Kent State Baseball Announces Brent McNeil as Director of Pitching Development
9/28/2026 3:35:00 PM | Baseball
KENT, Ohio – Brent McNeil has been announced as Kent State Baseball's new Director of Pitching Development, the team announced on Monday afternoon.
McNeil has an extensive amount of coaching experience with over 10 years as a pitching coach and recruiting coordinator in the collegiate ranks. He joins the Golden Flashes' coaching staff after most recently holding the role of Associate Head Coach at Lake Erie College, an NCAA Division II school in Painesville, Ohio.
McNeil was with Lake Erie from July 2025 to September 2026 as he helped lead the Storm's pitching staff to a top 30th percentile rank nationally for hits allowed per nine innings pitched.
The most recent NCAA Division I role for McNeil came with Purdue University Fort Wayne (PUFW) as a pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. He spent six full seasons from 2019-2025 on the Mastodons' coaching staff, helping to lead the team to two of the top-five winningest seasons in program history. McNeil's pitching staff at PUFW also amassed six wins against power conference opponents, including a victory against 20th ranked Indiana in 2024. The Mastodons' pitchers also set the school record for single-season strikeouts during McNeil's tenure.
McNeil also served as the pitching coach for the University of North Florida from 2016-2017 where he coached two NCAA Division I All-Americans and six All-ASUN pitchers. Along with his assistant coaching experience, McNeil has also been a head coach for amateur prospect teams, the Turf Monsters and Lafayette Aviators.
McNeil got his start in working for collegiate athletics as the Director of Baseball Operations for Indiana State from 2014-2016. While with the Sycamores, he worked closely with 2nd-round MLB Draft Pick Jeff Degano. In total, McNeil has coached over 35 professional players and three MLB players (Trey Sweeney, Bryan Baker, and Frank German) thus far in his career.
As a former pitcher himself, McNeil was an Indiana High School All-Star as a senior in 2007 with Jefferson High School in Lafayette, Ind before committing to play collegiately at Lincoln Trail College. McNeil was a two-way player for Lincoln Trail from 2008-2009, starting regularly as a second baseman while tallying seven wins with a 1.75 E.R.A on the mound.
McNeil then transferred to Eastern Illinois University in 2010 where he played his last two years of college ball. He led the Ohio Valley Conference with a 2.18 ERA in his senior season, while setting the program pickoff record with nine runners.
What others are saying about Brent McNeil
Bryan Baker – Tampa Bay Rays All-Star relief pitcher
"Brent McNeil was my pitching coach at the University of North Florida and with the Danville Dans. I think he provides a great blend of firsthand playing experience and an overall knowledge of the game that young players can relate to and learn from easily. During my time with him, the little things became important, and routines and discipline were implemented to take my game and recovery to the next level. I still use things I learned from him to this day at the big-league level."
Trey Sweeney, Detroit Tigers shortstop
"I give credit to Coach McNeil for being one of the only people aside from my school ball coach who saw my talent and believed in me at the college level. No one else gave me a shot to play that year. I also credit him as the Head Coach of the Lafayette Aviators for building a very talented roster with a lot of players from schools that didn't have much recognition."
Doug Schreiber – Former Head Coach at Purdue Fort Wayne
"Brent is an outstanding baseball coach and an even better leader of young men. He knows the game of baseball as well as any coach I have worked with but also knows how to teach and connect with the players."
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McNeil graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology and Sports Studies. He also holds an Associate Degree from Lincoln Trail College.
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