Report: Notre Dame To Hire Shawn Stiffler As Its New Baseball Coach
Notre Dame is set to hire Shawn Stiffler as its next head baseball coach. A source familiar with the process confirmed to Irish Breakdown that Stiffler and the school are finalizing a deal. It was first reported by D1baseball.com.
Stiffler has spent the past 11 seasons as head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he compiled a record of 352-206 overall and 144-71 in Atlantic 10 Conference play. VCU is one of just seven programs in the nation with at least 34 wins over the past nine seasons. He was named the A-10 Coach of the Year in 2019.
He took over the program on an interim basis in 2012 when Paul Keyes stepped down due to health reasons. Stiffler finished that season with a 12-9 overall mark, including an 8-9 record in Colonial Athletic Conference play.
Under Stiffler, the Rams have gone 60-36 overall, with a 32-8 Atlantic 10 record over the past two seasons. VCU won the A-10's South Division title last year and finished second this season. They advanced to the NCAA Tournament in both seasons, the second and third NCAA appearances by the Rams in Stiffler’s tenure.
The Rams were 2-2 at the Chapel Hill Regional this season. They went 1-2 in the Starkville, Miss Regional last year. That Regional was won by eventual national champion Mississippi State.
Stiffler also led the Rams to the NCAA Tournament in 2015, when they won the Dallas, TX Regional to advance to the first Super Regional in program history before falling to Miami (FL).
Stiffler’s background is pitching. He was the VCU pitching coach and recruiting coordinator from 2007-2012. VCU’s 2022 pitching staff posted a 3.91 team ERA, which tied Notre Dame’s staff for eighth in the nation.
Stiffler would replace Link Jarrett, who left Notre Dame after three seasons to return as head coach to his alma mater, Florida State. he is expected to take Irish assistants Chuck Ristano and Rich Wallace with him to Tallahassee. Both were candidates to replace him at Notre Dame.
An official announcement on Stiffler's hire is not likely to come for more than a week, as the university completes its vetting process.
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