Brian Slater enters his fourth year leading the Methodist University men’s and women’s track & field programs in 2026-27. He was named head track & field coach in August 2023 and also serves as an assistant coach with the Monarch cross country program.

Slater guided Methodist through a historic 2025-26 campaign highlighted by the men’s 2026 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championship. The Monarchs scored 168.5 points to finish first among 12 teams. Methodist also finished the season ranked 10th in the NCAA Division III South Region, while 34 student-athletes ranked among the region’s top 50 performers and five performances ranked among the nation’s top 50.

The 2025-26 season also produced extensive postseason recognition. Seven Methodist student-athletes earned U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region recognition across the indoor and outdoor seasons. During the outdoor season alone, the men’s program collected eight USTFCCCA All-Region honors, including recognition in the 100 meters, 4x100-meter relay, high jump and triple jump.

Academic achievement has been a central part of Slater’s program development. In 2026, the Methodist women’s track & field program earned USTFCCCA NCAA Division III All-Academic Team honors for the first time in program history. Jarius Fajardo and Tydrick Stewart also earned USTFCCCA NCAA Division III All-Academic Athlete recognition. The women’s team honor requires a cumulative team GPA of at least 3.10, while individual honorees must meet both academic and national-performance standards.

For his leadership during the 2025-26 academic year, Slater was selected as the 2026 Methodist University Thomas R. and Elizabeth E. McLean Foundation Coach of the Year. The award is Methodist Athletics’ highest coaching honor and recognizes excellence in competitive and academic performance, recruiting and retention, professional involvement and service to the University. Slater became the 13th different recipient of the award and just the second track & field coach to receive the honor in its 18-year history.

Slater’s Methodist tenure has included steady conference-level development. In his first season, both the men’s and women’s programs finished third at the 2024 USA South Outdoor Championships, with the women outperforming a fifth-place pre-championship projection. In 2025, Methodist earned All-Conference recognition in 18 events at the USA South Outdoor Championships, with the men finishing third and the women fourth.

Before arriving at Methodist, Slater served at Vermont State University Johnson, where he was the head men’s and women’s track & field coach while also holding administrative responsibilities as assistant athletics director for diversity, equity and inclusion and sports information director. Across his collegiate coaching career, he has mentored 13 NCAA and NAIA national qualifiers, coached eight NCAA Division III New England Regional qualifiers, guided more than 20 individuals to conference championships and led teams to three conference team titles.

Slater was also an accomplished NCAA Division III student-athlete at Keystone College. He set 12 school records, earned six Mason-Dixon All-Conference honors, won the Mason-Dixon Conference 200-meter championship and was a two-time NCAA Division III National Qualifier. His Keystone indoor 200-meter record of 22.65 and outdoor 200-meter record of 21.83 remain school records. In July 2026, Keystone College announced Slater as a member of its Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2026. He is scheduled to be formally inducted on October 9, 2026.

Internationally, Slater has represented the U.S. Virgin Islands in track & field. He won the Virgin Islands national championship in the 100 meters in 2020 and competed in the 4x200-meter relay at the World Relays.

Slater earned his bachelor’s degree from Keystone College and his master’s degree from Southern New Hampshire University.

By the Numbers

1 2026 ECAC DIII Men’s Outdoor Team Championship	168.5 Points scored at the 2026 ECAC Championship	34 Top-50 South Region performers in 2025-26	5 Top-50 national performances in 2025-26
8 USTFCCCA Outdoor All-Region honors in 2026	7 All-Region student-athletes across 2025-26 indoor/outdoor	1st USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honor in Methodist women’s program history	2026 McLean Foundation Coach of the Year
13 NCAA/NAIA national qualifiers mentored during coaching career	20+ Individual conference champions coached	12 Keystone College school records as a student-athlete	2x NCAA Division III National Qualifier as an athlete

Program Milestones Under Slater

Season	Competitive Highlights	Academic / Recognition Highlights
2023-24	Men 3rd / Women 3rd at USA South Outdoor Championships.	16 student-athletes recognized on the current Methodist bio for perfect 4.0 GPAs across fall and spring semesters.
2024-25	18 All-Conference event honors at USA South Outdoor Championships; men 3rd, women 4th.	Rebecca McGaughnea and Tydrick Stewart earned CSC Academic All-District recognition.
2025-26	ECAC DIII Men’s Outdoor Champions; 10th in South Region; 34 regional top-50 performers; five national top-50 performances.	Women earned first USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honor in program history; Fajardo and Stewart named USTFCCCA All-Academic Athletes; Slater named McLean Foundation Coach of the Year.