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WILMINGTON, NC (UNCW) -- Veteran coach Mark Scalf, UNCW’s all-time winningest baseball coach and the Colonial Athletic Association’s career leader in conference victories, has signed a new three-year contract that will keep him at the helm of the school’s successful program.
Scalf, 55, has coached the Seahawks for 23 seasons and amassed a 758-586-21 record. He has piloted the Seahawks to eight Colonial Athletic Association regular season championships, three CAA Tournament titles and six appearances in the NCAA Regionals
“Mark has done a wonderful job with our baseball program through the years and we’re very pleased to reward him,” said Jimmy Bass, UNCW’s athletic director. “He is one of the best college baseball coaches in the country. Mark loves the game of baseball, cares about his players and is a terrific ambassador for the university and the community.”
Scalf coached the Seahawks to a 30-27 mark in 2014, including 10-9 in the CAA. He has guided the Seahawks to 30 or more wins in 15 of the last 16 seasons and owns a 308-205-1 mark in league play on the diamond. The Cary native has been named CAA Coach-of-the-Year six times during his career (1995, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2013).
“I appreciate the opportunity to continue to lead the program over the next few years,” said Scalf, a 1980 graduate of UNCW. “Everyone associated with our program will work hard every day toward our goal of ultimately reaching Omaha and the College World Series.”
Scalf, whose new contract runs through June 30, 2017, broke into the coaching ranks as a graduate assistant at North Carolina in 1981. He was a full-time assistant for the Tar Heels in 1982 when UNC captured the Atlantic Coast Conference championship and advanced to NCAA play.
Scalf lettered four years at second base for UNCW in the late 1970s and returned to his alma mater in 1984 as an assistant coach, serving under former skipper Bobby Guthrie for eight seasons. In that span, Scalf was an integral part of regular season conference championships in 1987 and 1989.
By concentrating on recruiting and conditioning as an assistant, Scalf showed he was ready to head up the program and when Guthrie stepped down on May 28, 1991, Scalf was tabbed to be the new skipper, beginning in the spring of 1992.
Under Scalf’s watch, the Seahawks have had 58 players drafted by professional scouts and featured 88 All-CAA performers, and remain the only school in the CAA to participate in each postseason tournament since the inaugural event in 1986.
In addition to his coaching honors in the CAA, Scalf has been voted ABCA Regional Coach-of-the-Year four times (2003, 2006, 2008, 2012) and served as an assistant coach for Team USA Baseball in 2003 and 2007.
The Seahawks have also excelled in the classroom during Scalf’s tenure, earning an NCAA Public Recognition Award in each of the last two seasons and posting a cumulative 3.152 grade point average in 2013-14.
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MOREHEAD CITY, NC (WWAY) -- The Morehead City Marlins and the Wilmington Sharks split their doubleheader on Thursday night in Morehead City. Click the video icon above in order to check out game highlights. The Marlins won game one 10-4. The Sharks won game two 11-6. The Sharks will host Fayetteville on Friday at 7pm.
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