Shawn Stiffler (born April 2, 1979) is an American
baseball coach and former
pitcher, now serving as head coach of the
Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He played
college baseball for the
George Mason Patriots
The George Mason Patriots are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing George Mason University (GMU), located in Fairfax, Virginia. The Patriots compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as members of th ...
from 1998 to 2001 for head coach
Bill Brown. Stiffler had been a part of the Rams baseball program since 2007, where he spent the first 5 seasons as an assistant to Paul Keyes.
Playing career
Stiffler played high school baseball from 1994–1997 at
Somerset Area High School
Somerset Area High School is a public high school in Somerset, Pennsylvania, United States, the county seat of Somerset County, Pennsylvania, Somerset County. The school serves about 700 students in grades 9-12 and is attached to the Somerset Area ...
, in
Somerset, Pennsylvania where he earned All-American honors as a pitcher.
He was drafted in the 53rd round by the
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...
in the
1997 MLB Draft
The 1997 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1997. A total of 1607 players were drafted over the course of 92 rounds.
First round selections ...
, but elected instead to continue his baseball career at the collegiate level, joining the
George Mason Patriots baseball
The George Mason Patriots baseball team is an intercollegiate baseball team representing George Mason University in NCAA Division I college baseball and has made six appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
George Mason participates as a full memb ...
team.
Coaching career
Immediately following his career with George Mason, Stiffler was picked up as an assistant for the George Mason Patriots baseball program. He worked the first two years as the number two assistant before being promoted to the head assistant for the 2004 season.
Stiffler was hired as the
Virginia Commonwealth
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgin ...
's (VCU) pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. As a recruiter for VCU, Stiffler recruited 15 eventual
Major League Baseball draft picks. He would serve the role as a recruiter and pitching coach until 2007, where he was promoted to an assistant. In Stiffler's first season as an assistant, the Rams would boast one of their strongest campaigns in program history, winning 27 games and the
2007 CAA Tournament.
On April 11,
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, Stiffler was named the head coach on an interim basis when Paul Keyes stepped down to health reasons. Stiffler finished the 2012 season out with a 12–9 record, and in December 2012 was promoted to head coach on a full-time basis.
In 2015, Stiffler led his team to the best season in school history. The Rams finished 40–25 overall with Stiffler leading the team to their first NCAA Division I Super Regional appearance, being recognized by both the NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball Coach of the Year.
On July 12, 2022, it was reported that Shawn Stiffler is being hired to be the next head baseball coach at the University of Notre Dame.
Heading coaching record
Below is a table of Stiffler's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.
See also
*
List of current NCAA Division I baseball coaches
References
External links
Shawn Stiffler Profile on VCUAthletics.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stiffler, Shawn
1979 births
Living people
Baseball coaches from Pennsylvania
Baseball players from Pennsylvania
VCU Rams baseball coaches
George Mason Patriots baseball coaches
George Mason Patriots baseball players
Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball coaches
People from Somerset, Pennsylvania