Greenwood graduate Brandon Brewer returns as baseball coach replacing Chad Mercado
Greenwood has named Brandon Brewer as its new baseball coach Monday to replace Chad Mercado who had resigned. He was an all-conference outfielder for the Bulldogs in 2010.
Brewer had been at Owasso (Oklahoma) for seven seasons as an assistant under Larry Turner, the winningest spring season-only coach in Oklahoma history at 1,222-274. During that period, the Rams made the Class 6A state tournament each year, lost in the semifinals twice and won the 2022 state title over Santa Fe, 7-3.
In addition to coaching, Brewer was Owasso's Director of Sports Media. With him, the athletic program won first place in the 2020 Gipper Standout Awards for its social media strategies.
"No. 1, he is a Bulldog," said Greenwood athletic director Dustin Smith. "He knows our program, knows the community. But he has been at a very successful program over at Owasso that has been a top tier program in the country, not just in the state of Oklahoma, but in the country.
"So he has experienced success and been trained by a really great coach who has been at Owasso for 44 years. His pedigree, his knowledge of our program, his knowledge of the Greenwood community, those were big factors for him."
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During his Greenwood career, Brewer batted .385 and had 28 RBIs as a senior for the Arkansas 5A state semifinalists who went undefeated in conference play and only had one regular season defeat and finished 31-2.
Beginning as a volunteer assistant at Greenwood, Brewer worked under football coach Rick Jones, who won eight state championships with the Bulldogs. From him, he learned "efficient use of time" and that "every single thing we do is for a purpose." Additionally, he learned how to talk to players.
Smith said that Brewer will be ready to join Greenwood in time for the school year and will be a teacher within the business department, in addition to coaching only baseball.
Smith said that Mercado took a new job "outside of the (school) district" in mid-to-late July. Smith said that Mercado did a "phenomenal job" and resigned on his own terms.
"Coach Mercado is a phenomenal man," Smith said. "I have invested in him and he knows that and I am appreciative of his time and what he has put into this program because I know that it was a lot for his family and for him. I can never say how appreciative I am enough because he was a great man and a great leader of our program and I am forever thankful for the contributions he made here."
Mercado began his tenure in June 2019 and went 3-2 in his first season that was shortened due to COVID-19. In 2021, Greenwood finished 20-11 and reached the Arkansas 5A state semifinals in Mercado's first full season there.
This past season, Greenwood finished 11-16, with a 7-7 mark in the 5A West.
"I reiterate that we are very appreciative of what Chad did here, a great man and somebody who invested in the lives of our kids," Smith said. "We are excited about continuing our baseball tradition and we have a really storied tradition, one we are really proud of."
You can follow Bryant Roche on Twitter @BRocheSports and you can email him at BRoche@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Brandon Brewer hired as Greenwood baseball coach replacing Chad Mercado
