GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Gainesville has hired six-time state and three-time national championship coach Chan Brown to lead its baseball program.
Athletic director Adam Lindsey confirmed the hiring, which is pending board approval, on Monday afternoon.
“The Gainesville Baseball program is deeply important to this community, so it was key for us to find a coach that has had a proven record of success not only in the wins column but by developing baseball players and young men of high character,” Lindsey said. “Coach Brown understands the standard and tradition of Gainesville baseball, and we have full confidence that his process and standards will reignite the program.”
Brown, who took over an already thriving baseball culture established by legendary baseball coach Hugh Buchanan in 2003, elevated Parkview to national prominence in his 21 years at the helm. Not only did he guide the Panthers to state titles in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2021, 13 straight region championships, and 15 overall and three national titles, but he also cultivated 17 Major League Baseball draft picks. He also amassed 579 wins and just 173 losses in 21 seasons.
Now, he's bringing those same vital ingredients that built Parkview into a national power to Ivey Watson Field. However, as he says, it won't happen overnight.
"My mentor coach (Hugh) Buchanan told me, 'I gave you a good program, so go do more with it,'" he said. "It took some time to get it to do something more. We took it from a state-known thing to a national level, but there were a lot of challenges to getting it there. So, I think going into the Gainesville deal, it's just me learning what will make the program tick. What's going to make the kids go? And understand that this is a program and that it's not just going to happen overnight. So, we will have to build a program where we consistently do the right things on and off the field and try to put the wins on the field."
Gainesville made the Class 6A playoffs for the first time since the 2018 season and bolstered a winning region record for the first time in seven seasons during the 2024 campaign. But Big Red hasn't completed a season over .500 since 2018, when they finished 22-11 overall and were a No. 2 seed in the Class 6A playoffs. That year, the Red Elephants were eliminated in the second round of the state playoffs.
However, before the 2019 season, Gainesville was a constant winner, capturing seven state championships in its history, and that's one of the main reasons the job was so enticing to Brown.
"I think the rich tradition of Gainesville baseball can come back, and we can get Big Red moving back in the right direction," he said. "Hopefully, we can build off what they did last year, making the playoffs for the first time in a while.
"But I just see people that are willing to go to work at Gainesville. Obviously, the community is unbelievable, and the other side is, there are some good players there. We've just got to get in there, start working as hard as we can, and get the kids doing the right things on and off the field first, then build a tradition on the field that Gainesville will be proud of."
Brown has been named National Coach of the Year three times by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), USA Today, Perfect Game and Baseball America. He also has 14 region coach of the year honors and was named MaxPreps Coach of the Decade in 2020.
Brown was inducted into the Georgia Dugout Club Hall of Fame in 2018.
“We’ve had 21 memorable and wonderful years at Parkview High School and living in the Parkview community," he said. "I want to thank all of the players, coaches, and parents for making the last 21 years so special for me and my family. We love the Parkview community and will forever treasure our memories. Now, we look forward to a great new start in Gainesville."
