Coach of the Year, Runner-Up: Brian Baise, Men's Volleyball

Ask a Harvard sports fan which coach has taken his team from a sub-.500 winning percentage to its best record in program history and first playoff appearance in his fourth year before notching the program’s first postseason success the next season. The likely answer will be Tommy Amaker, and the guess would be wrong. Coach Amaker did not complete these feats until his fifth and sixth year.

This honor actually belongs to the other Crimson coach who owns the hardwood, men’s volleyball head coach Brian Baise. After two straight 18-win seasons, Baise has Harvard looking like an emerging force in the EIVA.

“You have to look at the arc of what the team has been able to accomplish the past five years since he’s been here, especially the past two,” co-captain Rob Lothman said. “The program was not in a great position, and he came in and has been a consistent force.”

Baise’s players point to their coach’s ability to break down game tape of opponents as crucial to their recent success. Junior co-captain Nick Madden said Baise’s instructions about defending George Mason’s sets made a difference in the Crimson’s EIVA semifinal victory.

“As far as scouting, he’s easily the best coach I’ve ever seen break down tendencies of the other team and go about finding their weaknesses,” Madden said. “We go into games very prepared and we know our opponent very well.”

Both co-captains also highlighted Baise’s role in making effective and challenging practices a focus for preparing the squad for challenging games.

“We’ve really figured out the right balance between how and what we do in practice and how that affects us in games,” Lothman said.

Madden also pointed to Baise’s skill with personnel in maximizing the players’ on- and off-the-court impact.

“He has shown that he can really cater to different personalities and motivate different people,” Madden said.

Just like a player who hopes to achieve his full potential, a good coach can become a great coach only through consistent work and improvement.Lothman believes Baise has and will continue to create a better product with Harvard volleyball.

“He has really developed into an incredible coach,” the senior said. “I believe our success over the past few years is directly attributable to him and the job that he has done.”

—Staff writer Peter G. Cornick can be reached at pcornick@college.harvard.edu. Follow him on Twitter @pcornick.