Hall of Fame
As an elite pitcher, Phil Brua reset the Oberlin College record books throughout his career. After an illustrious four-year tenure with the Yeomen, Brua played two years of professional baseball in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. Pitching between short-season Class A Vancouver and full-season Class A Lansing, Brua compiled a 12-2 record, a 3.80 ERA, and six saves. The Avon, Ohio, native appeared in 56 games professionally and helped the Vancouver Canadians win the 2011 North West League Championship.
On campus, the sidearm specialist set the school record for appearances (65) and remains second all-time with 15 career wins. A two-time All-NCAC selection, including first-team laurels as a junior, Brua was an American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Midwest Region selection after setting the then-single-season school record for saves (6) while matching the modern-era program record in wins with six.
Ranked first and second in single-season pitching appearances, Brua's 2.78 ERA in 2010 ranked third in the North Coast Athletic Conference while he also held opponents to a conference-best .227 batting average against. That historic season was capped off with Brua earning national Gold Glove honors from the ABCA.
After his playing career concluded, the sociology major returned to Oberlin to begin his coaching career. Over three seasons with the Yeomen, Brua helped coach four All-NCAC selections while helping Oberlin claim its first NCAC Tournament Championship and berth into the NCAA Tournament in 2015.
Brua spent two seasons as an assistant coach, and one semester as the interim head coach, at NCAA Division III Pomona-Pitzer in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. He has since served as head coach at Hiram College since July 2018, mentoring five All-NCAC players, including the program's first first-team selection since 2012.
