Brance Rivera began his time as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Union University baseball in August 2014. Rivera, in his fourth season with the Bulldogs, is a native of Muscatine, Iowa.
Rivera came to Union from Westminster Christian School in Elgin, Illinois where he was the head coach for one season. Prior to his year at Westminster, he spent a season as a volunteer assistant coach for NCAA DI Dallas Baptist University.
Rivera is a 2012 graduate of Texas Christian University where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in movement science. Rivera started all four seasons in the outfield at TCU, earning numerous honors. He was named Academic All-Mountain West Conference three times, second team all-conference in 2012 and first team all-conference in 2010. He helped lead TCU to the NCAA Region Tournament four times, Super Regional three times, and to the NCAA College World Series once as a sophomore. In the 2010 College World Series, Rivera posted a pair of hits and drove in two runs for TCU. For his career, Rivera hit .299, including .342 as a sophomore and .324 as a junior. For his career, he posted 191 hits, 36 doubles, three triples, 17 home runs, 96 RBI, and was 32-of-41 in stolen bases. The final hit in Rivera’s career was a home run versus UCLA in the NCAA Super Regional on June 9, 2012.
Rivera graduated in 2008 from Muscatine (Iowa) High School. He was a five-time letterwinner at Muscatine. Baseball American ranked Rivera as the eighth top prospect in the state of Iowa coming out of high school in 2008. He was named a Louisville Slugger All-American in 2008, earned first team all-district honors three times, was named all-state, all-conference, and selected as his team’s MVP. Rivera played in the Iowa Junior All-Star game, the Perfect Game’s National Showcase, and at the Mariners Cup in Seattle. He was named Most Improved as a sophomore and was a member of Perfect Game’s Iowa Select Team twice. He hit .400 as a junior and .451 as a senior.
Rivera and his wife Katie were married in 2013. He is the son of Matt and Susanna Rivera.
