Erik Michael Bakich (born November 27, 1977) is an American baseball coach and former left fielder, who is the current head baseball coach of the Clemson Tigers. Bakich played college baseball at San Jose City College (1997–1998) and

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

for head coach

Keith LeClair Keith Aaron LeClair (February 26, 1966 – July 16, 2006) was an American athlete and later head baseball coach at Western Carolina University (Player, 1985–88 and Coach 1992–97). During his playing days, LeClair played for former Clemson Uni ...

from 1999 to 2000. He served as the head coach of Maryland Terrapins (2010–2012) and the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

(2013–2022).

Early life

Bakich attended

Bellarmine College Preparatory Bellarmine College Preparatory is an all-male, Jesuit, private secondary school located in San Jose, California. Founded in 1851, it is the oldest secondary school in California and the second-oldest west of the Mississippi River. In 2020, Niche ...

, graduating in 1996. Bakich played baseball at

in 1999 and 2000. He played as a left fielder with a 1.000

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

with 91

putout In baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by ''PO'' or ''fly out'' when appropriate) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner wit ...

s, .315 batting average, 14 home runs, 85

RBI RBI most often refers to: *Reserve Bank of India *Run batted in RBI may also refer to: Organisations *Radio Berlin International *Raiffeisen Bank International *Reed Business Information *Restaurant Brands International *Ruđer Bošković In ...

s, and 87

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

s. Both years, the Pirates secured the

Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universi ...

championship and earned No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Regionals. Bakich was awarded all-conference honors in 2000.Bakich hired as Terps’ head baseball coach
''Washington Daily News'', July 1, 2009, retrieved May 29, 2010. Bakich graduated from East Carolina with a sports science degree in 2000. Bakich played independent league baseball, first with the

Springfield Capitals The Springfield Capitals were an independent baseball league team in Springfield, Illinois. The Capitals were members of the Frontier League from 1996 to 2001. The Capitals won the Frontier League championship in 1996 and in 1998. After the 2001 se ...

of the Frontier League in 2000, then in 2001 with the

Greenville Bluesmen The Greenville Bluesmen were a minor league baseball team that played in Greenville, Mississippi. The team was a member of the independent Big South League from 1996–1997 and the independent Texas–Louisiana League from 1998–2001. The team ...

of the Texas–Louisiana League,

Dubois County Dragons {{Infobox Minor League Baseball , name = Ohio Valley Redcoats , firstseason = 1993 , lastseason = 2005 , allyears = , city = , logo = , caplogo = , past class level = , league = Frontier League , conference = , division = , past ...

of the Frontier League, and the Tennessee T's of the

All-American Association The All-American Association was an independent minor league that existed in the southern United States in 2001. Total attendance in 2001 was 200,970. The league folded after the end of the season and four of the league's six teams joined other l ...

Coaching career

After his brief professional playing stint, Bakich embarked upon his coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Clemson University in 2002. He worked as a hitting coach, and with both infielders and outfielders. Clemson advanced to the College World Series that season.Player Bio: Erik Bakich
Vanderbilt University, retrieved May 29, 2010. Bakich then moved to Vanderbilt University in 2003 to become the school's recruiting coordinator,

hitting coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

, and outfield instructor. '' Collegiate Baseball'' ranked Bakich's first recruiting class the 24th best in the nation. In 2004, Vanderbilt increased its batting average from .258 the previous season to .304, the largest jump in school history. Vanderbilt brought in the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in 2005. ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' ranked the 2006 recruiting class 25th, and the 2007 class 12th. In 2008, the Commodores secured the No. 2 class. Each year of Bakich's seven-year tenure saw a top-25 ranked recruiting class.

Maryland

In June 2009, the University of Maryland hired Bakich to replace former nine-year head coach Terry Rupp. Bakich sought to rebuild the program and eventually achieve regular appearances in the NCAA tournament, an event Maryland had not qualified for since

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

. His long-term strategy focused on recruiting, player development, and improving facilities. By September, Bakich had secured eleven commitments in the 2010 recruiting class and one in the 2011 class. He stated his plan to build a "recruiting wall" around the state to keep local talent at home. Bakich said, "Patience is not a virtue of mine. We don't have any time for that shit."An aggressive approach; New baseball coach Erik Bakich is trying to take the Terps' program to new heights
'' The Diamondback'', September 14, 2009. Maryland finished its first season under Bakich with a 17–39 mark and 5–25 in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC). The Terrapins matched the worst finish in program history. Bakich said, "I know it sounds odd, but wins and losses have never been important to me. I wanted to change the attitude of this team first and foremost, and you can already see that happening. Our seniors have done a great job of leading this team, and the transformation has already been made." The 2011 recruiting class was described as one of the best in school history. Bakich resigned as Maryland's head baseball coach on June 27, 2012, in order to pursue his new head coaching career for the

Michigan Wolverines baseball The Michigan Wolverines baseball team represents the University of Michigan in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other Michigan athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games ...

team.

Michigan

On June 27, 2012, Bakich was named the 19th coach in the history of

. On the same day of Bakich's hire, Bakich made his first public press conference as head coach of Michigan. Bakich was most noted for his quote, "We want to catch that softball program" meaning Michigan's softball program, and showed great praise for head Michigan Softball coach Carol Hutchins. Erik Bakich made many assurances that Michigan baseball will be back to winning championships at a consistent rate, not just every once in a while. Bakich also talked a lot about pitching and defense for Michigan, and bringing in the best recruits locally, regionally, and nationally. On May 24, 2015, Michigan defeated Maryland 4–3 in the Big Ten Conference Tournament championship game, securing a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008. During the 2019 season, Bakich led the Wolverines to a 50–22 record, including a 16–7 Big Ten Conference record, as they advanced to the College World Series for the first time since

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

. On June 15, 2019, Bakich was named the NCBWA National Coach of the Year. Later that year, Bakich received the 2019

Skip Bertman Award The College Baseball Foundation was formed in 2004 in Lubbock, Texas as a non-profit organization, with the dual aims of awarding the Brooks Wallace Award, and creating the National College Baseball Hall of Fame. The organization also annually pre ...

Clemson

On June 16, 2022, Bakich signed a six-year, $6.25 million deal to be the head baseball coach of the Clemson Tigers.

Head coaching record

Below is a table of Bakich's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.

References

External links

Michigan Wolverines bio

Maryland Terrapins bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakich, Erik 1977 births Living people Clemson Tigers baseball coaches East Carolina Pirates baseball players Maryland Terrapins baseball coaches Michigan Wolverines baseball coaches Springfield Capitals players Vanderbilt Commodores baseball coaches San Jose City Jaguars baseball players Baseball players from San Jose, California American people of Serbian descent Greenville Bluesmen players Dubois County Dragons players