HILLSBORO, Kan. (TaborBluejays.com) – Except for a couple years, there has been a Brubacher in the Tabor College athletic department since the 1970s, but that fact will soon change. Grant Brubacher has been involved in Bluejay athletics in some sort of way since before he could remember but now enters the academic realm as he takes on the title of Dean of Enrollment at Tabor College.
Brubacher is no stranger to Tabor, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in business administration with concentrations in accounting and finance management in 2006. While excelling in the classroom, Brubacher competed as a three-sport athlete for the Bluejays, earning KCAC All-Conference honors in Baseball, Men’s Basketball, and Men’s Soccer, as well as KCAC Academic All-Conference and NAIA All-America Scholar Athlete honors in each sport. Brubacher was named KCAC Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Year in 2004 and named an NAIA Men’s Basketball Honorable Mention All-American that same season.
Brubacher played that success as a student-athlete into his first head coaching role, or more appropriately roles, as he was named the Assistant Baseball Coach for the Bluejays in 2006. Additionally, he took over both Bluejay Men’s and Women’s Soccer programs in the fall of 2007, leading both programs until 2013, when he stepped down from the Women’s Soccer program and continued to lead the Men’s squad.
Grant picked up his 100th career win during the 2020 season in a 2-nil decision over conference foe Avila University. The following season, the Bluejays earned their first NAIA Men’s Soccer Tournament berth since the 1961 season.
Brubacher was inducted into the Tabor College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018.
As much as Brubacher loved coaching, when the Dean of Enrollment position was created, he knew it was the perfect time to make the transition.
“It’s been an honor to serve as the men’s soccer for the last 18 seasons”, remarked Brubacher. “I am grateful for the players who trusted Tabor and our program enough to study and play here. The relationships formed with these young men is what I will miss the most.”
The next big task following Brubacher’s transition into the academic world was to find a worthy successor, which seemed like a no-brainer to Brubacher and the Tabor College administration, as they had the perfect candidate in mind, enter Rafael Marins.
Rafael Marins stepped foot in Hillsboro for the first time in the fall of 2010 as a Freshman from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and made an immediate impact for Coach Brubacher and the Bluejays, earning a starting spot his first year and scoring his first career goal in a win over Saint Gregory’s University (Okla.). Marins went on to start the remaining three seasons of his career before serving as a Student Assistant under Brubacher during the 2014 season while he finished his degree.
Marins moved to the Pacific Northwest following graduation, settling down in Washington and securing a job as a coach for Fuerza FC, a women’s elite adult amateur team in Marysville, Wash. In 2017, Marins was hired as the Head Women’s Soccer Coach at Everett Community College in Everett, Wash., a job he held until 2021 when he was named as the Head Men’s Soccer Coach at Everett. Following his stint at the junior college level, Marins served as a coach for Everett FC Premier Youth Soccer Club from 2022-24.
In May of 2024, Marins got the call from Tabor about potentially returning to his alma mater to serve as the program’s first Associate Head Coach. Marins agreed and moved his family from Washington back to Hillsboro and spent the 2024 season coaching alongside his mentor, Grant Brubacher.
With the book closing on the 2024 campaign almost two months ago, Marins now has the chance to make his mark on the Bluejay Men’s Soccer program. Grant Brubacher is excited for his protégé to take the reins, “I am excited for the program’s future with Rafa stepping into the Head Coaching role. It is rewarding to see a former player take the reins, and I am confident he will continue to grow the program. I look forward to watching them play in the fall!”
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Tabor College is a Christ-centered institution located in Hillsboro, Kansas. The Bluejays are members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and compete in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC).
