Big East Conference Baseball Coach of the Year explained

Big East Conference Baseball Coaching Staff of the Year
Awarded For:Most outstanding baseball coaching staff in the Big East Conference
Country:United States
Year:1985 (as "Coach of the Year")
2016 (as "Coaching Staff of the Year")
Holder:St. John's (Mike Hampton, head coach)

The Big East Conference Baseball Coaching Staff of the Year award is presented annually to the conference's most outstanding coaching staff, as voted by the conference's head coaches at the end of each regular season.

The award was Big East Conference Baseball Coach of the Year, honoring only the head coach, from the first season of Big East Conference baseball in 1985 through the 2015 season. Starting with the 2016 season,[1] the award was renamed the "Coaching Staff of the Year" award, honoring an entire staff. While the "Big East" name has been used by two separate conferences—the original Big East, which operated from 1979 to 2013, and the current Big East, formed when the original conference split in 2013—the current Big East claims the baseball history of the original conference.

The Big East is the only NCAA Division I baseball conference that presents an annual coaching award to an entire staff instead of only the head coach, although the head coach is cited by name in the award announcement.

In the 2014 season, Creighton's Ed Servais won the new conference's inaugural award. Creighton had a 30-16 (14-4 Big East) regular season to win the conference title. Since the formation of the current Big East, all but three of the honorees have won at least a share of the conference's regular season title, although two of the three most recent awards (2022 and 2023) were won by teams that finished outside the top two in the conference. From 1999 to 2006, by contrast, only two regular-season champions won the award.

Ed Blankmeyer of St. John's has won the award a record six times as an individual, and is the only head coach to date to have been part of an honored staff twice. This includes bask-to-back awards twice—individually in 2007 and 2008 and as part of the staff in 2017 and 2018, a feat matched only by his Red Storm predecessor Joe Russo (1990 and 1991) and UConn's Jim Penders (2010 and 2011). Blankmeyer, Penders, and Servais are the only head coaches to have won the award as individuals and as part of an honored staff; Penders has three individual awards and one staff award, while Servais has one of each.

Providence is the only school to have three coaches win the award (Don Mezzanotte in 1986, Paul Kostacopoulos in 1995, and Charlie Hickey in 1999). Three other schools had multiple coaches win the award before 2016: St. John's (Russo and Blankmeyer), UConn (Andy Baylock and Penders), and Pittsburgh (Mark Jackson and Joe Jordano).

Winners

By season

Coach of the Year

SeasonCoachSchoolConf. (Rk.)Overall
1985[2] [3] Mike SheppardSeton Hall15-3 (1st, South)44-19-1
1986[4] Don MezzanotteProvidence11-7 (T-1st, North)28-23
1987Mike Sheppard (2)Seton Hall16-2 (1st, South)45-10
1988[5] George BennettVillanova16-2 (1st, South)32-22
1989Mike Sheppard (3)Seton Hall16-2 (1st, South)33-19-1
1990[6] Joe RussoSt. John's15-6 (2nd)29-18
1991Joe Russo (2)St. John's18-2 (1st)34-14-1
1992[7] Andy BaylockUConn13-7 (3rd)25-20-1
1993George Bennett (2)Villanova14-7 (1st)27-15-1
1994[8] Mark JacksonPittsburgh16-5 (1st)31-16
1995[9] Paul KostacopoulosProvidence16-5 (1st)44-15
1996[10] Ed BlankmeyerSt. John's14-10 (3rd, American)26-18
1997[11] Greg Van ZantWest Virginia17-7 (1st, American)36-19
1998[12] Fred HillRutgers17-3 (1st)33-16
1999[13] Charlie HickeyProvidence18-8 (3rd)49-16
2000[14] Pete HughesBoston College12-11 (5th)35-20
2001[15] Paul MainieriNotre Dame22-4 (1st)49-13
2002Pete Hughes (2)Boston College15-11 (T-3rd)30-25
2003Greg Van Zant (2)West Virginia18-6 (2nd)36-19
2004[16] Joe JordanoPittsburgh17-9 (T-2nd)38-18
2005Ed Blankmeyer (2)St. John's19-4 (1st)41-18
2006[17] Jim PendersUConn18-6 (2nd)39-18-1
2007Ed Blankmeyer (3)St. John's20-7 (T-1st)41-19
2008Ed Blankmeyer (4)St. John's20-7 (1st)42-16
2009[18] Lelo PradoSouth Florida18-9 (2nd)34-25
2010Jim Penders (2)UConn20-6 (2nd)48-16
2011Jim Penders (3)UConn22-5 (1st)45-20
2012Ed Blankmeyer (5)St. John's18-9 (T-1st)40-23
2013[19] Joe Jordano (2)Pittsburgh18-6 (T-2nd)42-17
2014Ed ServaisCreighton14-4 (1st)32-17
2015Ed Blankmeyer (6)St. John's14-3 (1st)41-16

