NDSU

The Tod Brown File:
Alma Mater: University of Arizona, 1994
Years at NDSU: 14th in 2021

Quick Facts:
- 2014, 2021 Summit League tournament champions
- Earned the first NCAA Regional victory in the Division I era in 2021 after topping Nevada
- 2014 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament Corvallis Regional qualifiers
- Winningest active head coach in The Summit League (341 wins)
- Won school-record 42 games in 2021
- Won school-record 20 Summit League games in 2021
- Combined record of 155-127 (.550) in the last six seasons
- 66-25 (.725) record at home in the last six years
- Five Summit League championship game appearances in the past nine seasons
- Eight Summit League tournament appearances in the last 11 years
- 38 All-Summit League honorees, including 12 first team selections
- 25 players who have signed professional contracts
- Coached three NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipients: Wes Satzinger (2014), John Straka (2013) and Kole Zimmerman (2008)

Tod Brown completed his 14th season as the head coach of the North Dakota State University baseball team in 2021. Brown has a record of 341-350 (.493) in 14 seasons in the dugout for the Bison, including a 155-127 (.550) tally the last six seasons.

He is the second-winningest head coach in program history, and the winningest active skipper in The Summit League. Brown ranks in the top-five in the league in overall wins (3rd, 341 wins), league victories (2nd, 170 wins), overall games coached (2nd, 691 games) and league games coached (2nd, 350). 

Athletic Achievements at North Dakota State:
Brown helped guide the Bison to their first-ever Summit League baseball championship in 2014 and their first appearance in the NCAA Division I baseball tournament since 1956. 

Under Brown’s leadership, NDSU has played in four Summit League championship games and qualified for the league’s baseball championship eight out of the last 11 years.

He has coached an impressive 38 All-Summit League selections while at North Dakota State. The Bison had a school-record eight All-Summit League selections in 2021, including four first team selections. Bennett Hostetler also won Summit League Player of the Year honors, becoming just the second player in program history to earn the award. 

The 2021 season was one for the record books. The Bison broke multiple school records, captured the second Summit League tournament championship in program history, won a program-best 42 games and earned the first NCAA Regional victory in the NCAA Division I era. NDSU played a school record 61 games, while recording a record 27 saves and 474 strikeouts on the mound. Hostetler and closer Parker Harm were each named to the ABCA/Rawlings All-Central Region Team, becoming the first pair of players to earn the honor in the same season during the NCAA Division I era for NDSU.

During the 2019 season, freshman Max Loven as named the Summit League Newcomer of the Year, while also earning All-Summit League First Team honors. Redshirt sophomore Charley Hesse picked up second team honors from the league. The Bison went 10-7 in home games, posting a double-digit home win total for the fifth-straight year despite being the last NCAA Division I baseball team to play a home game. NDSU set a school record with 24 assists against Omaha on May 5, while freshman Brock Anderson set the single-season school record for walks with 39. 

In 2018, NDSU posted an overall record of 26-24 and finished third in The Summit League with a 15-13 league record, despite playing their first 32 games away from Fargo. The 26 victories marked the third consecutive season the Bison tallied at least 25 victories and the ninth straight season with at least 20 wins. Three student-athletes were voted to the All-Summit League Second Team in seniors Logan Busch and Kevin Folman, and redshirt junior Jayse McLean. 

Early in 2018, sophomore pitcher Riley Johnson tossed North Dakota State's first solo no-hitter since 2004 in a 2-0 shutout win over Central Connecticut State Feb. 23 in Punta Gorda, Fla. Senior pitcher Blake Stockert recorded a one-hit shutout in the Bison's 2-0 triumph over Western Illinois in The Summit League tournament May 25 in Tulsa, Okla. 

During the 2017 season, North Dakota State compiled a 31-25 overall record and a set a program-record for Summit League victories with 19 wins. The 31 victories tied for the fourth-most in program history and marked the fifth time in program history NDSU had won at least 30 contests. The 2017 Bison established new program records for double plays (53) and shutouts (7). In addition, senior right-handed pitcher Luke Lind tied the single-season record for strikeouts with 92, while junior outfielder Logan Busch set a new single-season record for walks at 34. Five NDSU baseball student-athletes were named All-Summit League, including Busch, who was named first team all-league. Lind and fellow seniors Reed Pfannenstein, Ben Petersen and JT Core were tabbed second team all-league. NDSU advanced to The Summit League Baseball Championship game for the fourth time in six years and, for the second straight season, won two of three games in Fargo against Summit League regular season and tournament champion Oral Roberts. The Bison were the only Summit League team to win a series against ORU in 2017. 

