Brian McCabe enters his sixth season as head coach for the baseball program at Benedictine University Mesa.
To this point, McCabe has led the team to two 40+ win seasons with the program reaching a 44-14 record this 2023 season. McCabe was named Cal Pac Coach of the Year for leading his team to a Regular Season Title and an impressive 21-3 Cal Pac record. He has taken the team to their second NAIA National Tournament appearance and had his team reach No. 13 in the NAIA National Poll.
McCabe's first season as the head man for the Redhawks was an historic one, as he guided the team to a 44-13 record and had his squad ranked in the NAIA National Poll for the first time in program history, reaching as high as No. 16 in the country. In addition, McCabe had seven players earn All-Cal Pac honors, including Cal Pac Player of the Year Kelby Richardson. He also had four players earn NAIA All-American honors, a program record. For his efforts in his first year, McCabe was named Cal Pac Coach of the Year in 2019.
Also, McCabe has overseen 14 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athletes, had over 10 school record broken and sent a handful of players to the professional ranks, incluidng the first player to ever sign an MLB-affiliated contract in reliever Kyle Huckaby (Toronto Blue Jays) in 2019. The 2021 Major League Baseball draft also included a Redhawk for the first time ever. Malik Binns was drafted in the 18th round, 535th overall, to the Philadelphia Phillies.
McCabe also played a big part in getting the BenU Mesa baseball program off the ground, serving as an assistant coach for two years, handling a good portion of the recruiting duties as well as serving as pitching coach for a program that went 76-35 in two years. The pitching staff he had developed in two years has spawned an NAIA All-American and Cal Pac Pitcher of the Year, as well as three All-Cal Pac pitchers and four different Cal Pac Pitchers of the Week.
2020 was shaping up to be another record breaking year for the Redhawks, amassing a 22-7 record before the Covid-19 shutdown. On the field, the Redhawks won the inaugural Maricopa Cup and finished the Cal Pac season with a 7-1 record. Off the field, the Redhawks were rewarded for their efforts in the classroom. 12 players were selected as NAIA Daktronics Scholar Athletes, breaking a program record.
The 2021 season was a banner year for the Redhawks. While the team was not able to play a full schedule due to Covid-19, they were able to finish with a 32-16 record and appeared in the Cal Pac Conference championship game for the first time in program history. 2021 also included the first ever appearance in the NAIA National Tournament as the program was rewarded with an At-Large bid. Individual accomplishments included many Cal Pac Player and Pitcher of the Week, as well as All-American pitcher, Tyler Jacobsen.
Prior to coaching at Benedictine, McCabe made two other coaching stops, coaching one year at Phoenix College, as well as two years at his alma mater Clarke University in Iowa. While at Phoenix College, he helped two pitchers move on to the Division I level, including a future MLB draft pick. McCabe also pitched four years for Clarke prior to his coaching stay and was a member of the team that set the school record for wins in a season at the time.
McCabe earned a Bachelor’s Degree in History and Secondary Education from Clarke University and is currently working on his Master’s in Management and Organizational Behavior at BenU. He lives with his wife, Allie, in Phoenix.
