BLACKSBURG, Va. – His passion is rebuilding programs and thus a new era has begun at Virginia Tech as the Hokies welcome new head baseball coach John Szefc.
Director of Athletics Whit Babcock said Szefc had been on the radar ever since the departure of Pat Mason last month, and that he's confident Szefc will be a great fit.
"We wanted a coach with a clean NCAA record, with an academic commitment and is the total package off the field as well as on the field," Babcock said.
While at Maryland, Szefc led the Terrapins to three NCAA appearances and became the fastest coach to reach 100 career wins in the school's program. Now he's ready to bring wins to Virginia Tech, which hasn't had a winning season in four years.
"I try to create an environment where I don't micro-manage people. And where it's an easy working environment, where the standards are set high and the expectations are there. And I let guys do their thing, coaches coach and players play," Szefc said.
The hiring comes as Tech prepares to celebrate 125 years of baseball in 2018, and the renovation of Union Park. Szefc says recruiting in Virginia will be a focus and attention to detail will go a long way.
"It's one little thing after another and it's one day of preparation after another. It's setting a pretty high standard and not looking too far down the road. This is Virginia Tech and we want to build it right with Virginia players first," Szefc said.
English Field at Union Park is set to open in February, in time for opening day.