ANNAPOLIS, Md. – After 18 seasons guiding the Navy baseball program and 34 as a Division I head coach, Paul Kostacopoulos has announced his retirement from coaching. Kostacopoulos will remain with the Navy athletic department in an administrative role.
“I am extremely grateful for having had the opportunity to be the baseball coach at Navy for the past 18 seasons,” said Kostacopoulos. “I have had the unique privilege of coaching so many incredible young men here over the years. Those young men have gone on to serve our country in so many meaningful ways and will always have my gratitude and thanks.
“I also have been truly fortunate to have had tremendous assistant coaches, support staff and administrators,” continued Kostacopoulos. “All of us know they are the backbone of any athletic program. Lastly, under the leadership of our athletic director, Mr. Chet Gladchuk, along with the fantastic people of the NAAA and the Naval Academy, I could not have spent the past 18 years with better people and I look forward to continuing to be part of the Naval Academy family.”
“Coach Kosty has decided to transition into life after baseball. A career that has encompassed decades, all with a direct influence on hundreds of student-athletes that have flourished as a result of his guidance and leadership,” said Gladchuk. “His highly competitive programs with impeccable integrity always made us proud in the manner they represented the Naval Academy. A tireless competitor of great character and professional respect who expected exactly the same from every student-athlete he ever coached. Our collective and sincerest appreciation for his immeasurable contributions to collegiate baseball on every level and his 18-year career at Navy, a job indisputably well done.”
A member of the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame (2014), the Maryland Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame (2018) and the Providence College Hall of Fame (2019), Kostacopoulos amassed an impressive career record of 1,027-704-7 in his 34-year coaching career, including a 523-373-5 record with the Midshipmen, to become one of 92 NCAA baseball coaches all-time to reach the 1,000-win plateau. An eight-time conference coach of the year selection, including five times by the Patriot League, Kostacopoulos posted 19 30-win seasons across three schools and led his programs to six NCAA Tournament appearances. Prior to his retirement, Kostacopoulos was one of only seven active head coaches to earn over 1,000 wins at the Division I level.
Kostacopoulos ushered in a new era of excellence for Navy baseball upon his arrival in Annapolis in 2006, guiding the Mids to two NCAA Tournaments (2011, 2016), a pair of Patriot League Tournament titles (2011, 2016) and six Patriot League regular-season championships (2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019). His 523 wins rank second in program history behind only Joe Duff’s 595 victories (1962-93), posting 30-win campaigns on 10 occasions and leading the 2016 squad to a program-record 43 wins. The 2016 team also picked up the fifth NCAA Tournament victory in program history when it defeated Saint Mary’s in extra innings at the Raleigh Regional.
Kostacopoulos’ Navy teams racked up multiple individual awards as well, including 87 All-Patriot League selections, 16 All-Americans and 13 Freshman All-America nods. His players collected six Patriot League Pitcher of the Year awards, four Patriot League Players of the Year, two Patriot League Rookies of the Year and a pair of Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year awards. Additionally, he had nine Mids selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, with two of his draftees making it to the major leagues in Mitch Harris (’08) and Oliver Drake. Under Kostacopoulos’ watch, Noah Song became the highest-drafted player in program history when he was taken by the Boston Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2019 MLB Draft, capping off a senior campaign that saw Song named as a Golden Spikes National Player of the Year finalist and represent Team USA at the Olympic-qualifying Premier12 Tournament.
Navy’s baseball program also had success in the classroom under Kostacopoulos, as the Mids produced seven Academic All-Americans along with 16 Academic All-Patriot League selections. His student-athletes earned Patriot League Academic Honor Roll status 105 times, including a program-record 11 honorees in both 2020 and 2022, while he had three Senior CLASS Award winners.
Prior to his arrival in Annapolis, the Middletown, Conn., native spent nine seasons as head coach at Maine (1997-2005) following a seven-year stint at the helm of his alma mater, Providence (1990-1996). His time in Orono, Maine featured a pair of America East titles (2002, 2005) and two Coach of the Year accolades (1997, 2001) en route to a 284-195 record, as Kostacopoulos led the Black Bears to a winning record in each of his last six seasons at Maine. With the Friars, Kostacopolous took over in 1990 after two years as an assistant coach and became the youngest Division I head coach in the country at age 25, guiding Providence to a 220-137-2 record. His time with the Friars included a Big East Championship in 1992 and an at-large berth to the 1995 NCAA Regionals, garnering ABCA Northeast Coach of the Year distinction twice (1992, 1995) and New England Coach of the Year honors once (1995).
A 1987 graduate of Providence College, Kostacopoulos played 139 games over four seasons for the Friars, being named the team captain and the program’s Defensive Player of the Year as a senior.
Kostacopoulos is from a family steeped in New England baseball, as his father, Peter, recorded over 400 wins in 27 seasons as head baseball coach at Wesleyan University, while his brother, Pete has held coaching positions at Colby College, Dartmouth Colleg, and Wesleyan. Kostacopoulos is married to former Providence College basketball standout Joanie Powers, and the couple have two children, Annie and Matthew.
