Dan Giordano begins his ninth full season as the Head Coach of the Stormy Petrel baseball program. Giordano is no stranger to the program as he played for the Petrels from 1999-2002. He was hired as the pitching coach upon graduation and was named interim head coach halfway through 2004. In 2005, he was handed the reigns of the program on a full-time basis.

In 2004, he took over a 1-17 team and led it to a fourth-place finish at the SCAC Championships held at Oglethorpe. Their fourth-place finish is the best SCAC finish in the history of the program. Two players were named to the All-South Region Second Team and three players made the All-SCAC team.

Giordano has led the Petrels to the SCAC playoffs four out of the last five years and put up the first winning season since 1997 in 2009. After that season, Giordano was named Georgia Dugout Club Coach of the Year at the Division III level. That year they also had their first player drafted in the modern era (1992- present) in Daniel Sarisky (40th round, Houston Astros). The Petrels have enjoyed a resurgence in the past four seasons and have put together the second-best winning percentage in any four-year span since 1992.

Since Giordano took over the program, the Petrels have had 24 All-SCAC members, one D3 Baseball All-Region team member, four ABCA All-South All-Americans and one Rawlings Gold Glove winner. The Petrels consistently place players in prestigious summer leagues across the country including the Cape Cod League, Northwoods League, Sunbelt League and Coastal Plains League.

Sam enters his first year on the OU coaching staff having graduated from Oglethorpe in 2011, earning First-Team All-SCAC, SCAC pitcher of the week, and team captain honors. Upon graduating OU, Briend continued his playing career professionally for the New York Federals in the Can-Am independent league.

After his playing career, Briend was the head coach of the Bulls in the Southern Prospect High School League. The Bulls finished with the best record in the league and as runners-up in the playoffs. Briend has worked several high school clinics and showcases, as well.

In the 2012-13 campaign, Briend will primarily be working with the OU pitching staff.

Spencer Kennedy begins his second full year as the assistant coach of the Oglethorpe University Stormy Petrels.  He played for the Petrels from 2007-11 under Coach Dan Giordano. Kennedy served as a side-armed specialist out of the bullpen and finished his career second all-time in appearances with 62. He graduated from Oglethorpe in May 2011 with a B.S. in communications and rhetoric studies.

Kennedy was hired as assistant coach in 2012 after serving as the volunteer assistant coach at Napa Valley College in Napa, Calif. Kennedy also coached Team Clutch, a 16-and-under travel team, this past summer with Petrels pitching coach Sam Briend. Originally from Mill Valley, Calif., Kennedy attended Tamalpais High School prior to his career at Oglethorpe.

In addition to his assistant coaching duties, Kennedy will serve as recruiting coordinator for the Petrels.