Coaching Staff of the Year

SeasonSchoolHead coachConf. (Rk.)Overall
2016XavierScott Googins14-4 (1st)30-28
2017St. John'sEd Blankmeyer (7)13-5 (2nd)42-13
2018St. John's (2)Ed Blankmeyer (8)15-3 (1st)38-14
2019CreightonEd Servais (2)14-4 (1st)41-12
2020Season canceled (COVID-19)
2021UConnJim Penders (4)13-4 (1st)30-16
2022GeorgetownEdwin Thompson11–10 (4th)32–24
2023[20] Seton HallRob Sheppard13–8 (3rd)31–24
2024[21] St. John's (3)Mike Hampton14–7 (2nd)34–16–1

By school

The following is a table of the schools whose coaches or coaching staffs have won the award, along with the year each school joined the conference, the number of times it has won the award, and the years in which it has done so.

All years reflect baseball seasons. For schools that joined the Big East after it first sponsored baseball, the first season of play takes place in the calendar year after officially joining the conference.

School (year joined)Total awardsSeasons (individual)Seasons (staff)
St. John's (1985)111990, 1991, 1996, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2012,
2015
2017, 2018, 2024
UConn (1985/2021)51992, 2006, 2010, 20112021
Seton Hall (1985)41985, 1987, 19892023
Pittsburgh (1985)31994, 2004, 2013
Providence (1985)31986, 1995, 1999
Boston College (1985)22000, 2002
Villanova (1985)21988, 1993
West Virginia (1996)21997, 2003
Creighton (2014)220142019
Georgetown (1985)12022
Notre Dame (1996)12001
Rutgers (1996)11998
South Florida (2006)12009
Xavier (2014)12016

