Bill Walkenbach is an American college baseball coach, currently the head coach of Division III Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Previously, he was the head coach at Cornell from 2009 season to 2015 season and at Franklin & Marshall from 2006 to 2008. Walkenbach led both of these schools to an NCAA tournament appearance.[1]

Bill Walkenbach
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamClaremont-Mudd-Scripps
ConferenceSCIAC (DIII)
Record0-0
Biographical details
BornClaremont, California, U.S.
Alma materCornell '98 (B.A.)
Georgia State '03 (M.A.)
Playing career
1995–1998Cornell
Position(s)Shortstop
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2002–2003Emory (asst.)
2004–2005Cornell (asst.)
2006–2008Franklin & Marshall
2009–2015Cornell
2016–presentClaremont-Mudd-Scripps
Head coaching record
Overall199-197
TournamentsNCAA D1: 0-2
Ivy Champ. Series: 3-3
NCAA D3: 1-2
Centennial: 3-4
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Ivy Champ. Series: 2012
Gehrig Division: 2009, 2012
Centennial: 2006, 2007
Centennial Tournament: 2006

Playing career

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Walkenbach attended Cornell, where he played baseball from 1995 to 1998. A shortstop, he was named All-Ivy League as a first-teamer in his freshman and sophomore seasons and a second-teamer in his junior and senior seasons.[1]

Coaching career

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Assistant positions

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Walkenbach's coaching career began in the early 2000s, when he served as an assistant at Division III Emory from 2002 to 2003. In 2003, Walkenbach served as assistant coach of the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox, a collegiate summer baseball team in the Cape Cod Baseball League.[2] His first Division I came as an assistant at Cornell from 2004 to 2005. In 2005, the Big Red won their first Gehrig Division title but lost to Harvard in the Ivy Championship Series.[1][3][4][5]

Franklin & Marshall

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His first head coaching job was at Division III Franklin & Marshall (F&M), where he coached from 2006 to 2008, replacing Brett Boretti, who had left to become the head coach at Columbia. In three seasons, the Diplomats had a 69–42 record under Walkenbach. They won the Centennial Conference regular season title in 2006 and 2007 and the Centennial Tournament in 2006. In the 2006 NCAA tournament, the team went 1–2 in the Mid-Atlantic Regional. It beat Gwynedd Mercy in the opener, then lost to TCNJ and Montclair State and was eliminated. F&M's Ted Serro won the 2006 Centennial Pitcher of the Year award, and Gary Kruger was named the Player of the Year. Serro was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2006 MLB Draft.[6][7][8]

Cornell

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Ahead of the 2009 season, Walkenbach was hired as the head coach at Cornell. He replaced his old coach, Tom Ford, who was demoted to associate head coach.[1][9]

In 2009, Cornell shared the Gehrig Division title with Princeton. They defeated the Tigers in the divisional playoff game but lost to Dartmouth in the Ivy Championship Series.[3]

After losing records in conference in 2010 and 2011, Cornell won the Gehrig Division again in 2012. The Big Red went 29-14-1 (15-5 Ivy) in the regular season. Cornell hosted a rematch against Dartmouth in the Ivy Championship Series at Hoy Field. After splitting the first two games, Cornell won the decisive third game 3–1 in 11 innings on a Chris Cruz walk-off home run. It was Cornell's first Ivy League Title and gave them an automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA tournament. They went 0–2 at the Chapel Hill Regional, losing to host North Carolina 7-4 and second-seeded East Carolina 10–6.[3][10][11][12][13][14]

Between 2009 and 2015, Cornell had one major award winner and two draftees under Walkenbach. In 2011, the Boston Red Sox selected Jadd Schmeltzer in the 49th round. In 2012, pitcher Kellon Urbon was unanimously selected the Ivy League Rookie of the Year. In 2014, the Arizona Diamondbacks took pitcher Brent Jones in the fourth round of the draft.[3][15][16][17]

