By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Brandon Riley, a former star baseball player for Williams and the University of North Carolina, has joined the coaching staff at Elon.
His hiring as an assistant coach was announced last week.
For the past two seasons, Riley was an assistant coach at Wingate.
“It’s exciting to bring back someone who grew up here, attended Elon baseball camps as a youngster, and has experienced baseball at the highest levels,” Elon coach Mike Kennedy said.
Riley was an outfielder for North Carolina’s 2018 College World Series team. He played for the Tar Heels from 2016-18 before he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals. He played for minor league teams in the Cardinals system and later for the Missoula Paddleheads of the independent Pioneer League before shifting into coaching. He also spent time briefly assisting the 2023 Burlington School team.
Riley returned to North Carolina as a student assistant coach for 2024, when the Tar Heels also advanced to the CWS.
At Elon, Riley replaces Ryder Giles, who spent one season as an assistant coach with the Phoenix. Giles is a former East Carolina and Kentucky infielder.
