Shawn Stiffler
 Stiffler in 2014 | |
| Sport(s) | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Current position | |
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | VCU Rams |
| Conference | Atlantic 10 |
| Record | 117–80 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | April 2, 1979 |
| Alma mater | George Mason University |
| Playing career | |
| 1998–2001 | George Mason Patriots |
| Position(s) | Pitcher |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2001–2012 | VCU (asst.) |
| 2012–Present | VCU |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 155–99 |
| Tournaments | A-10: 9–4 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
|
NCAA Regional: 2015 A-10 Tournament: 2015 | |
Shawn Stiffler (born April 2, 1979) is an American baseball coach. Since December 2012, he has been the coach of the VCU Rams baseball program, after serving as the interim head coach for part of the 2012 season. Stiffler has been a part of the Rams baseball program since 2001, where he spent the first 11 seasons as an assistant to Paul Keyes. During his collegiate years, Stiffler was a pitcher for the George Mason Patriots.
Playing career
Stiffler played high school baseball from 1993–1997 at Somerset Area High School, in Somerset, Pennsylvania where he earned All-American honors as a pitcher. He was drafted in the 53rd round by the Minnesota Twins in the 1997 MLB Draft, but elected instead to continue his baseball career at the collegiate level, joining the George Mason Patriots baseball team. Stiffler pitched all four years for Mason.[1]
Coaching career
Immediately following his career with George Mason, Stiffler was picked up as an assistant for the VCU Rams baseball program. Initially, Stiffler was hired as the program's 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.
During the 2012 season, Stiffler was assigned to be 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 assigned to be head coach on a full-time basis.
In 2015, Stiffler led his team to the best season in school history. At one point the team was almost out of the running for those making it into the conference tournament. The team was riding momentum of a 7-game win streak going into the conference tournament hosted by George Washington University in Arlington, VA. As the 8th and last seed of the tournament, the Rams had a tough road ahead of them. The Rams shut out Davidson in game one, winning 11-0 and cruising past St. Louis with a score of 14-3 in game two. The Rams then played Rhode Island twice in a row, outscoring the opposing Rams by a combined 13-5. After the NCAA selections, VCU was set to play in the regional hosted by Dallas Baptist University in Dallas, Texas. The regional included Dallas Baptist, Oregon State, Texas, and VCU, seeded in that order. The Rams played the #1 seed, Dallas Baptist, in their first game of the 2015 NCAA Regional Tournament and won 7-2. Next the Rams faced the Oregon State Beavers and won 5-1. The Rams only needed to win one more game to sweep the regional but lost the first championship game 2-1 to Dallas Baptist. Nevertheless, the Rams came out on top after beating Dallas Baptist in game two of the regional championship 3-1, advancing them to the school's first ever NCAA Super Regional. The Rams were in the pool of the final 16 collegiate baseball teams playing for the national title for the first time ever and were headed to Coral Gables, FL to face Miami. The VCU Rams' cinderella run came to an end after losing the first game 3-2 and the second 10-3 to the Hurricanes. The Rams finished 40-25 overall and their stellar season was recognized by both the NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball writing staff who ranked the team 18th and 15th overall in the nation at the end of the season, respectively. Stiffler was named the 2015 ABCA East-Region Coach of the Year for his and the team's accomplishments on the biggest stage in collegiate baseball. Four of the players from his 2015 team signed professional contracts after the season (Daniel Concepcion, Heath Dwyer, Matt Lees, and Vimael Machine).
Heading coaching record
Below is a table of Stiffler's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.[2]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VCU Rams (Colonial Athletic Association) (2012) | |||||||||
| 2012 | VCU | 12–9[lower-alpha 1] | 8–9 | 5th | CAA Tournament[lower-alpha 2] | ||||
| VCU Rams (Atlantic 10 Conference) (2013–present) | |||||||||
| 2013 | VCU | 28–26 | 12–12 | t-8th | |||||
| 2014 | VCU | 37–20 | 15–10 | 4th | Atlantic 10 Tournament | ||||
| 2015 | VCU | 40–25 | 14–10 | t-4th | Atlantic 10 Tournament | ||||
| 2016 | VCU | 38–19 | 17-9 | 2nd | Atlantic 10 Tournament | ||||
| Total: | 155–99 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
See also
References
- ↑ "44 Shawn Stiffler Bio". George Mason University Athletics. GoMason.gom. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
- ↑ "2012 Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Standings". D1Baseball.com. Jeremy Mills. Archived from the original on May 20, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
- ↑ Swing, Jim (November 4, 2012). "Keyes leaves behind lasting legacy at VCU". The Commonwealth Times. CommonwealthTimes.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Shawn Stiffler Profile on VCUAthletics.com