Brandon Evans enters his fifth season as a key member of the Saginaw Valley State University baseball coaching staff. Evans serves as the program's Recruiting Coordinator and spearheads player development for the Cardinal hitters and outfielders.
Under Evans' guidance, the SVSU offense has established itself as one of the most explosive and dynamic units in the GLIAC. During the 2026 campaign, Evans helped guide the Cardinals to a 26-25 record, marking the program's fourth consecutive winning season—the first time in SVSU history the program has achieved that level of sustained success. The 2026 offense was historic, blasting 43 home runs (the highest program total since 2002) and shattering a 39-year-old school record by swiping 164 bases on 195 attempts (blowing past the previous record of 115 set in 1987). The Cardinals averaged a dominant 7.61 runs per game while slashing .300 / .413 / .457 and setting a modern-day school record by being hit by a pitch 93 times.
In 2025, Evans' hitting instruction and recruiting prowess were on full display as the Cardinals finished with a strong 30-22 record, marking the program's second-most wins since 2008. The offense was fueled by spectacular individual development under Evans' watch, highlighted by Lucas Mead earning All-GLIAC First-Team honors. Mead led the team with a stellar .420 batting average—ranking in the NCAA Division II top-10 for much of the year—while racking up 76 hits, 10 doubles, 6 triples, 4 home runs, and 45 RBIs. Highlighting Evans' impact on the recruiting trail, freshman Jordan Lewis claimed GLIAC Freshman Player of the Year honors, solidifying the elite pipeline of talent coming into University Center.
The 2025 success followed SVSU's historic, record-shattering 2024 season. With Evans leading the recruiting and hitting efforts, the Cardinals finished with a program-best 41-18 overall record (.695 winning percentage) and a dominant 23-7 mark in GLIAC play to capture the regular-season conference championship. SVSU went on to host the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional, fighting back to defeat Ashland 11-7 behind a clutch grand slam from Jeff Reseigh, ultimately winning the Midwest Regional and advancing to the NCAA DII Super Regionals for the first time in school history. The historic 2024 offense set single-season team records in runs scored, hits, RBIs, doubles, triples, strikeouts, and conference victories.
In his debut season with the Cardinals in 2023, Evans immediately made an impact by developing three All-GLIAC Outfielders (Jaccar Watkins, Reed Raymond, and Colin Cornwell). He played a key role in an offense that hit .300 as a team, averaged 6.7 runs per game, and set the school record with 23 triples—led by Watkins, who set the individual single-season school record with 8 triples. His work on the recruiting trail and in the dugout helped SVSU secure the highest win-total and run-differential improvements in the GLIAC in 2023, yielding the program's best finish in over 15 years.
Through his first four seasons in University Center, Evans' player development program has yielded elite individual honors on both the conference and national stages. In total, he has mentored one D2 National Player of the Year, one GLIAC Player of the Year, one GLIAC Freshman of the Year, two All-Americans, six All-Region selections, and 23 All-GLIAC award winners.
Evans joined SVSU after a successful stint at Delta College, where he served as Hitting Coach and Recruiting Coordinator. During his tenure with the Pioneers, he was instrumental in bringing in the largest recruiting class in school history and advancing numerous student-athletes to the four-year level.
Prior to his coaching career, Evans pitched at Rochester University from 2017-2021, earning his bachelor's degree in Sports Management. He also played summer collegiate ball for the Saginaw Sugar Beets of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League.
