Brett Balkan Bio
Coach Brett Balkan – Biography
Rising through the ranks of Carlsbad youth baseball, Brett Balkan was a two-year varsity starting shortstop at Carlsbad High School and a three-year varsity starter in soccer, earning All-League honors in all five varsity seasons.
Brett continued his baseball career at San Diego Mesa College, where he began as a freshman, hitting .260. After attending a three-day hitting clinic at the Epstein Hitting Academy in Colorado, Brett embraced rotational hitting principles that transformed his game. His sophomore year was a breakout season — he hit .384, earning First Team All-Pacific Coast Athletic Conference and First Team All-American honors. He also captured the conference batting title and was awarded the Rawlings Gold Glove as the top defensive shortstop in the Western Region (California, Oregon, Washington).
Brett’s success at Mesa earned him a Division I scholarship to California State University, Northridge (CSUN), where he competed in the prestigious Big West Conference. Despite battling injuries, Brett’s senior season was his best — he hit .285 overall and .329 in conference play, committing only four errors at shortstop in 212 chances over 56 games. He was named All-Big West Honorable Mention and received the team’s Best Defensive Player award.
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Following college, Brett pursued his dream of playing professionally. In 2014, he joined the Raton Osos of the Pecos League, hitting .412 in 14 games. The next year, he signed with the Roswell Invaders, hitting .316 over 65 games with 16 doubles and 26 stolen bases, helping lead Roswell to the 2015 Pecos League Championship. His performance earned a promotion to the Sioux Falls Canaries of the American Association, where he started 38 of 40 games and posted a .988 fielding percentage.
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In 2016, Brett returned to Roswell, hitting .340 with 3 home runs, a .467 on-base percentage, and a .972 fielding percentage. The following season, he joined the Utica Unicorns, where he led the league in on-base percentage (.434) and hit-by-pitches (13), ranked third in batting average (.309), and was a 2017 All-Star and MVP finalist.
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In 2018, Brett joined the Bakersfield Train Robbers as an assistant coach (hitting, infield, and mental skills), but was activated mid-season as the team’s shortstop. He hit .363 with a .481 OBP, scoring 47 runs, driving in 19, and adding 2 home runs. Brett was named to his second professional All-Star Team and helped Bakersfield capture the 2018 Pecos League Championship. In the postseason, he hit .484 with 9 runs and 9 RBIs, earning both Regular Season MVP and Postseason MVP honors.
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For over a decade, Brett has coached hitting and infield development in San Diego. He is the founder of Balkan Hitting, specializing in video analysis and mental performance training. He also serves as Hitting Director and Senior Director of Player Development for Holistic Baseball, which includes The Nest Baseball Academy, an online hitting academy, and the San Diego Hawks Baseball Club, a premier program with over 20 teams. Brett is the head coach of the San Diego Hawks 14U Prime — one of the top-ranked teams in the state and nation at the Division 1 Majors level.
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Currently, Coach Balkan is the Head Varsity Baseball Coach and Middle School Program Lead at Pacific Ridge School in Carlsbad, California.
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Brett holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Cal State Northridge (2014) and a Master’s Degree in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University, Irvine (2019).