part in the Titans 2010 offense that went down as one of the best in school history, ranking among the top 10 years in program history in batting average (2nd), triples (T-2nd), hits per game (3rd), slugging percentage (6th), and total bases (7th).
His teams at UC Irvine made the NCAA Tournament twice, including a third-place finish at the 2007 College World Series. His 2007 recruiting class was ranked 14th nationally. 60 of Brown’s student-athletes received All-Big West recognition during his time at Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine.
Before joining UC Irvine, Brown served as the director of baseball operations at Cal State Fullerton from 2001-03. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Cypress Community College from 1995-2001.
Brown was a member of the 1995 National Championship team at Cal State Fullerton, as the Titans finished the season with a 57-9 record. He also played three seasons as an infielder at Cal Poly Pomona before transferring to Fullerton.
Brown earned his Bachelor's degree in English from Cal State Fullerton in 1995 and earned his Master's Degree in education from Azusa Pacific University in 1998.
Sergio Brown Coaching History
Arizona Assistant Coach (2015-present)
Cal State Northridge Assistant Coach (2013)
UC San Diego Assistant Coach (2012)
Cal State Fullerton Assistant Coach (2007-2010)
UC Irvine Assistant Coach (2004-2007)
Cal State Fullerton Director of Baseball Operations (2001-2003)
Coaching Highlights
- Five College World Series appearances, including four as a coach (2003, 2007, 2009, 2016)
- One National Championship as a player (1995)
- Extensive postseason experience, coaching in eight NCAA Regionals, six NCAA Super regionals, and four College World Series
- Four nationally-ranked recruiting classes, including three top-five classes (2009, 2016, 2018)
- Coached 60 athletes to Big West All-Conference honors
- Worked with seven position players at Arizona who received All-America recognition
- Helped shape 2019 Arizona offense that ranked second in the nation averaging 9.8 runs per game
