Coach Pete Varney, Brandeis University and the postseason are synonymous in New England baseball. Overall in his 29 seasons at the Judges’ helm, Varney has led the Judges to the post-season 20 times. During his tenure as the Brandeis head coach, his teams have had an impressive list of accomplishments. Those achievements include an NCAA Division III College World Series appearance, 12 NCAA Regional invitations, two ECAC Division III New England Championships, eight ECAC tournament selections, six University Athletic Association titles and five Greater Boston League crowns.

Varney has guided the Judges to postseason appearances in 11 of the last 16 years. He has earned great respect on the national level because of his wealth of coaching and playing experience on both the collegiate and professional levels. That respect, coupled with major league playing experience, is given to the man whose name has become synonymous with Brandeis baseball. In addition, he has overseen and helped raise money for the improvement of facilities, including the new dugouts installed in 1999.

The Brandeis baseball program is renowned for the number of former players who have gone into the professional ranks. Twelve former Judges coached by Varney have been signed by major league baseball clubs, including the University's only major-leaguer. Right-handed pitcher Nelson Figueroa became the first former Brandeis player to appear in the major leagues when he started three games for the Arizona Diamondbacks in the summer of 2000, and recently returned to the majors in 2010 with the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros. More recently, Bryan Lambert '05 was signed as a free agent and spent two years in the Washington Nationals system.

Varney has run a class program that emphasizes academic success and personal responsibility on and off the field. Twenty-nine years ago, Varney took over the reins of a highly successful program from former coach Tom O’Connell, the recently retired coach of baseball at Princeton University and 2003 inductee into the Brandeis Hall of Fame. Varney’s impact was evident immediately as his first team won 23 games, the Greater Boston League championship and qualified for the NCAA Division III tournament.

Recruiting, the lifeblood of any successful collegiate program, has received a great deal of attention from Varney and his assistants. The staff’s efforts in that regard have not gone unnoticed.

Varney’s formula for success on the diamond is based on solid pitching and defense, along with a wide open offensive style of play. He has been named as New England Division III Coach of the Year three times (1984, 87, 99) and was named Greater Boston League Coach of the Year five times. Varney spent three summers (1988-90) as the head baseball coach of the Cotuit Kettleers in the nationally known Cape Cod League.

In high school, Varney was a three sport standout at North Quincy High School and is a member of its Hall of Fame. He was honored this past fall by the Everett High School’s E Club as its top opposing player. After a year of prep school at Deerfield Academy, Varney chose to stay in the Boston area, attending Harvard University.

As a collegian, Varney lettered in both baseball and football. He is best remembered in this area for catching the two point conversion in The Game, a 29-29 tie with Yale University in 1968. Varney's name still peppers the Harvard baseball record book in several categories. He has the third best career batting average .370 (1969-71), second-most home runs in a season (10 in 1970), and most RBI's in a game, (9) vs Washington and Lee in 1970. As a senior, he led Harvard to the 1971 NCAA Division I College World Series where the Crimson finished fifth in the nation. For his efforts that year, he was named first team All-American.

He was drafted seven times by major league teams between the years 1966 and 1971. Three times he was the number one pick overall. Finally, after graduating from Harvard in 1971, Varney signed with the Chicago White Sox, who drafted him with the first choice in the June secondary phase. He went on to play seven years of professional baseball and spent parts of four years in the big leagues with the White Sox and the Atlanta Braves.

When he retired from baseball, he began his coaching career at Narragansett High School in Templeton, Mass. After three years, he was named baseball coach at Brandeis. In addition to his coaching duties, Varney is the coordinator of student-athlete recruitment and is a lecturer in the Physical Education Department.

A former standout for the Gerry McCarthy Club in the Boston Park League, he was inducted into the League's Hall of Fame in November, 1985. Varney serves as the chairman of the New England Division III College Baseball Coaches Poll and a member of the NEIBA Executive Committee.

One of the many Brandeis baseball alumni who has joined the coaching ranks, Brian Lambert is in his 12th campaign in his alma mater's dugout. Lambert served as head coach at Nichols College for two seasons in 2004 and 2005.

Lambert arrived at Brandeis as a freshman in 1995 and was an everyday starter in the outfield. His last three seasons, he was the centerfielder. During his four-year career, he led Brandeis to four post-season appearances, including an NCAA berth the last three seasons. As a senior captain, he led Brandeis to a then school record 29 wins. The lead-off hitter, he hit .376 with four home runs, 11 doubles, 25 RBI, 48 runs scored and 10 stolen bases as a senior. Lambert set a school single season record with 44 walks as a junior and has a career total of 105, second on the all-time list. Also that year, he tied the school record for runs with 44, and topped that with 48 last season. An outstanding fielder, he committed only two errors in 131 career games and stole a total of 42 bases.

A native of Walpole, Mass., he serves as the third base coach and oversees recruiting, summer team placement, ordering equipment and developing the team’s strength program.

A 2006 Brandeis graduate and one of the top pitchers in school history, Tim Dunphy joins the Brandeis coaching staff for his third season as the squad's pitching coach.

A three-time All-UAA performer and All-New England selection as a senior, Dunphy turned in one of three 10-win seasons in school history as a senior in 2006, when he went 10-3 with a 2.35 earned-run average. He led the Judges in wins, innings pitchers and strikeouts three straight seasons, finishing third on the Judges' career list with 227 strikeouts and 25 victories. Dunphy played in the prestigious Cape Cod League for the Hyannis Mets between his junior and senior season, and went on to play professionally overseas in Belgium for the Namur Lions in 2007.

A Cambridge native, Dunphy was a two-year captain at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School. He was named MVP of the Greater Boston League as a senior.

Nick Gallagher, a member of the class of 2009, is the latest in a long line of Brandeis alumni to join coach Varney in the dugout. He was a second-team All-UAA selection at first base as a junior, when he hit .444 and led the conference with a .583 on-base percentage in league games. Gallagher served as team captain as a senior, when he was one of the program’s most versatile players. A career .269 hitter, he started games at DH, second base and as an emergency catcher after the Judges suffered a rash of injuries. Gallagher ranks third on the Judges’ career hit-by-pitch list with 22. As a sophomore, he led the team with 14 games played off the bench. Gallagher was a three-time Academic All-UAA selection who majored in psychology with an economics major. Gallagher is a native of Southboro, Mass., who led his high school team at St. John’s Academy to Central Massachusetts Conference and district titles during his career and was selected to play first base in the Western versus Central Mass. All-Star game.