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Within his first two-plus years at Navy, head coach Paul Kostacopoulos has helped resurrect a baseball program that has won more than 60 percent of its games all-time. This should not come as a surprise to those in the college baseball ranks, as success has been synonymous with Kostacopoulos during his career. Entering his 19th season as a head coach, Kostacopoulos owns a 571-373-3 (.605) career record. He has won more than 30 games in each of his last-seven years and 11 times during his career. The native of Middleton, Conn., has boasted a winning percentage of .500 or better in each of his last-nine campaigns and 15 times in his career. Kostacopoulos's .619 winning percentage courtesy of his 67-41-1 record at Navy ranks third in program history among coaches with at least 50 wins, behind only legendary skippers Max Bishop (.669, 1937-61) and Joe Duff (.645, 1962-93). He reached the 50-win mark at Navy in just his 81st game with the Mids, only four games more than Duff needed in being the quickest in school history. Under Kostacopoulos's direction, Navy has boasted back-to-back 30-win seasons for the first time in the program's 112-year history. Last year, Mitch Harris and Jonathan Johnston were both drafted in the MLB First-Year Player Draft. Kostacopoulos has guided several players that went on to play in the professional ranks, including Toronto Blue Jays shortstop John McDonald and major league infielder Lou Merloni. In just his second season in Annapolis, Kostacopoulos directed the Midshipmen to a school-record 35-win campaign and their first Patriot League Tournament appearance since 2003. Navy also smashed the program record for home wins with 22 and posted winning streaks of four games or more on four occasions. The pitching staff excelled with a 3.88 team ERA, the lowest in 12 years and 34th-best mark in the country on the year. Inheriting a team that won only 12 games in 2005, Kostacopoulos engineered a team that went 32-21-1 in 2006, then the second-highest win total in school history and most by a first-year Navy skipper. The 20 victories over the previous season's mark ranks as the best turnaround in school history and tied for the largest win-improvement in Patriot League history. Navy's 24 victories in non-league contests also established a school record. Kostacopoulos and the Midshipmen opened the 2006 slate with tremendous success, going 8-2-1 in the month of February, including a win over Old Dominion, who opened the year with a 30-4 record. Navy claimed the Service Academy Spring Classic title by defeating Indiana State, Air Force and Memphis. Right-handed pitcher Mitch Harris became the first Navy baseball player in over a decade to earn All-America honors. Prior to his arrival in Annapolis, Kostacopoulos coached Maine to a 284-195 (.593) mark over nine years in Orono. He led the team to a 35-19 record in 2005, as the Black Bears won the America East Championship and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in his tenure. At the NCAA Regional in Oxford, Miss., Maine defeated Southern Miss, 12-2, giving the school its first NCAA Tournament baseball win since 1991. Kostacopoulos, 42, came to Maine after seven years at Providence College where he led his squads to a record of 220-137-2 (.616). In 1995, his Friars were 44-15 and won a school-record 16 Big East games. After winning the regular-season Big East Championship, the Friars finished as the tournament runner-up and received an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Providence was 29-23 in 1992 and won the Big East Tournament to advance to the NCAA South I Regional. Kostacopoulos served as an assistant at Providence for two seasons before 1990, when at age 25, he became the youngest Division I head coach in the country. He was named the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Northeast Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1995, and received both Big East and New England Coach-of-the-Year honors in 1995. In 1997, Kostacopoulos took over a struggling Maine program and brought instant success. The Black Bears finished with a 24-27 mark, a five-win improvement over the previous season. Maine's 16-8 league record earned Kostacopoulos America East Coach-of-the-Year honors. The 2001 team turned in a 36-15 record, the fifth-highest win total in program history at the time, and finished second in the America East with a 20-8 league record. He was named America East Coach of the Year - the third time he has earned a league coach-of-the-year award. Kostacopoulos's 2002 squad finished with the first 40-win season at Maine since 1991, and only the third in school history. The Black Bears also won the school's 12th conference title and made an appearance in the NCAA Regional. Kostacopoulos earned his bachelor's degree from Providence College in 1987, capping a four-year career as a member of the Friar baseball team. He played 139 games and batted .260. As a senior, he was both captain and defensive player of the year. He comes from a family steeped in New England baseball; his father, Peter Kostacopoulos, recorded over 400 wins in 27 seasons as head baseball coach at Wesleyan University, and his brother, Pete, head coach at the Worcester Academy, has held coaching positions at Colby College, Dartmouth College, and Wesleyan. He is married to former Providence College basketball standout Joanie Powers, and has a daughter, Annie (6) and a son, Matthew (4).
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All-Access Events, Dec. 1-7
Tue.: Navy Football Luncheon Tue.: M. Basketball vs. Texas-San Antonio Wed.: Football Practice Report Thu.: Football Practice Report Sat.: Army-Navy Postgame Report |
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