Lehigh University Men's Baseball

Learys 22nd season as head coach at Lehigh and 26th overall with the baseball program. Leary, a two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year who led the Mountain Hawks to league titles in 2006 and 2015, captured the 400th win of his career on May 2, 2015 in a 9-3 win over DeSales and enters the 2017 season with a 430-547-7 all-time career mark. On March 31, 2012 in a 10-2 victory over rival Lafayette, Leary won his 327th game, which set the all-time wins mark in school history, surpassing Stan "Skip" Schultz.   The 2016 season saw Lehigh earn its third-straight trip to the Patriot League Tournament and record its third-straight 25-win season under Learys guidance. The Mountain Hawks used a 10-1 stretch in their final 11 games to secure the No. 3 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. Five Mountain Hawks garnered All-Patriot League recognition, including 2016 Patriot League Player of the Year Mike Garzillo. Garzillo 16 was drafted in the 25th round of the MLB Draft by the Miami Marlins, marking the second straight year that a Mountain Hawk was taken in the draft. Academically, Leary mentored Lehigh to its best-ever spring semester team cumulative GPA and a league-leading three Mountain Hawks earned Academic All-League distinction, while Garzillo also garned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors.   Leary guided Lehigh to its second ever Patriot League Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2015. After a tough start to the season, Leary helped the Mountain Hawks turn the season around at the start of Patriot League play. Lehigh went 12-9 in league action to earn the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. Following a three-game semifinal series win over Holy Cross, the Mountain Hawks took down top-seeded Navy in Annapolis, Md. to earn the league title before going on to compete in the Baton Rouge Regional at LSU. For the first time in program history, two Mountain Hawks were drafted in the MLB first-year player draft in 2015 as Justin Pacchioli 15 (San Diego Padres, 10th round) and Mike Garzillo 16 (New York Yankees, 38th round) were selected. Several Mountain Hawks earned league and national laurels during the 2015 campaign, including Garzillo earning All-America honors from Baseball America, District I Player of the Year accolades from the NCBWA and All-Region laurels from ABCA. Strong in the classroom as well, the 2015 team posted on of its best team GPAs in recent history, landed 12 Mountain Hawks on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll and had two student-athletes earn Academic All-League honors.   The 2014 season was one to remember for the Mountain Hawks as Leary guided Lehigh to its first Patriot League Tournament since 2010 and first Patriot League Championship Series since 2006. Highlights included a four-game sweep over Holy Cross and taking two-of-three against defending league champion and co-regular season champion Army to win the semifinal series. The 2014 season saw Lehighs lowest team ERA in 35 years and a league-leading batting average. Five Mountain Hawks garnered All-Patriot League Recognition, including two first team selections, while two were named to the Academic All-Patriot League squad. In 2006, Leary led the team to its first-ever Patriot League Tournament championship and its first appearance in the NCAA tournament.  The 2006 season also gave the Mountain Hawks their second highest win total in school history, second Patriot League co-championship and fifth consecutive appearance in the Patriot League Tournament a feat never-before accomplished in the programs history.  As a result of the teams achievements, Leary was selected as the 2006 Patriot League Coach of the Year for the first time. In 2011, the baseball team went 24-21 overall and placed 14 student-athletes on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, including eight Mountain Hawks who posted a GPA of 3.50 or higher. On the field, Lehigh had three players honored on the Second Team All-Patriot League. In 2010, Leary took a team that was predicted to finish last in the Patriot League to a 10-8 second place finish in the Patriot League standings. With those efforts, Leary was rewarded Patriot League Coach of the Year.  During his 21 years at Lehigh, Leary has won 430 games and coached 11 teams to 20 or more wins including 11 of the last 16 seasons.  The 2002 Mountain Hawks won a school-record 29 games under Learys guidance and captured the schools first share of the regular season Patriot League title.    Leary has brought a disciplined style of play to the Lehigh program over the past 21 seasons, emphasizing pitching, defense and fundamentals.  His players quickly adopted his philosophy, as Lehigh finished 13th in the country in fielding in 1997 his first season at the helm.  Leary brings a wealth of knowledge and a high degree of enthusiasm to the clubhouse, making him one of the brightest young coaches in the Patriot League.   "Coach Leary was extremely enthusiastic in every facet of his game as a player, especially defense," says former teammate and player Chris Querns 96. "You can definitely see how that has translated into his coaching philosophy.  He can relate to his players and motivate them to put enthusiasm into their game."   Leary has coached six All-Americans (Mike Garzillo, Pat Hollander, Jack Muscalus, Jesse Novalis, Matt McBride and Joe Ercolano), three All-Region selections (Mike Garzillo, Eric Hoffman and Matt McBride), a Patriot League Pitcher of the Year (Dave Cerminaro) and three Patriot League Players of the Year (Garzillo, Novalis and McBride).  He has also coached seven players who have moved on to play professional ball, including Ben Talbott, Kyle Collina, Mike Lebo, Andrew Berger, McBride, Justin Pacchioli and Garzillo.   A 1993 graduate of Lehigh, Leary earned his bachelors degree in accounting and masters in education. He played four years at Lehigh starting at shortstop his senior year batting .296, with one home run and 15 runs batted in. In August of 2008, the Northampton County Legion honored Leary by inducting him into its Hall of Fame, joining assistant coach John Bisco in the exclusive group. Then in November of 2010, he was inducted into Blue Mountain League Hall of Fame. About his time as head coach at Lehigh, Leary said: "I love the sport, but impacting the lives of student-athletes both on and off the field is the reason I coach."   Leary and his wife, Jennifer, reside in Bethlehem, with their daughter, Ashlyn.