John Szefc is an American college baseball coach, currently serving as the head coach of the Virginia Tech baseball team. He has held that position since leaving the University of Maryland in June, 2017, where he had coached since the 2013 season.[1][2]
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Virginia Tech |
| Conference | ACC |
| Record | 192–149 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | c. 1967 (age 56–57) Goshen, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Drexel University (1989) |
| Playing career | |
| 1986–1987 | Connecticut |
| 1988–1989 | Drexel |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1990–1994 | Drexel (assistant) |
| 1995 | Sacred Heart (assistant) |
| 1996–2002 | Marist |
| 2003–2008 | Louisiana–Lafayette (assistant) |
| 2009–2010 | Kansas (assistant) |
| 2011–2012 | Kansas State (assistant) |
| 2013–2017 | Maryland |
| 2018–present | Virginia Tech |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 580–404–3 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| |
| Awards | |
| |
Playing career
editSzefc played for two seasons for Connecticut before transferring to Drexel. He was an all-conference selection in 1989, his senior year. He graduated from Drexel in 1989.[2]
Coaching career
editAfter completing his degree at Drexel, Szefc became an assistant coach at his alma mater. He remained for five seasons before moving to Sacred Heart for one season. In August 1995, he was hired as head coach at Marist.[3] He remained at Marist for seven seasons. In just his second season, the Red Foxes earned their first Northeast Conference championship, and Szefc was named NEC Coach of the Year. In addition to 1997, Marist appeared in the 2000, 2001, and 2002 NCAA tournaments. The Red Foxes were 41–14 in 2002, Szefc's final year with the team, and defeated Southwest Missouri State in the NCAA tournament. Five players from that team would be selected in the Major League Baseball Draft.[2]
Szefc became an assistant coach at Louisiana–Lafayette, where he served as hitting coach and top assistant. The Ragin' Cajuns offense in his six seasons improved dramatically, with a 60-point jump in batting average over his first three seasons. The 2005 team set a school record for hits, and ranks second in school history in runs and runs batted in. Szefc also served as recruiting coordinator for ULL, and the team won a pair of Sun Belt Conference championships and appeared in the 2005 and 2007 NCAA tournaments.[2]
Following his time in Louisiana, Szefc moved to Kansas, where he also served as recruiting coordinator and hitting coach in the highly competitive Big 12 Conference. The Jayhawks appeared in the Big 12 Conference baseball tournament both years Szefc served in Lawrence, and advanced to the Regional Final in 2009.[4] He then moved to Kansas State for the 2011 season, holding the same roles with the Wildcats while also adding the associate head coach title. Szefc's hitters again improved over previous seasons, ranking highly in KSU record books for offensive production.[5]
Szefc was named head coach at Maryland on July 18, 2012. He faced budget constraints in College Park due to financial issues in the Maryland athletic department, but moved from the Atlantic Coast Conference to the Big Ten Conference.
This article needs to be updated. (July 2021) |
On June 9, 2017, Virginia Tech Athletic Director Whit Babcock named Szefc the Hokies new head coach.[1][2][6]
Head coaching record
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marist Red Foxes (Northeast Conference) (1996–1997) | |||||||||
| 1996 | Marist | 16–24 | 8–13 | 7th | |||||
| 1997 | Marist | 32–19 | 14–7 | T–1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| Marist Red Foxes (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) (1998–2002) | |||||||||
| 1998 | Marist | 30–17 | 18–8 | 2nd (North) | |||||
| 1999 | Marist | 27–23 | 14–12 | 3rd (North) | |||||
| 2000 | Marist | 30–17–2 | 16–11 | 4th | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2001 | Marist | 33–21–1 | 17–10 | 3rd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2002 | Marist | 41–14 | 22–5 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| Marist: | 209–135–3 | 109–66 | |||||||
| Maryland Terrapins (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2013–2014) | |||||||||
| 2013 | Maryland | 30–25 | 11–19 | 4th (Atlantic) | |||||
| 2014 | Maryland | 40–23 | 15–14 | 2nd (Atlantic) | NCAA Super Regional | ||||
| Maryland Terrapins (Big Ten Conference) (2015–2017) | |||||||||
| 2015 | Maryland | 42–24 | 14–10 | T–3rd | NCAA Super Regional | ||||
| 2016 | Maryland | 30–27 | 13–11 | T–6th | |||||
| 2017 | Maryland | 37–21 | 15–9 | 5th | NCAA Regional | ||||
| Maryland: | 179–120 | 68–63 | |||||||
| Virginia Tech (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2018–present) | |||||||||
| 2018 | Virginia Tech | 21–33 | 8–22 | 7th (Coastal) | |||||
| 2019 | Virginia Tech | 26–27 | 9–21 | 6th (Coastal) | |||||
| 2020 | Virginia Tech | 11–5 | 1–2 | (Coastal) | Season canceled due to COVID-19 | ||||
| 2021 | Virginia Tech | 27–25 | 16–20 | 7th (Coastal) | |||||
| 2022 | Virginia Tech | 45–14 | 19–9 | 1st (Coastal) | NCAA Super Regional | ||||
| 2023 | Virginia Tech | 30–23 | 12–17 | 5th (Coastal) | |||||
| 2024 | Virginia Tech | 32–22 | 14–16 | 5th (Coastal) | ACC Tournament | ||||
| Virginia Tech: | 192–149 | 79–107 | |||||||
| Total: | 580–404–3 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Eric Garland (July 18, 2012). "Maryland hires John Szefc as new baseball coach". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e "Szefc Hired as Head Baseball Coach". umterps.com. July 18, 2012. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ^ "Vol. 47 No. 1, September 21, 1995". library.marist.edu. Archived from the original on 2010-10-29.
- ^ "John Szefc Profile". kuathletics.com. Archived from the original on August 2, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ^ "John Szefc Profile". kstatesoprts.com. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ^ Steve Yanda (July 18, 2012). "Maryland to hire John Szefc as head baseball coach". Washington Post. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
- ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1996". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on 14 February 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1997". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ "Northeast Conference Baseball Record Book" (PDF). NortheastConference.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ "1998 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Baseball Standings". MAACSports.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ "1999 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Baseball Standings". MAACSports.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ "1999 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Baseball Standings". MAACSports.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ "2001 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Baseball Standings". MAACSports.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ "2002 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Baseball Standings". MAACSports.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ "2011 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Record Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013.