|
NEW YORK, NY – Franklin & Marshall College baseball coach Brett Boretti has been named head baseball coach at Columbia University in the City of New York. He succeeds Paul Fernandes, who completed his 23rd year and second term as the Lions’ head coach in May of 2005. The 24th head coach in Columbia University history and the career wins leader at Franklin & Marshall College with a 116-82 record over the past five seasons, Boretti joined the F&M coaching staff in July of 2000 and led the Diplomats to unprecedented heights. He made history in 2005 as he coached Franklin & Marshall to a 25-16 record, including a school record 15-3 mark in Centennial Conference play, as the Diplomats won the Centennial Conference title for only the second time in school history and ranked seventh in the final ABCA Mid-Atlantic Region poll. The championship marked the third in school history as Franklin & Marshall last won the Centennial Conference title in 1995. In 1978, the Diplomats finished 14-11-1 to win the Middle Atlantic Conference championship. “Brett is a top-quality individual and a proven winner,” Columbia University Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education Dr. M. Dianne Murphy noted. “He has demonstrated integrity and excellence as a player, assistant coach and head coach. He has experience with the Ivy League and Major League Baseball and we are very pleased to have him lead our baseball program.” During his tenure, the Diplomats posted 24 or more wins in three of Boretti’s five seasons as head coach In 2004, he led the Diplomats to a 24-19 mark on the year to finish second in both the regular season and the Centennial Conference championship tournament. It was the first time in school history that Franklin & Marshall reached the CC Championship series.
In 2002, the Diplomats finished with a school record of 31
wins as the team recorded a 16-2 mark in conference play to
finish as the CC regular season runner-up. In the post-season,
F&M advanced to the title game of the Eastern College Athletic
Conference (ECAC) South Region championship tournament.
“I am very excited to have the opportunity to join the Columbia
athletics family and be a part of one of the most outstanding
universities in the world,” Boretti said. “I am looking forward
to returning to the Ivy League, one of the most prestigious
conferences in the country, as well as the challenge ahead,
continuing to build the Lions’ program up to a championship
level.”
"It was a difficult decision to leave F&M and the
Diplomat baseball community," stated Boretti. "I
have made some life long friends and established some incredible
relationships with the players that will not be forgotten.
I am proud of what the players have accomplished on the field
and in the classroom. I am very thankful that I had the opportunity
to work with such quality young men. The College and baseball
alumni should be proud to be associated with such determined
student-athletes."
An assistant coach at the Ivy League’s Brown University in 1999 and 2000, he coordinated the Bears’ recruiting efforts, coached hitting and the outfield and was responsible for all daily operations of the program. Prior to Brown, he served as an assistant at his alma mater, Davidson College in North Carolina from 1996-98 following a one-year stint at Endicott College in his hometown of Beverly, Massachusetts.
"I feel fortunate to have started my head coaching career
at such a prestigious institution and want to thank the F&M
administration for the opportunity. I will be following Diplomat
baseball closely and look forward to seeing another Centennial
Conference championship in the near future."
A 1994 graduate of Davidson, he was a four-year letter-winner behind the plate for the Wildcats. Ranked among the top 10 in slugging percentage, hits, home runs, total bases, runs-batted-in, games played and at bats, he is Davidson's career leader in doubles (52) and sacrifice flies (16). A team captain and Most Valuable Player in 1994, he earned All-Southern Conference first team honors in 1993 and 1994. A member of the Southern Conference's academic honor roll in 1994, Boretti was the Davidson football team's Offensive Player of the Year in 1990 as a freshman. During the summer while attending Davidson, he participated in the prestigious Cape Cod League in 1992 and 1993, making the all-star squad in 1993. After college, he was an all-star catcher for the North Central Professional Baseball League Champion Brainerd Bears of Minnesota. In 1995, he spent spring training with the Cleveland Indians as a free agent catcher. The third head baseball coach for Columbia in the last 28 years, he takes over a program with a storied history in baseball. The alma mater of 20 Major Leaguers, including Hall of Fame players Lou Gehrig and Eddie Collins, Columbia University’s baseball team has won five Ivy League titles (1933, 1934, 1944, 1963, 1976) and earned five Academic All-Americas in its history.
|