Notes and References

  1. 2016 Baseball Regular Season Major Awards and All-BIG EAST Teams Announced . Big East Conference . May 25, 2016 . May 23, 2023.
  2. Web site: 2013 Big East Conference Baseball Media Guide . BigEast.org . Big East Conference . June 15, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130326144657/http://www.bigeast.org/Sports/Baseball/BaseballMediaGuide.aspx . March 26, 2013 . dead.
  3. News: Manuel . John . Seton Hall Coach Mike Sheppard Retires . July 6, 2014 . BaseballAmerica.com . August 18, 2003 . https://archive.today/20031203052246/http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/leagues/NCAA/030818sheppard.html . December 3, 2003 . dead.
  4. News: Owens . Ed . Pats Dedicate Diamond . July 6, 2014 . CranstonOnline.com . April 12, 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714201759/http://cranstononline.com/stories/Pats-dedicate-diamond,33648?print=1 . July 14, 2014 . dead .
  5. News: Morkides . Chris . This Skipper Enjoys Days in the Dugout: George Bennett Has 407 Wins as Villanova Baseball Coach, But Fame Is Not His Objective . July 6, 2014 . Philly.com . The Philadelphia Inquirer . April 16, 1999 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714135623/http://articles.philly.com/1999-04-16/sports/25519358_1_aluminum-bats-george-bennett-villanova . July 14, 2014 . dead.
  6. Web site: Joe Russo . QueensKnights.com . July 6, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714171819/http://www.queensknights.com/sports/bsb/coaches/russo . July 14, 2014 . dead.
  7. News: Big East Honors Two from UConn . July 6, 2014 . Courant.com . The Hartford Courant . May 12, 1992 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714121241/http://articles.courant.com/1992-05-12/sports/0000202038_1_big-east-coaching-award-huskies . July 14, 2014 . dead.
  8. News: Three from UConn Are All-Big East. July 6, 2014. The Day. May 17, 1994. D3.
  9. News: Warner. Pete. Kostacopoulos Gets UM Baseball Job. July 6, 2014. Bangor Daily News. August 16, 1996.
  10. Web site: #1 Ed Blankmeyer . RedStormSports.com . St. John's Athletic Communications . July 6, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140705220825/http://www.redstormsports.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/blankmeyer_ed01.html . July 5, 2014 . dead.
  11. News: Casazza . Mike . WVU Baseball: Van Zant Expects Many Hurdles for Next Coach . July 6, 2014 . CharlestonDailyMail.com . June 1, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714224912/http://www.charlestondailymail.com/Sports/201206010012 . July 14, 2014 . dead.
  12. News: D'Alessandro . Dave . Rutgers Baseball Coach Fred Hill Steps Down After 30 Seasons . July 5, 2014 . NJ.com . Newark Star-Ledger . February 20, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714204516/http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2014/02/rutgers_baseball_coach_fred_hill_steps_down_after_30_seasons.html . July 14, 2014 . dead.
  13. Web site: Charlie Hickey . CCSUBlueDevils.com . CCSU Sports Communication . June 24, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714184821/http://www.ccsubluedevils.com/sports/bsb/coaches/hickey_charlie00 . July 14, 2014 . dead.
  14. News: Pete Hughes to Be Oklahoma Coach . July 6, 2014 . ESPN.com . June 27, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714184822/http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/9429283/pete-hughes-leaving-virginia-tech-hokies-oklahoma-sooners . July 14, 2014 . live.
  15. News: Schneider. Steve. Paul Mainieri to Be LSU's New Head Baseball Coach; Barbier to Join Team as Assistant. July 6, 2014. WAFB.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714223500/http://www.wafb.com/story/5080682/paul-mainieri-to-be-lsus-new-head-baseball-coach-barbier-to-join-team-as-assistant. dead. July 14, 2014.
  16. News: Briefs: Pitt's Jordano Named Big East Coach of the Year . July 6, 2014 . Post-Gazette.com . May 22, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714175342/http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/Pitt/2013/05/22/Briefs-Pitt-s-Jordano-named-Big-East-coach-of-the-year/stories/201305220195 . July 14, 2014 . dead.
  17. News: Mike Olt, Jim Penders, and George Grande to Appear at GNHCC Hot Stove Breakfast Jan. 23. July 6, 2014. NHRegister.com. The New Haven Register. January 11, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20160413065932/http://www.nhregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?avis=NH. April 13, 2016. dead.
  18. News: USF Bulls' Lelo Prado Named Big East Baseball Coach of the Year . July 6, 2014 . TampaBay.com . May 18, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714222747/http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/college/usf-bulls-lelo-prado-named-big-east-baseball-coach-of-the-year/1002193 . July 14, 2014 . dead.
  19. Web site: 2013 Big East Conference Standings . D1Baseball.com . July 6, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150920175600/http://www.d1baseball.com/2013/conferences/standings_bigeast.htm . September 20, 2015 . dead.
  20. #BIGEASTbase Regular-Season Awards And All-Conference Announced . Big East Conference . May 23, 2023 . May 23, 2023.
  21. #BIGEASTbase Regular-Season Awards And All-Conference Announced . Big East Conference . May 21, 2023 . May 24, 2023.