Brian Fay of Southbury took over as the new head coach of the Fairfield University baseball team after serving as an assistant coach, associate head coach and recruiting coordinator over the past eight years under longtime coach Bill Currier, who retired at the end of the 2026 season.
Fairfield Athletics
After serving as an assistant coach for the Fairfield University baseball team for the past eight years, Brian Fay of Southbury has been promoted to head coach of the Stags after the retirement of longtime head coach Bill Currier.
Fairfield Athletics
Brian Fay, center, has been promoted from associate head coach to head coach of the Fairfield University baseball team.
Fairfield Athletics
In the midst of the most successful sustained run in Fairfield University baseball history, Coach Bill Currier – the Stags all-time leader in career win percentage – felt comfortable retiring after last season.
He knew that the program was in the right place and that his hand-picked coaching replacement was ready to sustain Fairfield’s historic level of play.
Article continues below this ad
For the past eight years, Southbury’s Brian Fay had been groomed by Currier, first as his assistant coach, then his associate head coach and ultimately as the head coach in waiting during a time Fairfield was winning at an unprecedented rate.
In all seven full seasons Fay coached, the Stags won 30 games or more, including a school-record 39 in 2021 and again in 2025. He was also part of four consecutive conference regular season championships and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.
“There really isn’t a better time to be part of Fairfield baseball and Fairfield University than right now, but with the understanding that we still have a lot more upside here,” Fay said. “It took a lot of freaking work to get to this point. It took recruiting a lot of good people, and it took an incredibly supportive administration to help us build things.
Article continues below this ad
Make CT Insider a preferred source on Google to see more of our journalism when you search.
Add Preferred Source
“We have just scratched the surface of where we can go and who we can become here. It is a really motivating time for me from that standpoint, but it is also incredibly exciting just understanding how much further we can take this thing.”
Currier announced in November of 2025 that the 2026 season would be his last, and he recommended that Fay should be his successor despite never having been a head coach before.
Currier loved what a “go-getter” Fay was as the team’s recruiting coordinator as well as how the Stags’ offense flourished under him as the main hitting instructor. In eight seasons under his offensive mentorship Fairfield averaged 7.3 runs per game with a .288 batting average, a .391 on-base percentage, 460 home runs and a .460 slugging percentage.
Article continues below this ad
Matt Bucciero, who finished his career this year as Fairfield’s all-time leader in home runs, RBIs, total bases, triples, walks and runs scored, feels great about Fay taking over the reins of the program.
“He has done a great job with our hitters, and you can see historically how well our bats have performed under him,” said Bucciero, who was drafted in the 10th round by the Chicago White Sox last week. “I think he has done a great job developing our youngers guys and an unbelievable job overall.
“Coach Fay is going to do a very good job as a head coach, and there is going to be a seamless transition.”
That was Currier’s plan when he announced his retirement before the 2026 season. Throughout the year, he gradually handed Fay more responsibility to prepare him for the transition.
Article continues below this ad
“One of the biggest things I am grateful for with Bill is that he allowed me to do more and more each year I’ve been here,” Fay said. “There isn’t a whole lot right now that is smacking me in the face that I wasn’t prepared for.
“I would say about 80% of what happens on a day-to-day basis I’m already very familiar with.”
The 33-year-old still has areas to learn. Currier excelled at fundraising, while Fay has never managed scheduling or handled some of the behind-the-scenes administrative responsibilities.
Still, while there will be a learning curve, Fay feels well prepared and eager for the opportunity. It’s something he has envisioned for a long time.
Article continues below this ad
As a 9-year-old hockey player, he would grab a whiteboard and diagram breakout plays. Even then, he was fascinated by strategy.
“My dad (Eric) coached me growing up, and he was such a phenomenal role model for how to care for people and get them to buy in,” Fay said. “It was much more than just knowing the X’s and O’s, and being around his passion for coaching naturally rubbed off on me.
“As I got older, I started to see how interesting coaching could be as a profession. I studied people like Nick Saban, Tim Corbin and Jack Leggett, reading what they wrote about coaching, and they became role models from afar.”
Before coaching, Fay enjoyed an accomplished playing career. At Pomperaug High School, he was an All-State player, a state champion and a captain in both hockey and baseball.
Article continues below this ad
Baseball eventually became his primary focus and earned him a scholarship to Siena College. There, he helped the Saints win a MAAC championship and was part of the 2014 team that earned the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory.
After his playing career ended, Fay spent one season as an assistant coach at Hudson Valley Community College before working for two years as an insurance underwriter.
“To be honest, after playing for as long as I did and pouring so much of myself into it, I got a little burned out and needed to step away from the game for a while,” Fay said. “It was great for me because I learned valuable life skills like interacting with people from different walks of life, the importance of being organized and handling finances and budgets.”
The experience also gave him perspective.
Article continues below this ad
He realized he’d rather spend a 75-degree spring day on a baseball field than inside a cubicle.
His familiarity with the MAAC made him an ideal candidate when Fairfield’s assistant coaching position opened in the fall of 2018, and Currier hired him.
The Stags went 249-144 during Fay’s eight seasons on the coaching staff. Now he has the opportunity to put his own stamp on a program already positioned for continued success.
Article continues below this ad
“I’m excited about being the voice of the team and being able to set the agenda and the tone every day,” Fay said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge of getting 36 guys to think the same way and building a culture of players who are disciplined, accountable and passionate about baseball.
“I want to build a roster of guys who love to compete, are fearless, love to play and just want to get after it.”