Danny Brandt Hired as Men’s Soccer Assistant Coach

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – Carnegie Mellon University head men's soccer coach Brandon Bowman is thrilled to announce the hire of two-time national champion Danny Brandt as the next full time assistant coach for the Tartans. Brandt began his duties in Pittsburgh this week after serving one season as an assistant coach at Hope College in Holland, Michigan.

While at Hope last year, Brandt helped the team double its wins from the season before finishing with a record of 14-3-1. The Flying Dutchmen also received national recognition throughout the year posting a ranking of 21 by United Soccer Coaches and earned the same ranking in the final D3soccer.com poll.

Although Brandt's coaching experience is short lived, his playing experience both collegiately and semi-professionally will be great assets for the Tartan program which has been to the NCAA tournament three of the past four years.

"We are excited to welcome Danny to our Carnegie Mellon men's soccer program," said Bowman. "After an extensive search, it was clear that Danny was a great fit for the position. The combination of his winning mentality and coaching knowledge will have an immediate impact on our program."

Brandt won NCAA Division III titles with Messiah College in 2013 and 2017, graduating in 2018 with a degree in communications. He played in every game during both of those seasons, and in three seasons as a player, he helped Messiah post a 69-4-2 overall record. He was named All-MAC Commonwealth Conference First Team in 2014 and 2017 and All Mid-Atlantic Region in 2014. He also received College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District honors in 2014.

Prior to his collegiate playing career, Brandt was a member of D.C. United's U18 Development Academy where he was one of five players called up to play in the 2012 Major League Soccer Reserve League against Montreal Impact and Philadelphia Union. During his time in the academy he trained with the first team under Ben Olsen.

While at Messiah, Brandt played for the Ocean City Nor'easters (2017) of the Premier Development League and Lansing United (2016) of the National Premier Soccer League where he earned honorable mention honors on the NPSL Midwest Region Conference XI.

Brandt has coached at a number of camps including stints at Hope College, Navy, Messiah and Lansing United. His high school playing days were spent at DeMatha Catholic High School near Washington, D.C., where he helped the program finish first in the nation in 2011.

"The men's soccer program at CMU has developed a tradition of excellence and success, and I am genuinely excited and proud to be a part of it," said Brandt. "I look forward to helping the program reach the next levels of success."