BRANT SHERWOOD, FPHL COACH OF THE YEAR

Binghamton, NY – The Federal Prospects Hockey League today announces its selection for the FPHL Coach of The Year. This is An annual award to the FPHL Coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success.

The FPHL Congratulates Brant Sherwood of the Binghamton Black Bears as the recipient for 2025-26 FPHL Coach of The Year.

Coach Sherwood and Associate Head Coach John Quenneville finished the regular season with a 48-6-2 record and 143 points. It marks the second-straight season that the Black Bears have finished with 143 points, and won the #1 overall seed in the playoffs.

After winning back-to-back Commissioners Cup Finals, the Black Bears were tasked with re-tooling the roster in all positions. Coach Sherwood was able to bring in experienced forwards in Ivan Bondarenko, Mac Jansen and Gehrett Sargis, which proved to be enormous after Captain Tyson Kirkby missed more than 20 games early in the season. He was able to identify new talent to join the team either in training camp or early season in players like Austin D'Orazio, Jacob Shankar, Cheechoo Lathlin and Dominik Tmej.

The Black Bears once again finished with the league's top PK% at a 88.4% success rate. Binghamton had 11 SHG , tied for the most in the division. They led the league in goal differential at +166, while no other team surpassed triple digits.

In all three seasons since the "Interim" title has been removed, Coach Sherwood has surpassed 39 wins in the 56-game season. He now has 175 wins since he took over after Christmas 2022, including 97 in the past two years.

The FPHL is a Single-A Minor Professional hockey league operating in its 16th season during 2025-26.