Dec. 23, 2008

From Navy Sports Information

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk announced today that Dave Brandt, the all-time winningest coach in NCAA history at any level, has been named the head men's soccer coach at the Naval Academy. Brandt comes to Navy from Messiah College, where he compiled a remarkable 246-26-12 (.887) record in 12 seasons, winning six NCAA Division III National Championships.

"Dave Brandt brings to the Naval Academy his energy, work ethic, a dedication to his student-athletes, strong personal, professional and academic values and a proven track record for winning that is extraordinary," said Gladchuk. "His accomplishments as a leader and educator of men are benchmarks for soccer coaches at any level. We are extremely proud that Dave and his wonderful family will join us at the Naval Academy for what we know will be a highly successful tenure in Annapolis.

"My family and I are certainly excited for the opportunity and challenge of coaching men's soccer at the Naval Academy," said Brandt. "The quality, purpose, and values that the Academy stands for have everything to do with why I was interested in the first place, and why I hope to be an asset to them in fulfilling their mission on many different levels."

Since taking over the Messiah College soccer team in 1997, no one in the country can match Brandt's accomplishments. He ranks as the winningest coach in NCAA history with a winning percentage of .887 and his squads won NCAA Division III National Championships in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008 and were National Runner-Up in 2002 and 2007. His 2005 squad posted a 24-0-0 record; one of just five undefeated and untied seasons in all divisions since 1972. He is the only active men's soccer coach in the country at any level to have won six national titles.

Brandt has won three National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Coach of the Year awards (2000, 2002 and 2004) and was the fastest coach in NCAA men's soccer history to reach the 200-win mark.

"Dave Brandt is clearly among the very top coaches in the country at any level," said Jeff Tipping, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Director of Coaching.

A renowned recruiter, Brandt has won at Messiah with a mix of highly regarded superstars and unheralded players that flew under the radar. He was able to land several players that drew major Division I interest, including high school All-American and Ohio's High School Player of the Year, Kai Kaisguran, who he landed away from national power Akron in 2004. Kaisguran was a four-time All-American at Messiah and currently plays for Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire. In addition, he recruited Hayden Woodworth, who selected Messiah over Penn State in 1999, and Patrick Lenehan, who opted to attend Messiah over Notre Dame in 2004. To date, Brandt has had eight players play in the professional ranks.

Under Brandt, Messiah had 17 All-America selections in just 11 years and three National Player of the Year recipients.

However, Brandt's greatest success comes in the way he develops players. Several players who were not highly regarded at any level have gone on to stardom. David McClellan became the National Player of the Year in 2005 and has been the United Soccer League's Player of the Week with the Harrisburg City Islanders six times, after drawing no interest from any Division I school. Chris Boyles became a first-team All-American at Messiah after receiving no interest from any school at any level, and would go on to play professionally for the USL's Charlotte Eagles. A fantastic athlete, Boyles is now the 11th-ranked decathlete in the world. Current Messiah player, J.D. Binger, received very little recruiting interest in high school, but ended this year as a two-time first-team All-American and has several MLS clubs interested in drafting him.

Messiah stepped up to battle several Division I teams in the last four years and the results were impressive. During the last four years, Messiah defeated Delaware twice and tied Penn and Maryland, in preseason exhibitions. Brandt stated a goal when he arrived for Messiah to be the "best place in the country to play college soccer". He developed the program to get players to play for four years, to graduate and become family for life. At Messiah, there was massive alumni involvement and tradition. His influence was found at the ticket gate as well, as the Falcons averaged a Division III-best 1,678 fans per game at home in 2008, a total that would have ranked Messiah 15th in Division I.

Brandt's soccer teachings are based on a compelling vision for teamwork, principled thought and action and an expected outcome of making the whole greater than the sum of the parts. His playing style emphasizes "possession emphasizing penetration" that requires positional discipline and high technical requirement. His Messiah teams led the nation in attendance regularly, thanks in large part to the fact he plays a style that is fast, athletic, skillful, exciting and fun to watch.

Brandt's knowledge of the game has been met with high regard, as 1,000 coaches at the NSCAA national convention in 2007 attended his presentation on "Technical Precision in Training for Championship Performance in the Match," and he has his NSCAA Advanced National Diploma. In addition, he has had 10 years of club coaching experience and currently coaches the LDC United Boys Under-14 team. During the summer, he ran three weeks of camps on campus for approximately 1,100 campers per summer. Every session has been filled by the beginning of May since 2002.

"Coach Brandt's session at the 2007 national convention was met with rave reviews," said Tipping. "He is a special coach and ought to be at the top level."

Brandt received his Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration from Messiah College in 1985. He received his masters of education degree in athletic administration from Temple University in 1990.

Brandt and his wife, Diane, have a daughter, Alexandria (16) and son, Danny (13).