UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Pat Kraft announced the hiring of Mike Gambino as the Nittany Lions’ head baseball coach on Monday. Gambino takes over the Penn State Baseball program after 13 years at the helm of his alma mater Boston College.
“I am thrilled to welcome Mike and his family to Happy Valley as our new baseball coach,” said Kraft. “We worked with Mike at Boston College and know how he grows a program to find success on a national stage. Mike guided BC to the best season in program history this past season, which is impressive in a conference with historical baseball success like the ACC. Mike is a tremendous teacher and has a track record for developing players’ skills to prepare them for the next level. He has an impressive 33 Major League Draft picks in his first 12 years as a head coach. We are excited to have Mike, Jill, and their children, Sonny and Callahan, as part of our State College community.”
“My wife, kids and I are honored and humbled to be a part of the Penn State Baseball program, athletics department, University and the State College community,” said Gambino. “I want to thank Athletics Director Pat Kraft, [Deputy AD] Vinnie James and President [Neeli] Bendapudi for giving me this opportunity. I couldn’t be more excited to get to work with these young men and develop this program into a national contender and challenge to make the College World Series. We will work tirelessly each and every day to make our alumni, former players and everyone involved in the program proud.”
In his 13 seasons leading the Eagles, Gambino ranks second in program history in wins (291) while guiding Boston College to a pair of NCAA Regional appearances in 2016 and 2023 and an NCAA Super Regional appearance in 2016. He had five seasons of 25 or more wins and eight seasons with 10 or more ACC wins. BC also appeared in the ACC Championship Tournament four times under Gambino’s tutelage, including berths in three of four years for the first time since Boston College joined the ACC in 2006.
Gambino has a long history of developing Major League Baseball talent with 33 draft picks in his first 12 years at BC. He has had three first round picks and six picks in the first five rounds of the MLB Draft in his tenure. Three former Boston College players have appeared in MLB games this season: outfielder Jake Alu (Washington Nationals), pitcher Michael King (New York Yankees) and pitcher Emmet Sheehan (Los Angeles Dodgers). Five of Gambino’s former BC players have reached the major leagues.
He coached five All-American selections and five Freshman All-Americans. Gambino guided 16 All-ACC selections, including 2021 ACC Player of the Year Sal Frelick.
In his time at Boston College, Gambino has put together five recruiting classes ranked among the nation’s Top 60 by Perfect Game.
In 2023, Gambino guided the Eagles to a 37-20 overall record and 16-14 mark in ACC play. The 37 overall wins tie the program record set by the 2005 squad and the 16 ACC victories are also a highwater mark for the program topping the 14 victories by the 2010 team. Boston College logged 12 ranked wins, including a thrilling 7-6 victory over No. 2 Tennessee in 10 innings, on the way to playing in the Tuscaloosa Regional and reaching the regional final. The Eagles were ranked for 12 weeks in the D1Baseball Poll, reaching as high as ninth. Three of Gambino’s players earned All-ACC accolades, including Chris Flynn claiming second-team All-ACC as a starting pitcher.
Gambino’s pitching staff ranked 26th in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.54) and 26th in walks allowed per nine innings (3.58). Boston College held fifth in the country, and led the ACC, with a .982 fielding percentage.
The 2022 MLB Draft saw four of Gambino’s student-athletes be chosen, led by second baseman Luke Gold, who was selected in the fifth round by the Detroit Tigers. Pitchers Mason Pelio (Reds – 12th round), Joe Mancini (Astros – 15th round) and Max Gieg (Angels – 18th round) were also chosen in the draft.
In 2021, an impressive three players were selected in the first six rounds of the MLB Draft headlined by outfielder Sal Frelick, who was the 15th overall pick by the Milwaukee Brewers. Shortstop Cody Morissette was picked in the second round by the Miami Marlins and pitcher Emmet Sheehan was selected in the sixth round by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Gambino led BC to a 31-27 record in 2019 and the Eagles reached the ACC semifinals as the 12th seed with wins over Clemson and top-seeded Louisville. A program-record five Eagles earned All-ACC, led by All-ACC first team pitcher Dan Metzdorf, who was a fifth-round pick for the Chicago White Sox and led the ACC with a 2.30 ERA. Jake Alu (Nationals – 24th round) and Matt Gill (Reds – 27th round) were also chosen during the 2019 MLB Draft.
In 2018, outfielder Chris Galland earned All-ACC third team accolades and Collegiate Baseball News Freshman All-America honors. The 2018 MLB Draft had four of Gambino’s players selected with Jake Palomaki (Rays – 18th round), Jacob Stevens (Diamondbacks – 21st round), Brian Rapp (Twins – 26th round) and Dan Metzdorf (Yankees – 38th round).
In 2017, the Eagles returned to the ACC Championship Tournament for the first time since 2010. BC won 10 of its last 15 ACC games with sweeps over Notre Dame and NC State.
Gambino guided the 2016 Eagles to 35 wins, the most since 2005 and third-highest total in program history. They also tallied 13 ACC wins, the most since 2010, while their six conference series victories set a school record. Gambino led the Eagles to a sweep in the Oxford Regional as the third seed to advance to the program’s first NCAA Super Regional. BC finished the season in the Top 25 of all four major polls for the first time in program history (15th – D1Baseball, 16th – Baseball America, NCBWA and 21st – USA Today/Coaches Poll).
For his efforts, Gambino was named the 2016 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Northeast Region Coach of the Year, a finalist for D1Baseball Coach of the Year and earned a spot on the website’s top-10 coaching performances of the season.
Gambino proteges were selected in the first round of the MLB Draft in back-to-back years for the first time in program history in 2015 and 2016. Chris Shaw was selected 31st overall by the San Francisco Giants in 2015 and Justin Dunn was taken 19th overall by the New York Mets in 2016. Overall, five players were drafted in 2016: Dunn, Michael King (12th round), Jesse Adams (14th round), Nick Sciortino (19th round) and Joe Cronin (34th round).
Gambino was an assistant coach for four seasons at Virginia Tech prior to his move to Boston College. He served as the Hokies’ recruiting coordinator and worked with the hitters and infielders. In his four years, he saw 15 players get drafted in the MLB Draft, including nine in 2010.
Gambino also spent two years as a regional scout for the Detroit Tigers and was an assistant coach at Boston College from 2003-05.
Gambino played for the Eagles from 1997-2000, starting 166 games in the middle infield. He posted a career batting average of .313 with 22 doubles, eight home runs, 87 RBIs and 117 runs. His 78 hits in 2000 were a program record that stood until 2011. Gambino’s 52 runs his final year are in the top 10 in BC history.
The Garrison, New York native was a first-team All-Big East, All-New England and All-Northeast region honoree following his senior campaign. He also earned second-team All-New England and Big East Academic Team accolades during his playing career.
Gambino played two seasons in the Boston Red Sox minor league system. He spent the 2000 season with the Augusta Green Jackets before splitting the 2001 season between Augusta and the Lowell Spinners. In 2002, the Red Sox hired Gambino as a special assistant to the Major League staff before heading back to Lowell for a coaching role with the Spinners just prior to the June draft. Following his stint in Lowell, the Red Sox sent Gambino to the MLB Scout Development Program.
Gambino received his bachelor’s degree from Boston College in English and theology. He and his wife, Jill, have two children, Sonny and Callahan.
