Pat Collins-Bride began as Academy of Art University baseball assistant coach in September 2019.
Highlighting Collins-Bride's second campaign as assistant coach was ART U's first ever trip to the postseason, as the Urban Knights finished a single game ahead of Fresno Pacific to claim the PacWest NorCal pod title and the subsequent spot at the PacWest AQ Pod Series. Even in the shortened COVID-19 year, ART U claimed 16 victories, winning three series on the year while splitting one. The 13-11 record in PacWest play marked the first time in program history that the Knights finished conference play above .500. For the first time this season an Urban Knight was named the NCBWA West Region Pitcher of the Week, with both Matthew Sanchez (
Mar. 10) and Collin Carriger (
May 3) earned the honor after also being named the PacWest Pitcher of the Week (Sanchez–
Mar. 8; Carriger–
May 3). Playing a major role in a season-opening series win over Fresno Pacific in which he delivered seven hits in his first 10 at-bats, Adam Inouye was named the PacWest Player of the Week on
Mar. 8. By the end of the campaign, four Urban Knights
would earn All-PacWest honors, with Ty Conrad and Jayson Summers named to the All-PacWest Second Team while Dominic Ruggiero and Andrew Shebloski found spots on the All-PacWest Third Team. The accolades kept rolling in for Conrad in the postseason, earning selections to each of the
2021 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA DII West All-Region Second Team,
2021 D2CCA All-Region Second Team, and
2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team. Additionally, baseball was represented by 10
2020-21 Academic All-PacWest recipients.
The Urban Knights' 2020 campaign, Collins-Bride's first on staff, was highlighted by several dominant pitching performances as well as an epic nine-run comeback against Central Washington, but was ultimately halted by the COVID-19 global pandemic. At the spring's conclusion, the team collected nine
Academic All-PacWest honors with four of those also resulting in
D2 ADA Academic Achievement Awards.
After completing a five-year stint on staff with NAIA baseball powerhouse Indiana Tech, Collins-Bride joined ART U with more than seven years of coaching experience including stops at Ave Maria University and the San Francisco Seals summer baseball club.
As the head assistant coach, Collins-Bride's fifth year with Indiana Tech continued a steady progression of the program. The Warriors went 42-16-1, making the NAIA World Series, winning the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference regular season championship for the second consecutive year and the WHAC tournament championship, marking only the second time in program for the Warriors to win both titles in the same year. In his time with Tech, Collins-Bride helped the team compile a record of 202-98-1 with five trips to the postseason, four to the conference championship game, three to the NAIA Championship Tournament, and one to the World Series.
In addition to his duties with the baseball team, Collins-Bride served as a strength and conditioning coach with several Warriors sport programs including men's and women's basketball, women's soccer, tennis, women's lacrosse, and women's volleyball.
Collins-Bride previously spent two years as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Ave Maria University, where he was in charge of pitchers, hitters, infielders, catchers, and baserunners, guiding the team its best season in program history with a record 38-21 and to its only post-season appearance and national ranking (No. 25). Collins-Bride also helmed the San Francisco Seals Collegiate Club during summers from 2012-16, navigating the toughest and long travel schedule in the country, venturing to Alaska, Canada, Washington, Oregon, and Kansas.
In seven years a collegiate coach, Collins-Bride has coached nine All-Americans, four Conference Players of the Year, one Pitcher of the Year, three National Gold Glove recipients, 33 All-Conference award winners, and 24 of his players have signed professional contracts, six of which with MLB affiliates.
Prior to his graduation, Collins-Bride's career as a baseball student-athlete saw him start at Laney College before finishing at AMU. In his four years, he earned two Sun Conference All-Star Game invitations at AMU and a CCCBCA Mizuno Sophomore Showcase invitation while at Laney College. While in Alameda, Collins-Bride played at Encinal High School and was a Max Preps California All-State nominee. He earned a bachelor's degree in Politics from Ave Maria in 2013 then earned a master's degree in Marketing and Management from Indiana Tech in 2016.
