PITTSBURGH – Head coach Joe Jordano announced the hiring of Aaron Lynch as the University of Pittsburgh’s volunteer assistant coach Thursday afternoon.
Lynch joins the Panthers after a season long stint at Davidson College, where he worked with the outfielders and pitchers in addition to handling gameday and facility operations.
“I am very pleased to add Aaron to our staff,” said Jordano. “His broad knowledge of the game and in particular the infield and offense compliments our coaching staff very well. It has been a very smooth transition and the players have been very receptive on the field. I am also appreciative of Coach Cooke at Davidson for his understanding and support for Coach Lynch coming to Pitt. I am excited to work with this staff and team on continuing our pursuit of an ACC Championship.”
The former college infielder was a part of Davidson’s impressive run to the 2017 NCAA Super Regionals. Lynch would help coach Durin O’Linger and Will Robertson to professional contracts that season, as O’Linger signed a free agent contract and Robertson was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles.
Prior to joining Davidson, Lynch served as an outfielders and hitting coach at North Carolina A&T.
For two seasons, Lynch worked as an assistant coach at Cal Tech in Pasadena, Calif., serving as the infielders and hitting instructor. He guided the Beavers to improve in numerous offensive and defensive categories such as batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, doubles, total bases, steals, putouts and assists. He also assisted in recruiting efforts and served as the interim sports information director while in Pasadena.
Previously, Lynch spent his summers as the manager of the Wilson Tobs, a summer league team in the Coastal Plains League. He has had 10 players drafted through the Tobs’ franchise. This past year, he led the team to 32 wins and an appearance in the playoffs. The Tobs set a franchise record with an 8-game winning streak, and Lynch’s tutelage landed three players on the All-CPL squads. The team finished fourth in the league in batting average (.273), second in fielding percentage (.967), and third in doubles and stolen bases (98, 98).
A four-year starter in the infield, Lynch was in integral component in his time at Allegheny College. He played his first two years at shortstop, his junior year at third base before playing first base as a senior. He was a three-time All-NCAC selection and was voted team captain three times. Lynch finished with a career .332 batting average and a .394 on-base percentage. Lynch led Allegheny in at-bats, hits, runs, total bases, steals and assists in 2009. In 2010, he led the team in at-bats, assists, putouts and sacrifice bunts, while in 2012 he ranked first on the team in putouts and sacrifice bunts.
Lynch replaces the departed Jimmy Negrych who worked with the Panthers in a volunteer capacity for more than two seasons. Negrych, a former Pitt All-American who would eventually be drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the sixth round of the 2006 MLB Draft moves on to the St. Louis Cardinals organization, serving as a scout for the 2011 World Series Champions.
