Ex-Titans Women coach delighted with Coach of the Year nomination

De Bruyn will have to fend off the challenge of Sandile Masengemi of the Lions and Western Province’s Claire Terblanche for the accolade, whom he also praised for the work done for women’s cricket. In only one season with the franchise, he led them to third place finishes in both the Pro50 and Pro20 Series, before resigning last month to take up the role of Netherlands Women head coach.

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"It is an absolute honour to be nominated for coach of the year. It just confirms that as a coach you have made an impact in domestic cricket in South Africa with the Titans. It's an honour to be recognised and I wish the other nominees all the best. All coaches always give 100% in terms of commitment and taking teams forward. It is a collective effort and I want to thank Cricket South Africa for recognising myself," said  de Bruyn.

De Bruyn says the 2025/26 season was not always easy on him coming in, and had to deal with certain challenges along the way. He says the team showed some fight to end up with some relative success in the campaign.

"My short stint with the Titans was a very exciting season but also challenging in the same sentence. The first half of the season was quite tough, faced with injuries but the character that the group showed in the second half to bounce back and end up third in both competitions, showed a true Titans character," added de Bruyn.

While he admits that it took some adjusting when he first arrived from coaching the Namibian men’s side, he says there’s visible growth in women’s cricket that he’s excited to be a part of.

 De Bruyn will officially take over as head coach of Netherlands Women on August 1, and says he’s keeping an eye on the team in the current T20 World Cup to identify areas that need working on when he takes over.

"I suppose looking at the team for the first time ever in a T20 World Cup - is probably the right platform to measure the team against top teams in the world and put goals in place. This helps to improve key areas and will see the team evolve when it comes to women's cricket globally," he expressed.