In 2016, the Bison posted a 29-25 overall record and set a new record for home wins at Newman Outdoor Field with 17 victories. In addition, North Dakota State set new single-season records for strikeouts (405) and saves (17).  NDSU defeated No. 19-ranked Minnesota on April 26 in Fargo, marking the second-ever win over an NCAA Division I top-25 opponent. The Bison also won two of three games at home against Summit League regular season champion Oral Roberts April 29 through May 1, representing the first-ever series win over the Golden Eagles for the Bison.

NDSU won 40 games during the 2012 season, including an 8-2 win over a No. 5-ranked Arizona team that went on to win the 2012 College World Series. North Dakota State had a school-record .973 fielding percentage and posted a team ERA of 3.38, which was the program's lowest ERA in 37 years. That season also saw a school-record seven Bison receive All-Summit League honors with Colwell and John Straka receiving first team accolades.

Academic Achievements at North Dakota State:
NDSU has been a consistent winner in the classroom under Brown. Bison baseball routinely posts an average 3.0 team GPA and has had five players combine for 10 CoSIDA Academic All-America® awards, including Tim Colwell, who was named the 2014 CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-America® Athlete of the Year for Division I Baseball and earned first-team Academic All-America® honors for the third straight season. He was also named The Summit League Male Scholar Athlete of the Year. In 2019, Jayse McLean became a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, earning first team honors as a junior and senior. 

Under Brown's leadership, North Dakota State has had three student-athletes earn prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships, while three Bison baseball teams (2014, 2015, 2020) have earned NCAA Public Recognition Awards. The 2015 NDSU baseball team was also awarded a Summit League Team Academic Award for its performance in the classroom. The 2020 season marked the third-straight year the Bison have the earned the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Team Academic Excellence Award.

During the 2012-13 and 2015-16 academic years, the Bison posted perfect NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores of 1,000. 

Bison in the Pros:
Brown has coached 25 Bison baseball players who have signed professional contracts, including shortstop Bennett Hostetler, who was drafted by the Miami Marlins in the 18th round of the of the 2021 MLB Draft, pitchers Parker Harm, who was signed by the Kansas City Royals in 2021, Kevin Folman, who was signed by the White Sox in 2018, Luke Lind, who signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels in 2017, Jay Flaa, who was drafted in the sixth round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles, and John Straka, who was drafted in the 32nd round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers. He also coached catcher Juan Gamez, who was drafted in the 31st round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins and is currently a member of the Chicago Cubs organization in 2021. Eighteen other Bison have played professionally in several independent leagues around the country.

Past Coaching Experience:
Brown, who was a left-handed pitcher for the Arizona Wildcats, has made a career out of coaching college ball in the northern tier of the country. He came to NDSU after eight seasons in Ohio as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for Bowling Green State University.

He has recruited or helped develop eight players who have reached the major leagues, including shortstop J.J. Hardy and pitchers Jamie Vermilyea and Tim Wood from Sabino High School, in Tucson, Ariz., outfielder Shelley Duncan and pitchers Josh Pearce and Ben Diggins at the University of Arizona, and pitcher Burke Badenhop and outfielder Nolan Reimold from Bowling Green.

After two years as the pitching coach at Sabino High School in Tucson, Ariz., Brown began his collegiate coaching career in 1999 as a volunteer assistant for Arizona. He worked with pitchers and catchers and was the first-base coach for the Wildcats, who qualified for an NCAA regional.

Brown was head coach of the San Francisco Seals of the California Coastal Collegiate League in the summer of 1999, compiling a 43-29 record and making a fourth-place finish in the National Baseball Congress World Series.

Playing Experience:
Brown played for legendary College Baseball Hall of Fame coach Jerry Kindall at Arizona, where he was a member of the 1992 Pac-10 championship team. In 1993, Brown won six games and had eight saves while setting Arizona's single-season record with 35 appearances. He was named to the All-Midwest Regional team as the Wildcats fell one run shy of a College World Series appearance.

Brown spent two summers playing for the Grand Lake Mariners of the Great Lakes Collegiate League (1991-92) and another summer with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod League (1993). He began playing professional baseball in 1994 for the Brainerd Bears in the North Central League before signing a free-agent contract with the Cleveland Indians. He was released in spring training after a career-ending injury.

Personal:
Brown earned a bachelor's degree in regional development from Arizona in 1994 and a post-baccalaureate in education from Chapman University in 1997.

A native of Tucson, Ariz., Brown graduated from Sabino High School in 1989. He was inducted into the Sabino High School Hall of Fame in 2016,

Brown and his wife, Janet, have a 20-year-old son, Brooks, and a 17-year-old daughter, Blake. Brooks is a redshirt-freshman on the Valley City State baseball team.