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

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Prior to the 2016 season, Walkenbach left Cornell to accept the head coaching position at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, a Division III program in his hometown.[18]

Head coaching record

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Below is a table of Walkenbach's yearly records as a collegiate head baseball coach.[3][6][7][10][19]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Franklin & Marshall (Centennial ConferenceDIII) (2006–2008)
2006 Franklin & Marshall 29-11 16-2 1st NCAA Regional
2007 Franklin & Marshall 21-14 15-3 T-1st Centennial Tournament
2008 Franklin & Marshall 19-17 12-6 T-2nd Centennial Tournament
Franklin & Marshall: 69-42 43-11
Cornell (Ivy League) (2009–2015)
2009 Cornell 17-23 10-10 T-1st (Gehrig) Ivy Championship Series
2010 Cornell 18-20 8-12 3rd (Gehrig)
2011 Cornell 10-30 7-13 4th (Gehrig)
2012 Cornell 31-17-1 14-6 1st (Gehrig) NCAA Regional
2013 Cornell 23-17 11-9 T-2nd (Gehrig)
2014 Cornell 18-21 9-11 3rd (Gehrig)
2015 Cornell 13–27 9–11 3rd (Gehrig)
Cornell: 130-155 68-72
Total: 199-197

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Personal

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Walkenbach's wife, Beth, also graduated from Cornell. She has served as a field hockey coach at Cornell, Franklin & Marshall, and Ithaca.[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Bill Walkenbach". CornellBigRed.com. Athletic Communications. Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  2. ^ "Bill Walkenbach". cornellbigred.com. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e "2014 Ivy League Baseball Records Book" (PDF). IvyLeagueSports.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 19, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
  4. ^ Tenorio, Richard B. (April 12, 1997). "M. Baseball Set for Cornell Showdown". TheCrimson.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  5. ^ Gershenson, Adam (April 24, 1997). "College Baseball: Former WPIAL Star Fights Cancer to Return as Cornell Team Captain". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. New York Times. Retrieved July 26, 2014.[dead link]
  6. ^ a b "Centennial Conference Baseball Records" (PDF). Centennial.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 26, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  7. ^ a b "2014 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship Record Book" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 6, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  8. ^ "MLB Amateur Draft Picks Who Came from Franklin and Marshall College (Lancaster, PA)". July 26, 2014. Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  9. ^ "Walkenbach Takes Job at Cornell". LancasterOnline.com. August 24, 2008. Archived from the original on June 12, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  10. ^ a b "2014 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Record Book" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 6, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  11. ^ Chiusano, Scott (April 6, 2012). "Baseball: Red Off to Best Start Under Walkenbach". CornellSun.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  12. ^ "Cornell Wins Ivy League Title in 11th". NCAA.com. Cornell Athletic Communications. May 7, 2012. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  13. ^ Kramer, Lindsay (June 1, 2012). "Cornell Baseball Well-Armed for Journey into NCAA tournament". Syracuse.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  14. ^ Coons, Kip (June 2, 2012). "UNC Beats Cornell 7-4 in NCAA Opener". NewsObserver.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  15. ^ "MLB Amateur Draft Picks Who Came from Cornell University (Ithaca, NY)". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  16. ^ Longenecker, Clint (March 19, 2014). "Cornell Righthander Jones Mixes Brain and Brawn". BaseballAmerica.com. Archived from the original on August 5, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  17. ^ "Diamondbacks Take Cornell Pitcher Jones in Fourth Round of MLB Draft". StarGazette.com. June 6, 2014. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  18. ^ Fleischman, Tom (June 30, 2015). "Fleischman: Ithaca to Be Represented in Berlin". IthacaJournal.com. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  19. ^ "2014 Ivy League Standings". D1Baseball.com. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  20. ^ "Beth Walkenbach". Ithaca.edu. Ithaca Athletic Communications. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
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