Grady Named Head Men's Soccer Coach

HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata College Athletics Department is pleased to announce the hiring of Brendan Grady as the sixth head coach of the men's soccer program. He brings over seven years of coaching experience to Juniata. 

"After an extensive and extremely competitive national search,  Brendan's experience and success as both a player and coach at an elite academic institution, in one of the top soccer conferences in Division III, along with his focus on the student-athlete, make him uniquely qualified for this opportunity," said Athletics Director and Head Men's Basketball coach Greg Curley. "We look forward to the continued development, growth, and success of our soccer program under his leadership. Coach Grady shares our commitment to providing a first-class student experience while chasing a high level of competitive success within the Landmark Conference."  

Coach Grady comes to Juniata after having served in several different capacities at his alma mater, Swarthmore, most recently working as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. Heavily involved in every aspect: he helped select the team and manage game tactics, established and implemented training priorities, and create scouting reports on the opposition. 

"I'd like to thank President Troha, athletic director Greg Curley, and the rest of the search committee for the opportunity to lead the men's soccer program at Juniata," said Grady. "Juniata offers a high-level academic experience in a naturally beautiful location and offers the unique opportunity to play in one of the top stadiums in D3; most importantly, it's a welcoming, tight-knit community that invests in the student-athlete experience—a community my wife and I are excited to join. My goal here is simple: to build a championship culture that prepares young men for success on and off the field. I am looking forward to working closely with the team to immediately compete in the Landmark this fall."

This past season, he helped the team earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and advance to the Sweet 16 while six players were named to the Centennial All-Conference team.  

"We are thrilled to hear that Brendan Grady will be the new head coach at Juniata College," said Swarthmore's head coach Eric R. Wagner. "Brendan is a thoughtful, detail-oriented, hard-working coach who is driven to succeed by his own competitiveness. He was an extremely talented All-Region player for us here at Swarthmore, and captained our teams for two seasons, earning the school's first ECAC title in his senior year."

"As a coach, Brendan is primarily responsible for Swarthmore reaching the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament this past season, because his relentless work ethic, incredible soccer knowledge, and the competitive fire kept our program motivated and moving forward every day," Wagner continued. "Simply put, Brendan will be a fantastic head coach at Juniata. We cannot be prouder of what Brendan has accomplished here at Swarthmore. We are excited to see what this new chapter in his career brings, and we will NOT want to be playing Juniata in a couple of years!"  

Prior to his time at Swarthmore, Grady spent two years as the assistant at Widener University, where he designed and installed training sessions focused on individual and team defensive shape. In 2009, the team set a program record for shutouts and conceded 17 fewer goals than the previous season. He worked with the midfielders and forwards to increase possession and goal-scoring opportunities; the team found the back of the net nine more times than the year prior. 

Grady has worked with Chester-Upland Youth Soccer since 2012, starting as a program assistant and working his way up to becoming the Executive Director, a title he has held since 2018. He oversees all aspects of the club, including fundraising, grant writing, board management, budget process, strategic planning, payroll, staff development, and human resources. 

Before coaching, Grady enjoyed a decorated career with the Garnet men's soccer program from 2004 to 2007.  He was named the 2007 ECAC Tournament MVP after he led Swarthmore to the team title and also earned places on the NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region and All-Centennial Conference teams, as well as the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Team.

Also, Grady was a member of the California North Olympic Development Program's A Team from 1999 through 2001, and he captained the San Juan Predators and Santa Clara Ruckus to the US Club National Championship and Y-League National Championship, respectively.  On the scholastic level, he was most notably a member of the Bellarmine College Preparatory's 2002 squad, which was ranked #1 in the nation. 

Grady earned a bachelor's degree in English from Swarthmore in 2009 and his master's of fine arts in poetry from the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers in 2012.  He holds a USSF "B" coaching license. 

Grady will be joined by his wife Courtney.