Brandon West

Reigning United East Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year Brandon West is set to enter his second season as Penn State Harrisburg head coach in 2022.

In his first year at the helm, West led Penn State Harrisburg to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and second conference championship in program history. The Lions went undefeated in United East play (7-0-1) and secured the conference’s regular season conference title. The Blue & White hosted the 2021 United East Championship Tournament and defeated Penn State Berks to win the conference crown. As a unit, the team recorded a program-record 13 shutouts on the year. For his efforts, West was named the United East Coach of the Year by his peers.

Under West’s tutelage, Sarah Toche-Manley became the first player in program history to earn all-region recognition, as the midfielder was tabbed a United Soccer Coaches (USC) All-Region Second-Team pick in 2021. Toche-Manley was also a United East All-Conference First-Team selection and was joined on the first team by Katie Brown, while teammates Kylee Altland, Sydney Hemler, Amy Patkos, Delaney Shifflett, and Rhyan Socash earned second-team all-conference honors that fall.

Prior to taking over at Penn State Harrisburg, West was an assistant coach at Division I Liberty. He helped lead the Flames to the NCAA Championship Tournament in the spring of 2021 after a memorable run in the ASUN Tournament culminated with a conference championship. During his first season at Liberty under head coach Lang Wedemeyer, the Flames won 10 games, including victories over the likes of Pittsburgh and James Madison, before securing a spot in the 2019 ASUN Tournament.

Prior to his stint at Liberty, West was the head coach at Eastern for two seasons. Under his guidance, the Eagles made back-to-back appearances in the MAC Freedom Tournament after the program failed to make the postseason in the five seasons before his arrival. While at Eastern, he also served as the school's assistant athletic director of facilities, as well as the goalkeeper coach for the men's soccer program.

Before accepting his first head coaching position, West served as an assistant under men's soccer head coach Brad McCarty at his alma mater for two seasons beginning in the fall of 2015. In 2016, he helped lead the Falcons to 19 wins and an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance.

West was a standout goalkeeper during his collegiate career at Division III power Messiah. He was the starter in net when the Falcons won back-to-back NCAA Division III Championships in 2012 and 2013, respectively, and he earned NSCAA All-Region recognition for his stellar play before being named to the NCAA All-Tournament team in 2012. He posted 25 shutouts during his career, recording total 67 victories and recording an outstanding 0.39 goals against average.

West graduated from Messiah in 2015. His wife, Alicia, is a former Messiah standout in her own right. She won back-to-back national championships with the women's soccer program and earned a pair of all-America honors during her career. The pair have 3 kids, Hayden 2, and twins Wren and Anna, 1.