| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Long Island |
| Conference | Independent |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | March 29, 1996 West Point, New York, USA |
| Alma mater | Mercyhurst University |
| Playing career | |
| 2016–2020 | Mercyhurst |
| Position | Center |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2020–2021 | The Winchendon School (asst.) |
| 2021–2025 | American International (asst.) |
| 2025–Present | Long Island |
Brendan Riley is an American ice hockey coach and former center. [1] He is currently in charge of the men's program at Long Island and is the fifth member of his family to coach Division I college hockey. [2]
Riley graduated from Kimball Union Academy in 2015 and then spent one final year playing junior in both the BCHL and USPHL. He began attending Mercyhurst in the fall of 2016 and spent four years with the program. In his senior season he served as an assistant captain, finishing his career with 91 games played. After receiving his degree, Riley immediately joined the family business by becoming as assistant coach at The Winchendon School, a prep school in Massachusetts. After a year, he joined the staff at American International as the director of hockey operations under Eric Lang, a protegee of his father, Brian. He became an assistant coach after a year and spent three seasons in that capacity before the program was downgraded to Division II. With his position in doubt, Riley was offered his first head coaching position when the job at Long Island University came open. Riley was the program's second head coach, replacing his cousin Brett. [2]
Riley's family has long been associated with college ice hockey with his grandfather Jack being a star player at Dartmouth before leading the program at Army for 36 years. Upon Jack's retirement in 1986, he was replaced by Brendan's uncle, Rob who then helmed the program for 18 years before turning it over to Brendan's father, Brian. Brendan's brother Jack is also a college hockey coach, serving as an assistant at Sacred Heart as of 2025. [2]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2016–17 | Mercyhurst | Atlantic Hockey | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Mercyhurst | Atlantic Hockey | 20 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Mercyhurst | Atlantic Hockey | 35 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Mercyhurst | Atlantic Hockey | 32 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NCAA totals | 93 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 83 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Island Sharks (Independent)(2025–present) | |||||||||
| 2025–26 | Long Island | ||||||||
| : | |||||||||
| Total: | |||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||