As I begin my 39th year as coach at Saint John’s I could not be more pleased about of the state of our program. I am very fortunate to coach so many fine young men in a sport that I am passionate about. As many of you may have read in the recent issue of the Saint John’s Magazine, the cover story featured several of our ballplayers and how they have excelled both on the field and in the classroom. I am very proud of all of our players, past and present. Our 2016 squad is talented and excited for the opportunity to make a repeat run at the MIAC Title. We have great leadership and they are focused on winning championships, working hard on their academics and, above all, being great teammates to one another.
Our program is also blessed with one of the top baseball park facilities in NCAA Division III. Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of so many of our baseball alumni, parents and friends we have a beautiful new complex that we will dedicate later this spring. The fact that we have been selected as the host site for the MIAC Baseball Playoffs – which will take place May 12-14, 2016 – speaks volumes about our venue. We are bidding to host the NCAA Regionals in the coming years as well.
The point of this blog is to keep you informed as alumni, parents and fans of our program throughout the year. The blog will give you a glimpse into our season, our players, as well our challenges and our opportunities. Each week during the season I will post a blog entry. As you know, we play a lot of games over a short period of time so I will not be providing game recaps. Ryan Klinkner does a fantastic job of writing those stories on gojohnnies.com which is directly linked to this blog. Here are a few things to look for on the blog:
1. Player profiles are shared at the bottom of the blog. The profiles summarize where the players come from, their academic focus at SJU and their future professional goals. This will help the student athletes connect to the SJU alumni and to bridge the gap with those who may be able to help them accomplish their goals.
2. Information about events like the Diamond Dash (Saturday, April 16, 2016), the Baseball Park Dedication or the Dunstan Tucker Classic Golf Outing (Monday, July 18, 2016).
3. The Johnnie alumnus spotlight. Once a month we will feature an update on a Johnnie Baseball alumnus. We will use this to showcase the success of Johnnies after baseball. Our goal is to share these profiles in the recruiting process to demonstrate that SJU not only provides a great education and baseball experience, but also serves as an exceptional foundation that leads to professional success.
I look forward to sharing this season’s journey with all of you. This past weekend in Tucson, Arizona we split the six game schedule and take our season record of 3-3 to Fort Myers, Florida. Obviously I would have liked to have come away with another win or two, but it is very early in the season. We saw some good things out of our guys and we will play another ten games next week. I know that the players are looking forward to getting back to the sunshine and enjoying a welcome spring break from the books. Thanks for your interest in Johnnie Baseball!
