Penn State hires former Boston College coach Mike Gambino to lead its baseball program

After spending 13 seasons as the head baseball coach at Boston College, including two working with Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft, Mike Gambino took the leap to the Nittany Lions where he will replace Rob Cooper.

Cooper had been Penn State’s head coach for the past 10 seasons.

Gambino ranks second in Boston College history with 291 victories, and led the Eagles to two NCAA Regional appearances (2016 and 2022) and an NCAA Super Regional berth in 2016. He achieved 25 or more victories in five seasons.

Very excited to welcome our new head coach, Mike Gambino!

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— Penn State Baseball (@PennStateBASE) July 3, 2023

“I am thrilled to welcome Mike and his family to Happy Valley as our new baseball coach,” Kraft, a former BC athletic director, said in a statement. “We worked with Mike at Boston College and know how he grows a program to find success on a national stage. Mike guided BC to the best season in program history this past season, which is impressive in a conference with historical baseball success like the ACC.

“Mike is a tremendous teacher and has a track record for developing players’ skills to prepare them for the next level. He has an impressive 33 Major League draft picks in his first 12 years as a head coach.”

“I couldn’t be more excited to get to work with these young men and develop this program into a national contender,” Gambino said in a statement. “We will work tirelessly each and every day to make our alumni, former players and everyone involved in the program proud.”

Of his 33 draft choices at BC, he coached three first round picks, six picks in the first five rounds of the MLB Draft, five All-Americans and five Freshman All-Americans. He also coached ACC Player of the Year Sal Frelick.

During the past season, Gambino led the Eagles (37-20, 16-14) to a record-tying overall victory total, including BC’s most victories in ACC play. Boston College defeated 12 ranked teams, including a 7-6 victory against No. 2 Tennessee in 10 innings, on the way to playing in the Tuscaloosa Regional and reaching the regional final. The Eagles were ranked as high as ninth this season in the D1Baseball Poll.

Gambino was an assistant coach for four seasons at Virginia Tech where he was the Hokies’ recruiting coordinator and worked with hitters and infielders. He also spent two years as a regional scout for the Detroit Tigers and was an assistant coach at Boston College from 2003-05.

Gambino was a middle infielder for the Eagles from 1997-2000, with 166 starts. He posted a career batting average of .313 with 22 doubles, eight home runs and 87 RBIs. He played two seasons in the Boston Red Sox minor league system, and in 2002, the Red Sox hired him as a special assistant to the Major League staff.