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Northern Essex Community College’s newly hired Assistant Athletic Director and Head Baseball Coach Dan Briand not only brings experience to a competitive Knights squad, but he plans to continue, what he calls, “that same tough, gritty, aggressive mindset.”
Briand said he accepted the job and completed all necessary paperwork last week, the team was informed Sunday night and the college announced it this past Monday. Briand is set to start as the Knights assistant athletic director and head baseball coach on Monday.
“What we’re going to do is optimize everything that we’re doing, and function at the highest level possible, and continue that same tough, gritty, aggressive mindset that these guys have, that blue-collar attitude,” Briand said. “Those are the guys that I resonate with, because I’m one of them,” he said.
He said “keeping the train rolling” is the number one goal.
As WHAV previously reported, Briand’s list of achievements in the sport include 15 total years of collegiate head coaching and administrative experience, most recently at Anna Maria College where he coached for nine seasons and became the programs all-time wins leader with 163. His teams qualified for the post-season each year with the exception of the coronavirus-shortened season in 2020. He also guided three players to Great Northeast Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors along with two Great Northeast Pitchers of the Year and three Rookies of the Year. He coached 16 players to D3Baseball.com All Region, 10 Rawlings-American Baseball Coaches Association All Region, 44 All Conference selections, while 74 student athletes earned Academic All-Conference honors. Briand graduated from Becker College where he was a four-year member of the baseball program including a two-time captain while also earning First Team All-Conference honors as a senior in 2009.
Briand explained what excites him.
“Where that ends up at the end of the year, we hope it’s in the world series with a chance to win a national championship. That’s the main reason I wanted to take the job, but we have a long way to go before we’re back in that position, a lot of work we need to put in as a group. That’s the exciting part to me,” he said.
Athletic Director Dan Blair looked into his crystal ball, predicting, “I think Coach Briand will be a great fit in the department and the players will really enjoy playing for him. I have no doubt he will be able to continue our tradition of success and keep building upon the traditions we’ve built.”
Dan Briand when he coached at Anna Maria College. (Courtesy photograph.)