Brian McGee is entering his ninth season as the Lake Erie College head baseball coach in 2016 after being taking over the position in October 2007. In just six years, McGee has built a competitive program as his squads have improved significantly on the field, while undergoing the difficult transition from Division III to current active D-II status, and rewritten the school record books in the process.
McGee became the first coach in program history - and just the second coach at Lake Erie in any sport - to win 100 games at the school with a 10-3 win at Pfeiffer University on March 7, 2013.
In 2014, the Storm reached new heights, reaching the NCAA Midwest Regional for the first time, picking up a victory over the University of Indianapolis in the tournament. The Storm concluded the season with their highest win total in program history-a 33-22 overall record and 22-11 record in GLIAC play- to finish third in the conference for the regular season. In the GLIAC Championships, the Storm made a run and finished as the runner-up- their highest finish in program history. Three Storm players made the All-GLIAC team. By making the GLIAC playoffs, the Storm became the only Ohio based team to make the GLIAC playoffs each of the past three years, making them one of the most successful Ohio-based Division-II programs in recent history.
In 2014, Lucas Raley earned numerous post-season awards, including GLIAC Rookie of the Year honors in addition to two All-Midwest Region and First-Team All-GLIAC selections.
In 2013, Lake Erie made its second straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament appearance and also won a postseason game for the second year in a row. The Storm overcame early season obstacles, setbacks and injuries to rally with six wins in their final eight games to earn a postseason spot. Four players went on to earn all-conference honors.
The 2012 season was the program's high water mark as the Storm reached the 20-win plateau for the second straight year, finishing with a school-record 27 victories (27-26 overall record) and qualified for the GLIAC Tournament for the first time by earning the number three seed with a 22-14 league mark. The 22 wins were the second most by any team in the league, and included three against eventual GLIAC champion NCAA Tournament participant Grand Valley State University. Lake Erie had seven players earn All-GLIAC accolades, including a pair of first-team selections in second baseman Brayan Cacique and two-time all-league outfielder Matt Toth, and also had at least two players named to the all-region squad for the second straight year. The season continued an upward trend of performance by the program and marked the fourth time in McGee's five seasons that the team set a school record for single-season victories.
In 2011, the Storm reached the 20-win mark for the first time, finishing with a then-school record 21 victories, and was in contention for a playoff spot in the GLIAC up until the next-to-last day of the season in the team's first year in the league. Five players earned All-GLIAC honors while three were named to the NABC All-Midwest Region Team (Ryan Rua and Brandon James - First Team, Matt Toth - Second Team, Gold Glove).
Shortstop Ryan Rua was named the school's first baseball All-American, being named to the Daktronics, Inc. Division II Team as an honorable mention selection and was also Lake Erie's first professional draft pick when he was taken by the defending American League champion Texas Rangers in the 17th round. Rua has shined in the Rangers organization, quickly working his way up to AAA and becoming one of the top prospects. In 2014, Rua was named to the Texas League mid-season All-Star roster after batting .318/.397/.523 and hitting 12 doubles and 10 homeruns for the Double-A Frisco Roughriders. At the All-Star festivities, Rua captured the Homerun Derby title. Rua currently plays for the Round Rock Express, the AAA affiliate of the Rangers.
Prior to his arrival, Lake Erie had never finished higher than seventh in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC), but in his first year the Storm finished third in the league and won a then school single-season record 17 games. The 10 AMCC wins were the most during the College’s six years of AMCC membership. All told, the team set 20 school records and finished the season ranked in the top 100 among all NCAA Division III teams in five statistical categories, most notably home runs (25th), slugging percentage (40th) and batting average (89th).
That team earned its first postseason bid, advancing to the AMCC Tournament semifinals. McGee’s players earned more conference accolades that season than in any prior year, while receiving Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) All-Star and American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Rawlings all-region team honors for the first time in program history.
Moving up a level and competing as an independent provisional Division II team in 2009, McGee's squad just missed the 2008 team's win total, finishing with 16 wins and set or tied 41 different school records. Fielding a roster of primarily first-year players, McGee’s charges overcame a slow start to play .500 over the second half of the season, including an 8-1 stretch that featured wins over Top-30 team Slippery Rock and regional foe Gannon.
In 2010, the Storm won 18 games and had two players - Ryan Rua and Brandon James - earn all-region second-team honors. The high point of the season came on March 28 when Lake Erie defeated Division I Cleveland State 19-4 on the Vikings home field, the school's first victory over a DI team in any sport. The Storm nearly replicated that feat in 2011 with a near-upset on the road at the University of Toledo (Lost, 7-6).
Before McGee's tenure, Lake Erie had won just 49 games and posted a .251 winning percentage in its first six seasons. McGee reached the 50-win plateau midway through his third year.
Prior to coming to Lake Erie, McGee was the assistant varsity and head junior varsity coach at Greensboro College from 2003-07. He coached third base and instructed the Pride infield, leading that group to its best statistical performances in the program's history. In 2006, the Greensboro infield finished 12th in the nation in fielding percentage. McGee also served as the assistant director and facility manager for Greensboro's student recreation center.
His additional coaching experience includes serving as the head coach of the Lake Erie Monarchs of the Great Lakes League in the summer of 2006 and as an assistant for the Wilmington Sharks of the Coastal Plain League in the summer of 2004.
A native of Lorain, Ohio, McGee's coaching career began at Toledo St. Frances High School as a varsity assistant in the spring of 2001. The following year he served as assistant at the University of Toledo before getting his first head coaching job came at Lorain Catholic High School in the spring of 2003, where he led the team to its first regional appearance in over a decade and was named Lorain County Coach of the Year.
McGee is a 1996 graduate of Amherst Steele High School and a 2000 graduate of Tiffin University, where he was a four-year letter winner and team captain for the Dragons. He earned his bachelor's degree in sports management from Tiffin before earning a master's degree in recreation and leisure studies from the University of Toledo in 2002.
McGee and his wife, the former Adriann Garland, married in October of 2011. The couple resides in nearby Wickliffe, Ohio with their newborn baby girl Georgina "Gigi" McGee.
