this is manhattan college

Kevin Leighton, the 2009 MAAC Coach of the Year, enters his
fifth season at the helm of the Manhattan College baseball
program. Since his appointment, Leighton has guided the
Jaspers to four consecutive 30-win seasons, the program’s
first MAAC Championship, two MAAC Regular-Season
titles, and most notably he put Manhattan in the national
spotlight advancing to the NCAA Regional Final in 2006.
Leighton was named the 24th head coach in team history
on August 18, 2005 after serving four years as the Jaspers’
assistant coach. He is the third winningest coach in the
program’s 141 years in existence. Leighton was the quickest
Jaspers head coach to tally his 100th-career victory, in just
three seasons, and also ranks among the youngest Division I
coaches to reach the 100-win plateau.
Leighton has mentored 38 All-MAAC recipients since joining
the program in 2002, including 26 First Team selections.
During his tenure, three Jaspers were named MAAC Pitcher
of the Year, two earned MAAC Rookie of the Year honors
and one was selected MAAC Player of the Year. Additionally,
two Jaspers received All-America honors and seven were
named Louisville Slugger Freshman All-Americans.
Eleven players Leighton has coached have advanced to the
professional ranks, and four currently play within a MLB
organization.
Under Leighton’s leadership, success has also extended into
the classroom as 46 Jaspers have earned MAAC All-Academic
status. In 2008 Manhattan was honored with an NCAA Public
Recognition Award for ranking in the
top-10 percent of all Division
I baseball programs in the
multi-year Academic
Progress Rate (APR)
report.
The Jaspers are
coming off backto-back
MAAC
Regular-Season
Championships. Last
season, Manhattan
tied a program record
notching 35 wins with
one of the most powerful
offenses in MAAC history.
The 2009 Jaspers finished
fifth in NCAA Division I and
set the conference’s
single season
record with a .349 team
batting average.
Manhattan also
set MAAC records
with 657 hits and
130 doubles in a
season.
Leighton guided
the 2008 Jaspers
to the program’s
first MAAC
Regular-Season
title since joining
the league in 1982.
In 2007, the Jaspers
set a school record with
35 wins, and advanced to
the MAAC Championship
game for the third time in
the previous four seasons. The
team also tallied a programbest
21 MAAC wins, including
a 19-0 start to the conference
season. Manhattan compiled
16 game overall and 15 game
road win streaks, both of which
were tops in Division I at the time.
During Leighton’s first year, he led the
Jaspers to their first MAAC Tournament Championship
and to the 2006 NCAA Regional Finals. Manhattan
posted 34 victories, including three wins over nationally
ranked opponents, most notably, #6 Nebraska in the
NCAA Regional. Leighton was recognized that year as the
American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Northeast
Region Coach of the Year.
Leighton arrived in Riverdale after a standout four-year
career at Seton Hall University. He helped the Pirates to
back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances in 2000 and
2001. In 2001, he helped guide the Pirates to the Big East
Championship, the program’s first title since 1987.
Leighton earned his bachelor’s degree in health and
physical education from Seton Hall in 2001. He completed
his master’s degree in administration and leadership in
education at Manhattan in 2005. The Brewster, N.Y. native
was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1997.
Leighton resides in Somers, N.Y. with his wife Katie and
daughter Taylor.
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