Brian Cronin

Title

Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
Email

bcronin3@radford.edu
Phone

831-7822

Brian Cronin completed his fifth season with the Highlanders and continues to help Radford reach greater heights in his tenure.

In 2017 he helped Radford to a 10-4-4 record, including a 5-1-2 mark in Big South play, finishing second in the standings and reaching the conference tournament semifinals.

Alongside new head coach Bryheem Hancock, he brought a high-potent offense to the New River Valley as the Highlanders owned the eighth best scoring offense in the country with 2.11 goals per match, while ranking 10th with 6.28 points per match. Kieran Roberts finished the season with 15 goals, which ranked fourth in the country. Sivert Daehlie followed with 12 goals to rank 17th in the country. In addition, Roberts led the nation with 5.44 shots per match and 2.83 shots on goal.

The Highlanders swept the 2017 postseason awards as Roberts was named the Big South’s Attacking Player of the Year and Fraser Colmer earned Co-Defensive Player of the Year. In all, Radford placed four on the Big South First Team (Kieran Roberts, Fraser Colmer, Sivert Daehlie, Victor Valls). Evan Szklennik and Max Edwards were named to the conference’s second team. Edwards joined Noy Daabul on the Big South All-Freshman team.

Academically, Colmer was named Big South Men’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second straight season, while earning his third straight CoSIDA Academic All-American honor. Colmer also became the first Highlander in program history to be named a Senior CLASS Award All-American, finishing second to Wake Forest’s Jon Bakero.

Then in 2018, Cronin guided the Highlanders to a 5-3 conference record to place second in the Big South. As a team, Radford reached the conference semifinals and racked up nine postseason conference awards.

Freshman phenom Amadou Macky Diop was named Big South Freshman of the Year, All-Big South First Team and United Soccer Coaches All-South Region Third Team after scoring nine goals and tallying five assists. Kieran Roberts also made the First Team while Myles Yorke and Victor Valls were placed on the Second Team, Sam Farrell and Thure Ilgner made the All-Freshman Team and Benjamin Thiss earned a spot on the All-Academic Team.

The 2019 season saw a young Highlander squad return to the Big South Tournament for a record-setting 25th consecutive year. Cronin helped develop freshmen Mouhameth Thiam and Octavio Ocampo into Big South All-Freshman selections, while Ocampo and Victor Valls also earned all-conference honors. In addition, Jacob Wilkinson became the 27th Academic All-American in Radford history.

In 2016, Radford finished with a 14-4-2 record while capturing the Big South Regular Season and Tournament Championships. After collecting the third straight regular season title, Radford ended its 16-year absence as kings of the Big South, winning its first tournament championship since 2000 with a 1-0 decision over sixth seeded Longwood.

Radford put together one of the best defensive seasons in program history that year. The Highlanders led the Big South with 10 shutouts, yielding only 13 goals total and two in league play. Radford ranked ninth nationally with a 0.63 goals against average and 13th with a 0.50 shutout percentage. Finishing with a 0.824 save percentage to rank 10th nationally as a team, Aitor Pouseu Blanco ranked 13th nationally in the individual category. Pouseu Blanco also ranked 10th in the country with a 0.611 goals against average.

Eight Highlanders earned All-Big South honors. Radford defensive backline of Jo Vetle Rimstad, Fraser Colmer and Bismark Amofah joined Pouseu Blanco on the first team. The trio also joined Pouseu Blanco on the All-Tournament team as Pouseu Blanco earned MVP honors.

Individually, Rimstad racked up several honors in the postseason. In addition to collecting Radford’s second consecutive Big South Defense Player of the Year award, Rimstad earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-South Region first team. The all-region honor was Rimstad’s first step to becoming Radford’s second NSCAA All-American in program history during the NCAA Division I era as Rimstad joined Olympian Dante Washington as the only two Highlanders to hold the honor. Adding to his NSCAA All-American third honor award, Rimstad was named to the NSCAA’s Scholar All-America First Team.

Rimstad capped off his already impressive postseason with hearing his named called in the 2017 Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The D.C. United selected Rimstad with the 43rd overall pick in the draft. The five-time Big South Defensive Player of the Week honoree aided Radford to 31 shutouts in his career.

Colmer became the sixth Big South Men’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete of Year recipient in program history, including the second in last two years. Colmer earned a nod on the CoSIDA Academic All-America® first team, becoming only the third Highlander in program history to be named to the team. Colmer joined Rimstad on the NSCAA All-South Region squad with a third team nod.

The 2016 season saw the Highlanders receive its highest national ranking in the NSCAA Coaches' Poll with a ranking of 20th. Radford was ranked inside the Top 25 for three consecutive weeks during the season. The 2016 senior class capped of their careers with a 49-20-11 record over a four-year span, including a 24-4-5 record inside Cupp Stadium.

All of success of the 2016 season was built off the 2015 season in which the Highlanders finished with a 14-4-2 record, making their third NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. Radford received its first NCAA at-large bid in program history on the strength of its No. 20 RPI. The Highlanders finished the Big South schedule with a 7-1-1 record, securing a share of their sixth conference regular-season championship.

In the NCAA First Round, Radford dropped a heartbreaking 2-1 match to Charlotte. The 49ers broke a 1-1 tie with a goal in the 84th minute. The NCAA tournament appearance marked the first appearance by the Highlanders since the 2000 season.

In 2015, as the Highlanders were one of the top offensive threats in the country. Radford led the Big South with 44 goals, ranking in the Top 20 nationally. Meanwhile, Radford's defense was just as impressive, only allowing four goals in Big South play—the lowest recorded in the league.

At the end of the season, six players earned All-Big South honors—five named to the first team, a program record. Daniel O’Keefe became the first Highlander to be named Big South Defensive Player of the Year, after anchoring the backline of a defense that finished with nine shutouts. Sivert Daehlie led the Highlanders and ranked second in the Big South with 13 goals. Daehlie ranked second nationally with seven game winning goals. He finished the season ranked inside the nation's Top-25 in goals, goals per game, points and points per game.

The Highlanders dominated the VaSID awards, sweeping all three major awards with five players earning all-state first team honors. Daehlie claimed the honor of becoming the first player to win both the Player and Rookie of the Year in VaSID All-State history. Furthermore, he was the Highlanders' first-ever player to be named VaSID Player of the Year.

Cronin joined the Highlander staff after spending the 2014 season with Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif. As an assistant coach of the men's soccer program, Cronin helped the Mustangs finish 8-7-4 in the Big West. While at Cal Poly, Cronin coached within the Eagles Soccer Club, overseeing the U-16 Girls, who finished in the top 50 in Cal South. The team was also promoted to Coast League Gold after one season.

Prior to joining Cal Poly's coaching staff, Cronin spent two seasons at Clemson as the director of soccer operations. In 2013, the program finished fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and advanced to the NCAA tournament. In 2012, Clemson finished 6-8-4 and lost to Maryland in the ACC tournament semifinals. While at Clemson, Cronin also served as the assistant coach for the '98 South Carolina Olympic Development Program Team.

Cronin also brings pro experience to the New River Valley, having served as a game day operations and account executive for the San Jose Earthquakes of the MLS.

In addition to holding an advanced national diploma from the NSCAA and a USSF National B License, Cronin graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Chapman University in May 2008. While at Chapman, Cronin played for the men's soccer program for two years. Prior to Chapman, Cronin played two seasons for state powerhouse Cabrillo Junior College and was a part of the state finalist team in 2005.