Staff Directory

Brent McNeil

Title:
Director of Pitching Development

Brent McNeil started his role as Kent State's Director of Pitching Development on Sept. 28, 2026.

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.

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.