PITTSBURGH—Joe Jordano, the winningest baseball coach in the history of the University of Pittsburgh, announced his resignation today.
Named head baseball coach at Pitt in November 1997, Jordano led the Panthers for 21 seasons and compiled a 588-522-2 record (.530).
In 2018, Pitt finished with a 29-26 record. The Panthers closed the season by making a dramatic run to the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship semifinals, defeating Georgia Tech, 2-1, and top-seed North Carolina, 5-4.
“I am honored to have had the opportunity to lead this program with integrity, passion and love for the past 21 seasons,” Jordano said. “It was my objective each day to provide an environment to allow our players to achieve a high level of success, both on and off the field. I am very grateful to my assistant coaches, players and Performance Team members who made my chapter of Pitt baseball a memorable one. Thank you for a great ride. Hail to Pitt!”
“For more than two decades, Joe has been the face of Pitt baseball,” Director of Athletics Heather Lyke said. “More importantly, he has also been the program’s driving spirit. On behalf of Pitt Athletics, I want to thank Joe for his tremendous service to the University of Pittsburgh and congratulate him on a truly remarkable run coaching the Panthers. He responded to the challenge of moving into the ACC by building a strong and competitive foundation. Our task now is to build upon that foundation and continue our upward climb in the nation’s best baseball conference.”
In total, Jordano coached 13 All-Americans, 21 all-region selections, 56 all-conference honorees and 49 Major League Baseball draft picks at Pitt. He led the Panthers to 11 postseason appearances.
Jordano was twice named Big East Coach of the Year (2013 and 2004) and was also honored as the Chuck Tanner Collegiate Manager of the Year (2010) and American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) East Region Coach of the Year (2010).
Prior to his Pitt appointment, Jordano was the head baseball coach for 10 seasons at Mercyhurst College (1988-97), where he amassed a 283-118 mark and departed as the school’s all-time wins leader. Jordano owns 871 victories for his career.
Jordano is enshrined in the Mercyhurst Hall of Fame, Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and Pittsburgh chapter of the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.
Jordano is a 1985 graduate of Westminster (Pa.) College, where he starred for the Titans’ baseball team and earned all-district accolades.
