Brust, a 1985 graduate of Cardinal Mooney High School, played for the legendary Ed Nietopski where he earned all-Greater Rochester honors for both baseball and basketball.
After a year at the University of Maryland, Brust returned to Rochester to play for Monroe Community College and ABCA and NJCAA Hall of Fame Coach Dave Chamberlain. Brust responded by hitting .423 with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs in 1987. As a shortstop, Brust was selected as a third team All-American. Brust was inducted into the Monroe Community College Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
Brust then went on to play collegiately at Ball State. As the team’s catcher, Brust was captain and team MVP in 1988 and 1989. He also earned a Mid-American Conference All-Conference selection in 1989. In his senior year, Brust led the Ball State attack by hitting .342 with 14 HRs, 36 RBI along with .712 slugging percentage. Brust earned his bachelor’s degree from Ball State University in 1989.
After a successful collegiate career, Brust went on to play professionally in the Atlanta Braves organization from 1989 to 1992. Two of those seasons were spent playing for the Durham Bulls under former Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodger manager Grady Little.
Brust completed his Master’s degree in Educational Administration from Brockport State in 2003.
Brust entered coaching in 2004. Brust honed his passion for teaching baseball by coaching as an assistant in the New York Collegiate Baseball League with the 2004 Genesee Riverbats, 2006 Rochester Royals and 2007 Webster Yankees. In 2008 Brust took over as both the head coach and general manager of the Webster Yankees. In 2011 Brust guided the 2011 Webster Yankees 30-14 record was paced by a league record 14 game winning streak. Three players from that team went on to sign professional contracts: Chris Bostick (Oakland), Jasvir Rakkar (Chicago Cubs), and Joe Greenfield (Boston).
Brust was named the New York Collegiate Baseball League’s 2011 Coach of the Year. Under his leadership, the Webster Yankees organization won its first post season series while winning the 2011 Western Division Championship. Brust’s overall record as head coach in the NYCBL was 92-83.
Brust has worked with players who have gone on to earn spots on the Johnny Bench Award (Marcus Nidiffer) and Wallace Award Watch lists (Joe McIntyre). During his tenure with the Yankees, Brust oversaw the development of many players that have moved on to the professional ranks: Cory Brownsten (Atlanta Braves organization), Dan Jurik (Atlanta Braves), Pat Urckfitz (Houston Astros), Marcus Nidiffer (Houston Astros), Gary Helmick (Baltimore Orioles), Jason Stifler (Baltimore Orioles), Bryan Gardner (Cincinnati Reds) and Jordan Petraitis (Chicago Cubs).
He most recently served as the head assistant coach at Monroe Community College (NJCAA D2). In his eight years with the program, MCC won seven regional championships and participated in three NJCAA D2 World Series. During that period, Monroe Community College has had 40 players accept NCAA D1 or D2 offers after completing their eligibility at Monroe Community College. Brust worked as the team’s hitting instructor, catching coach, and infield coach. Since joining the program, there have been five NJCAA All-Americans along with five Academic All-Americans. He has worked directly with two MCC catchers awarded the Rawlings National Gold Glove award 2008 (Cory Browsten) and 2011 (AJ Kehlenbeck).
Brust has been a teacher in the Spencerport Central School District for 13 years.
