Like any young professional in a new city Brendan Eygabroat was just trying to meet people during one of his first days in Boston.
While playing basketball in a local park he saw several people playing baseball in what he thought was a men’s league. The group turned out to be Suffolk University, and even though his eligibility had run out, the team found a spot for the Brighton native: assistant coach.
The meeting proved to be the first step in helping him discover his passion for coaching. Eygabroat went on to work with Suffolk for the next four years before landing what any assistant covets: a head coaching job.
Eygabroat is in his seventh season as head coach of UMass Boston, who is currently ranked 15th in the D3baseball.com national poll and were picked to win the Little East Conference. The Beacons open the season against Thomas More Saturday in Winter Haven, Fla.
“It has been great just seeing the growth of the program,” said Eygabroat, who graduated from Brighton in 1997. “When the job opened up it wasn’t a sought after job. The players and the assistant coaches put in a lot of hard work. It is very satisfying to see how far they have come.”
Eygabroat couldn’t have been more excited to land his first job, but the UMass Boston program was in far from ideal shape when he arrived on campus.
The Beacons didn’t make the conference tournament in the 25 seasons prior to his arrival. Playing in one of the best conferences in the nation, he also had to compete for recruits with perennial powers Eastern Connecticut State and Southern Maine.
Unlike many of his counter parts in the Little East, Eygabroat’s job was part-time meaning he had less time on campus with his team. Work days for him began at 6 a.m. at a local shoe company, then it was over to UMass Boston for four hours before returning to the shoe company until 7 or 8 p.m.
“I just wanted the opportunity to be a head coach,” Eygabroat said. “It was pretty challenging at first, but once the university saw the growth of the program they were ready to invest.”
Eygabroat quickly rewarded UMass Boston’s confidence in him. He led the team to their inaugural Little East Conference postseason tournament appearance in his first season, and they have been back every year since.
Like any young professional in a new city Brendan Eygabroat was just trying to meet people during one of his first days in Boston.
While playing basketball in a local park he saw several people playing baseball in what he thought was a men’s league. The group turned out to be Suffolk University, and even though his eligibility had run out, the team found a spot for the Brighton native: assistant coach.
The meeting proved to be the first step in helping him discover his passion for coaching. Eygabroat went on to work with Suffolk for the next four years before landing what any assistant covets: a head coaching job.
Eygabroat is in his seventh season as head coach of UMass Boston, who is currently ranked 15th in the D3baseball.com national poll and were picked to win the Little East Conference. The Beacons open the season against Thomas More Saturday in Winter Haven, Fla.
“It has been great just seeing the growth of the program,” said Eygabroat, who graduated from Brighton in 1997. “When the job opened up it wasn’t a sought after job. The players and the assistant coaches put in a lot of hard work. It is very satisfying to see how far they have come.”
Eygabroat couldn’t have been more excited to land his first job, but the UMass Boston program was in far from ideal shape when he arrived on campus.
The Beacons didn’t make the conference tournament in the 25 seasons prior to his arrival. Playing in one of the best conferences in the nation, he also had to compete for recruits with perennial powers Eastern Connecticut State and Southern Maine.
Unlike many of his counter parts in the Little East, Eygabroat’s job was part-time meaning he had less time on campus with his team. Work days for him began at 6 a.m. at a local shoe company, then it was over to UMass Boston for four hours before returning to the shoe company until 7 or 8 p.m.
“I just wanted the opportunity to be a head coach,” Eygabroat said. “It was pretty challenging at first, but once the university saw the growth of the program they were ready to invest.”
Eygabroat quickly rewarded UMass Boston’s confidence in him. He led the team to their inaugural Little East Conference postseason tournament appearance in his first season, and they have been back every year since.
With the wins came more respect from the school’s administration. Eygabroat’s position as head coach soon became full-time, giving him more access to his players during the day and more time for recruiting.
“Brendan has been an instrumental part of bringing the UMass Boston baseball program to the next level,” said Charlie Titus, UMass Boston Vice Chancellor for Athletics, Recreation and Special Programs. “Not only is he a very talented recruiter, but he’s a player’s coach that always does what’s best for his kids both on and off the field.”
All of the hard work paid off for the Beacons last season.
UMass Boston had their best season in program history winning the Little East Conference Championship and reaching the NCAA Division III College World Series for the first time. The Beacons set records for runs scored (440) and home runs (49) in a season.
Eygabroat is hoping for a similar run this season. UMass Boston returns seven of their eight position players from last year.
“We were a team that peaked late in the season,” Eygabroat said about last year’s team. “We got really hot at the end of the year. The team really clicked, we got some great performances from our pitching staff down the stretch and we were very consistent offensively and defensively.”
Eygabroat spent his summers on fields around the Brighton area as part of the town’s little league programs.
He went on to play catcher for the Brighton varsity team for three seasons, helping the Barons to a sectional title in 1996. Eygabroat’s leadership skills quickly gained him the respect of former Brighton head coach Ron Plummer, a former college catcher.
He continued his playing career at Mary Washington College in Virginia where he helped lead the Eagles to a pair of NCAA Regional Tournament appearances in 1998 and 2001.
“It was like having a quarterback out there,” Plummer said about Eygabroat. “One of his greatest assets was his leadership and understanding of the game. He had tremendous physical skills and he worked great with pitchers. I had enough confidence in him to call his own game.”
