Penn State Athletics
Penn State Plans 'Huge Investment' in Baseball
Mike Gambino, Penn State's new baseball coach, worked with Patrick Kraft at Boston College, and understands the athletic director's passion for his vision. So when Kraft said he wants to return Penn State baseball to the College World Series, Gambino was intrigued, even though he had agreed to a five-year extension to coach Boston College in June. What contributed to his interest, beyond the Penn State brand and working again with Kraft and deputy AD Vinnie James, was Kraft's plan to invest in the baseball program.
"The investment that the university and Pat and Vinnie are going to make in this program is special," Gambino said. "I'm really excited about these next couple years as we continue to do that."
Penn State on Tuesday introduced Gambino as its new baseball coach following Rob Cooper's 10-year run with the program. Gambino, who played baseball at Boston College, coached the Eagles for 13 years in a tenure that overlapped with Kraft and James' time running the department (Kraft was BC's athletic director, James its senior associate AD). In June, Boston College extended Gambino's contract after he led the team to a 37-20 record and a berth in the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional. Then Kraft called.
Gambino called Penn State and its pitch "overwhelming," which included the thoughtful way in which the administration addressed what Gambino termed some "family medical concerns." That "changed the conversation," Gambino said, and accelerated the process of leaving his alma mater. Further, Gambino noted how Kraft plans to make a "huge investment" into the baseball program over the next few years, which is something the athletic director addressed in an interview with Ben Jones of StateCollege.com.
"I fully expect to get to Omaha [for the College World Series]," Kraft said in the interview. "Like that’s what we’re in this for. And we got to put the right things and the right pieces in place. And that goes back to health and wellness, the mental health we’ve added the sports performance people we’ve added the training table all of those things go to helping you win and being successful. And in whatever sport, baseball included. We can win at baseball."
Penn State last reached the College World Series in 1973 and hasn't had a winning record in Big Ten play since 2012. Yet Gambino mentioned playing in the College World Series multiple times during his introductory press conference.
"I want people to talk about us going to the College World Series here. I do," he said. "It's something that I want to talk about and it's not just about going to Omaha for the Big Ten tournament. I understand that the Big Ten tournament is great and it's fun and I would like to take a shot at winning that thing for sure. But we want to go to the College World Series. I'm not going to hide behind that.
"... So I want to talk about hosting regionals, I want to talk about going to the College World Series. When Pat talks about those things, that gets me excited. I mean, it's what makes you get in the car and drive down here and check it out. It's what makes you talk about moving your family. Again, we were in a great situation and a place that I loved [at Boston College] and our family loved it. This idea and this vision that Penn State can be in the College World Series is something that Pat believes in, that Vinnie believes in, that I believe in. I would like our players, our current players, our former players and our future players, to believe in that as well."
Gambino said that Kraft has a "great strategy in place" for investing into the program with regard to staffing and resources. Some are in place and some will be built out over the next year, Gambino said. The coach called it a "huge investment." Penn State recently committed more than $160 million to a wide range of athletics facilities projects and upgrades, including a training table and indoor practice facility that will be available to all 31 varsity programs.
Gambino tied that investment to a stronger recruiting presence in Pennsylvania. He called Pennsylvania an "unbelievable" state for baseball with players who are tough and competitive. Gambino has a talent for identifying talent, with more than 30 Boston College players having been drafted during his tenure.
"We want to recruit the state hard," Gambino said. "We want to be everywhere in the state. We want to make it really hard for any kid in the state to leave. It's got to be the right kids, it's got to be kids that believe in what we're doing here. Do they have to have grown up a Penn State fan? Well, I kind of feel like everybody in the state already is a Penn State fan, so that feels like it's kind of easy, but they do have to believe in this idea of success with honor. It's going to be important in our program.
"I want kids that want to win. I want kids that want to put the team first. I want kids that want to play in the big leagues. But I also want kids that care about and value this degree and care about representing the alumni, the school, the logo, representing it well. There is a plan starting to be put in place and I'm excited to be part of rolling that out over the next couple of years."
Watch Penn State baseball coach Mike Gambino's full press conference here.
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