ODU SELECTS CHRIS FINWOOD AS NEW HEAD BASEBALL COACH
NORFOLK, Va. -- Chris Finwood, the head baseball coach at
Western Kentucky the past six years and the 2009 Sun Belt Conference Coach of
the Year, has been named Old Dominion's new head baseball coach, as announced
today by Director of Athletics Dr. Wood Selig.
In six seasons, the Hilltoppers witnessed unprecedented
success under Finwood, a Hampton, Va. (Hampton High) native. Magical postseason runs in 2008 and 2009,
both in the Sun Belt and NCAA Tournaments, highlighted the Finwood era, as he
compiled a 190-154 record at the Bowling Green, KY. school. His 2009 squad
reached the Regional final in Oxford, MS.
“Obviously I have great admiration and respect for Coach
Finwood having hired him at WKU six years ago while spending five of those
years working together to grow WKU baseball,” said Selig. “Coach Finwood and
success are synonymous. His teams represent themselves exceptionally well
academically, athletically, and within the community.
“He preaches defense and plays a scrappy and exciting
brand of baseball that will be very popular among baseball fans. Coach Finwood
and his family will quickly become visible and vital members of our community
and we look forward to welcoming them back home to Hampton Roads. This is an
exciting day for ODU baseball and baseball in general throughout our region of
the Commonwealth.”
WKU captured the 2008 Sun Belt championship and in 2009,
en route to notching the program's first 40-win season in 21 years and fifth
overall, Finwood's club earned a share
of WKU's first-ever Sun Belt Conference Regular Season Championship that same
season. WKU also achieved more “firsts” with back-to-back trips to the NCAA
Tournament, including the program's first at-large invitation (2009).
“I am so excited and proud to be the head baseball coach
at Old Dominion University,” said Finwood. “I want to thank President Broderick
and Dr. Selig for their confidence in me and I will work tirelessly to make
everyone associated with the Old Dominion baseball program proud. I am really
looking forward to working with Dr. Selig again. I see great things in our
future here and am extremely excited to be a part of it.”
Finwood-coached squads pride themselves on defense and
his 2009 team was no exception, finishing third in the nation in fielding
percentage (.979). WKU’s fielding percentage was nine percentage-points higher
than the next-closest conference foe, and the Hilltoppers made 17 fewer errors
than second-place Troy. The 2011 squad had a .976 fielding percentage which
tied them for first in the Sun Belt and 15th nationally. The 2008 squad also
had a .976 fielding percentage which tied them for first in the Sun Belt.
The 2011 squad won 33 games, beating NCAA participant
Illinois twice. WKU also defeated
Louisville, Ole Miss. and Kentucky, which was Finwood’s fifth straight win
against the Wildcats.
The 2010 Hilltopper team played one of the most ambitious
schedules in school history, as 24 of the team's 56 games were against teams
that played in the NCAA tournament. WKU had significant non-conference wins
against Baylor, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Texas State and
notched a pair of wins over the University of Kentucky. The Toppers' 24-8 win
over Kentucky on April 20 at Bowling Green Ballpark came in front of 6,183
fans, the largest crowd to ever see a college baseball game in the state of
Kentucky.
The 2009 team finished with a 42-20 record and a 21-8
mark in the Sun Belt Conference, earning a conference championship along the
way, the first in Finwood’s WKU tenure. That squad won three games in the NCAA
tournament, which equaled the total NCAA games won by the Hilltoppers in the
100 years. WKU beat Missouri twice and host Mississippi, before losing to the
Rebels in the Regional finals. The Hilltoppers were an impressive 27-3 at home,
setting a new WKU record for home winning percentage in a season.
The 2008 squad went 33-27 and captured the Sun Belt
Conference Tournament championship and it marked the schools first winning
season since 2004. The nine-game turnaround from 2008 to 2009 is tied for the
fifth-best improvement from one year to the next in the 90-year history of
Hilltopper baseball.
After winning just five Sun Belt Conference games in
2006, the Hilltoppers finished 15-15 in the league in 2007. The 10-win turnaround
marked the biggest one-year improvement in the history of the conference. The
Hilltoppers also qualified for the eight-team Sun Belt Conference Tournament
all six seasons under Finwood.
Under Finwood, Western Kentucky has had 17 players
drafted in the last three years, the most in the Sun Belt Conference, including
the school’s first – first round draft pick. Throughout his career, Finwood has
coached more than 55 players who have gone on to sign professional contracts,
which includes three Major Leaguers.
