Bill Brown enters his 41st season as the head coach of George Mason baseball and his 45th season involved with the Patriots for the 2022 season.
After two seasons as a Patriots catcher and two years as an assistant coach, Brown has maintained the success he inherited with the program and lifted it to new heights. George Mason's all-time leader in coaching victories with a 39-year record of 1,060-1,023-7, Brown surpassed the program's founder, Raymond H. "Hap" Spuhler, in 1993. Spuhler was 318-169-3 in 12 seasons before George Mason entered the Division I ranks.
Brown recorded his 1,000th career victory on March 7, 2018 when Mason defeated Towson 14-7 at Spuhler Field. At the time, Brown became one of only 16 active coaches in Division I baseball with at least 1,000 wins.
The Patriots finished the 2021 season with a 14-29 overall record. Junior pitcher Jared Lyons was named Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team starting pitcher, A-10 All-Academic Team and Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) All-State Second Team starting pitcher. Lyons became the first Mason baseball player to earn A-10 First Team and All-Academic honors in the same season since the Patriots joined the league in 2014. He finished the season 6-2 with a 3.73 ERA and among A-10 leaders during the 2021 season, ranked second in lowest opponent batting average (.192), tied for third in wins (6), fourth in both innings pitched (72.1) and strikeouts (76), and eighth in ERA (3.73).
The 2020 season was canceled after 15 games due to the Covid-19 virus.
In 2019, junior Logan Driscoll was selected Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team catcher, while senior Brady Acker was named A-10 All-Conference Second Team outfielder.
Driscoll, who was a semifinalist for the 2019 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award for the second year in a row, became the highest draft pick in Mason baseball history when he was selected by the San Diego Padres in the second round with the 73rd overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. Junior right-hander Jared DiCesare was selected in the 17th round by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2019 MLB Draft.
In 2018, Brown guided Mason to an overall record of 29-27 and finished second in the Atlantic 10 with a record of 16-8, equaling the program record for wins against the conference. The Patriots won six of their eight conference series during the regular season.
In the 2018 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship, Mason won three games to advance to the championship round. The Patriots defeated seventh-seeded George Washington (11-3), third-seeded Fordham (4-0) and the host Colonials for a second time (9-4) to advance to championship Saturday.
Sophomore catcher Logan Driscoll was named to the All-Conference First Team, while senior outfielder Tyler Nelin and junior starting pitcher Zach Mort earned All-Conference Second Team honors. Driscoll was also named All-ECAC First Team and was a semifinalist for the 2018 Johnny Bench Award.
The Patriots had three pitchers turn professional. Right-handed starters Zach Mort and Bryce Nightengale were selected in the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft, while right-handed reliever Ryan Ricci signed as a free agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Mort became the second-highest draft pick in the history of Mason baseball after being selected by the Chicago Cubs in the eighth round of the 2018 MLB Draft on June 5. He finished the season with a 6-3 record and 2.48 ERA in 15 starts for the Patriots. Mort led the Atlantic 10 in innings pitched (105.1), tied for first in complete games (3), ranked second in the A-10 in strikeouts (108) and was sixth in the conference in ERA (2.48).
Nightengale, who ranked second in the A-10 in starts (15) and seventh in the conference in strikeouts (80) in 2018, was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 16th round, becoming the ninth Mason player in program history drafted in the 16th round or higher.
In 2017, the Patriots finished with an overall record of 26-33 and posted a mark of 13-11 in Atlantic 10 play, advancing to the conference tournament as the seventh seed. Mason defeated second-seeded Saint Louis, 9-5, in the opening round.
The Patriots finished the 2016 season with an overall record of 26-33 and went 13-11 against Atlantic 10 opponents, earning a spot in the A-10 Championship for the second time in program history. Mason defeated Rhode Island 9-5 in the opening round of the tournament held in St. Louis, Mo.
Brown guided the Patriots through their inaugural Atlantic 10 Conference season in 2014, and before that, left a mark as one of the most decorated coaches in Colonial Athletic Association history. Brown was honored as CAA Coach of the Year a record six times and has guided George Mason to some of its greatest accomplishments. Since 1985, the Patriots have won two CAA titles, finishing second three other times along with the program's first A-10 title in 2014, posting a 34-22 record on the season and playing in the Houston Regional. Brown has now coached to seven appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
George Mason also has posted at least 30 victories in a season 15 times in the last 30 years, including a school-record 42 wins and an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2009. Mason was nationally-ranked for the first time in school history that year, rising into the top 30 in both the National College Baseball Writer's Association and Collegiate Baseball polls.
Twice in two years, a Mason player was named a finalist for a national award. In 2009, Chris Henderson was a finalist for the Bench Award as the nation's top catcher while in 2010, Ryan Soares was a finalist for the Wallace Award as the nation's top shortstop.
