Barry University Athletics

Denise Brolly, the sixth head coach in program history, spent six years on the Buccaneer sideline as assistant coach before taking over the helm in 2013.

Brolly made it it three straight in 2015, as the Bucs won the Sunshine State Conference regular season title for the third straight year, despite taking their first conference loss in three seasons. They improved on their previous preformance, however, by winning the SSC Tournament for the first time since 2003 and went on to claim the South Region title. Brolly was named the SSC Coach of the Year for the third time in three seasons.

Brolly earned SSC Coach of the Year for the second straight season as the Buccaneers captured back-to-back SSC regular season title in 2014. The Bucs ran through the conference slate without a loss again and improved their record to eight conference titles. Lavinia Nkomo became the seventh Barry player to earn SSC Player of the Year honors, while Katie Turner was named co-Defensive Player of the Year and Christy Grimshaw was picked as the Freshman of the Year. The Bucs hosted the NCAA regional for the first time since 2004 as well.

In her first year at the helm, Brolly was named SSC Coach of the Year as she led the Bucs to their first conference title since 2004 in 2013. Brolly took a squad that finished 3-4-1 the year before and led thm to a 7-0-1 mark in conference. Becca Rogers was named the SSC Defensive Player of the Year, the first Buccaneer to win that award.

Hailing from Coatbridge, Scotland, Brolly spent her freshman year at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., in 2002 before transferring to Florida Atlantic University for the 2003-04 season. Brolly played three seasons with the Owls under former Barry head coach Brian Dooley, leading them to a 43-12-5 mark.

Currently, Brolly is third in FAU’s all-time points list (64) and tied for third in career game winning goals (7). In addition to holding the record for most consecutive matches with a goal (six), she also ranks seventh in the school’s history for career shots (117), tied for second in assists (16), and fifth in goals (24). She tied the FAU single game mark with four goals against Lipscomb on Oct. 2, 2004 as a junior. She also had a hat-trick against Troy on Oct. 22, 2004. For her college career, she scored 37 goals with 25 assists and 12 game winners in 78 games.

Brolly graduated in 2006 from FAU with a degree in marketing and advertising with a minor in real estate. She earned her master’s from Barry in organizational learning and leadership in December 2009.

She represented the Scottish national team at the U16 and senior level, earning her first full cap at age 15 against Wales. She was highly decorated in Scotland, earning almost every major award. She earned her NSCAA Advanced National Diploma in January 2010. She also attained a Level 1 Goalkeeping liscense in May 2011.