Academics have also been a priority for Finwood's
student-athletes at WKU. In 2009-10 71 percent of his players recorded a GPA of
at-least 3.0 and four earned a perfect 4.0. In 2011, the Hilltoppers catcher,
Matt Rice had a perfect 4.0 GPA in Mechanical engineering and was named the
Capital One (CoSIDA) Academic All-American of the Year, and was also a first
team All-Sun Belt catcher. The Hilltoppers team had the highest GPA of any WKU
men’s squad at 3.12 this year.
“My wife, Annette and myself are really looking forward
to getting back to the Hampton Roads area where we grew up and there are so
many people who we can’t wait to see again,” said Finwood. “The support and
love for baseball in Tidewater Va. is one of the things that makes this such a great
job.”
Prior to his stint at Western Kentucky, Finwood served as
an assistant coach for five seasons and helped lead the Tigers to three NCAA
Regionals in his first four seasons.
During his time at Auburn, Finwood was responsible for all aspects of
the Tiger defense, while also coordinating the program’s recruiting efforts. In
his five seasons, Auburn posted five winning campaigns and combined for 181
victories. The Tigers made the NCAA Tournament field in each of his first three
seasons, earning a top-seed and hosting a regional in 2003 after a 42-21 season
and second-place finish with the West Division of the Southeastern Conference.
Auburn again advanced to the regionals in 2005, falling in the finals to host
Florida State.
In his five seasons at Auburn, he oversaw a defense that
posted the two best fielding percentages in school history, finishing at .970
in 2002 and .968 in 2003. The 2002 fielding percentage also ranked second in
the SEC and 12th nationally.
Prior to joining the staff at Auburn Finwood spent six
seasons at Virginia Commonwealth — four seasons as an assistant (1995-98)
before serving as the Rams’ associate head coach in 1999 and 2000. Finwood
helped guide VCU to a 219-139 record in six years in Richmond. In his six
seasons, VCU claimed Colonial Athletic Association regular-season titles in
1997 and ‘98. The Rams also earned trips to the NCAA Tournament in 1998 and
‘99, winning 40-plus games each season including a school-record 46 victories
during the ‘98 campaign.
Finwood began his coaching career at his alma mater —
Virginia Military Institute — serving as an assistant for three seasons before
taking over the head coaching duties from 1992-94. After inheriting a VMI team
that had won just two games the year before, Finwood led the Keydets to a
school-record 21 wins in ‘93 and ‘94 and a berth in the 1993 Southern
Conference Tournament championship game.
A four-year starter on the field at VMI from 1985-88,
Finwood was named to the Southern Conference all-Northern Division team three
times. A career .300 hitter, he posted a .399 batting average as a senior — the
sixth-best average in school history. He was also named team captain during his
senior season and finished his career with the Keydets ranked second in hits
and runs scored. Finwood was inducted into the VMI Athletics Hall of Fame in
the summer of 2003.
Finwood is 13th head baseball coach in ODU history. He
and his wife Annette have two children — a daughter, Riley, and son, Greyson.
There will be a reception to introduce Coach Finwood to
the media and community on Tuesday, June 28 at 1:30 at the Bud Metheny Baseball
Complex.
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What Others Are Saying About Coach Finwood
“I have known Chris for a long time. He is a good person,
knows the recruiting area and I think you have a very good coach. I remain ready to help him in any way
possible. Good luck to all the Monarchs.”
Mark Newman – Senior Vice President for Baseball
Operations – New York Yankees, and former ODU baseball coach
“Chris Finwood is one of my all time favorite VMI
baseball players. I recruited him out of Hampton High School to play shortstop
for us and he became a four-year starter, All Southern Conference selection,
and was inducted into the VMI Sports Hall of Fame. Chris was the hardest working
player I had. Wood Selig was smart to hire him at Western Kentucky and even
smarter hiring him at ODU.”
Donny White – VMI Director of Athletics
“In my opinion Chris is one of the best five college
baseball coaches in America. I’m excited for ODU and baseball.”
Henry Morgan – Peninsula Pilots Owner
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THE FINWOOD FILE
Born: Jan. 20, 1966 in Plattsburgh, N.Y.
High School: Hampton (Va.) High School
High School Athletics: Varsity Baseball (3 years),
Varsity Basketball (3 years)
College: Virginia Military Institute, 1988 (BA, English)
College Athletics: Baseball (1985-88), shortstop, four letters
Coaching Experience:
Virginia Military Institute, Assistant Coach, 1989-90;
1991 Radford, Assistant Coach, Fall 1990 Virginia Military Institute, Head
Coach, 1992-94 Virginia Commonwealth, Assistant Coach, 1995-98 Virginia
Commonwealth, Associate Head Coach, 1999-2000 Auburn, Assistant Coach, 2001-05
Western Kentucky, Head Coach, 2005-2011