In 2008, Brown took a team that was young and lost several starters to injury and led it to a 30-25 mark and a third-place finish in the CAA. The Patriots took a pair of wins over nationally-ranked schools and Brown was named CAA Co-Coach of the Year. In 2005, Mason finished the year with a 35-19 record and in 2004, Brown picked up the Coach of the Year award when he led Mason to a 39-19 record and an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.
In 2006, Brown was elected to the Washington, D.C. Home Plate Club Sandlot Hall of Fame and to the George C. Marshall High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
In 1992, Brown earned CAA Coach of the Year honors as he guided George Mason to its third conference championship and a school Division I-record for victories with a 39-18 mark. He then saw his squad win for the first time ever in NCAA Tournament action when the Patriots routed Rider in Gainesville, FL. The next season, Brown shared Coach of the Year laurels as he led George Mason to its first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and an overall 33-15 record. The Patriots won the CAA regular season championship for the second year in a row and advanced to the CAA Tournament finals.
George Mason won its first conference championship by claiming the ECAC South title in 1985, finishing the year with a 38-23 record. Brown earned his first Coach of the Year honor after leading the Patriots to a 31-23 record in 1987, then he guided them to the CAA crown in 1988 as they finished with a 34-27-1 mark. The Patriots advanced to NCAA Tournament regional play in 1985, 1988, 1992, 1993, 2004, 2009 and 2014.
Brown took the helm of the Patriot program at age 24 in the fall of 1981 and has seen the team move from a field on George Mason's North campus to area high school fields before finally finding a permanent on-campus home with Spuhler Field in 1985.
A native of nearby Vienna, Brown grew up playing baseball and helped lead George C. Marshall High School to the Virginia state finals as a senior in 1975. He came to George Mason as a player in 1978 after spending seasons at the University of Georgia and Allegany Community College. While catching for the Patriots, Brown was selected as the NAIA All-District catcher as the Patriots were 36-17-1 during his junior year.
Brown worked in the George Mason athletic department for the next two years, earning his B.S. degree in government and political science in 1980. He was named the third head coach in George Mason baseball history when Walt Masterson, who was the head coach for two years, retired in 1981.
Since Brown has been the head coach, 32 Patriots have been drafted by major league baseball clubs and several others have been signed as free agents. Six of the drafted players -- Justin Bour, Shawn Camp, Mike Colangelo, Mike Draper, Chris O'Grady and Chris Widger -- have reached the major leagues. Draper, drafted by the New York Yankees in 1988, became the first former Patriot to reach the majors when he played with the New York Mets in 1993, while Widger has played with the Seattle Mariners (1995-96, 2000), the Montreal Expos (1997-2000), the Yankees (2002), the St. Louis Cardinals (2003) and Chicago White Sox (2005). Colangelo was called up by the Anaheim Angels in June 1999 and appeared in one game before being lost to an injury for the rest of the season, but he saw action with the San Diego Padres in 2001 and with the Oakland Athletics in 2002. Camp spent the 2004 season with the Kansas City Royals and he has pitched every year in the majors since. Bour was first called up by the Miami Marlins in 2014 and was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies during the 2018 season.
In 2005, Widger became the first Patriot to compete in a World Series. He added to that honor by bringing home a World Series ring as he had an RBI in the series for the world champion Chicago White Sox.
One other former player of Brown's to make a mark in major league baseball is Dayton Moore. The former infielder was named the general manager of the Kansas City Royals in May of 2006 and he brought along former Mason players J.J. Picollo (Assistant GM - Player Personnel), Lonnie Goldberg (Director - Scouting) and Ken Munoz (Regional scout).
In 2006, Brown was elected to the Washington, D.C. Home Plate Club Sandlot Hall of Fame and to the George C. Marshall High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Keeping the tradition of the sport and George Mason University, Brown and his staff work closely with the community and local baseball organizations. With both winter and summer player camps, as well as winter coaching clinics, Brown and his staff actively take part in the development and promotion of baseball throughout the Northern Virginia community.
BILL BROWN'S MILESTONE WINS
1: at St. Augustine's (3/14/82)
100: vs. Connecticut (3/12/86)
200: vs. Old Dominion (4/19/89)
300: vs. UNC Wilmington (4/26/92)
319*: vs. Rider (3/31/93)
400: vs. UNC Wilmington (3/23/96)
500: vs. Va. Commonwealth (5/21/99)
600: vs. Towson (5/22/03)
700: vs. William & Mary (3/4/07)
750: vs. William & Mary (5/15/08)
800: vs. Radford (3/8/10)
900: vs. Wichita St. (2/22/13)
950: vs. La Salle (5/9/15)
1,000 vs. Towson (3/7/18)
* - Became all-time leader in baseball coaching victories at George Mason University
