UMBC

Bio

	Joe French
	Position: Head Coach Alma Mater: SUNY-Brockport '77

Joe French enters his fifth season as head coach of the Retrievers with 140 victories, just 13 wins shy of becoming UMBC’s all-time winningest softball coach.

French has been a mentor at every level, including junior college, Division-III, Division-II and Division-I, and has been highly successful at every stop. He has coached nearly 1,000 games in 18 seasons at the helm and racked up 566 wins combined in softball, women’s basketball and tennis. His career records stand at 354-217-1 (.619) in 12 years of softball, 205-162 (.524) in 14 years of basketball and 7-3 (.700) in one season of tennis. As a college coach in all sports, he has posted an overall record of 566-382-1 for a .596 career winning percentage.

While he has worked in college athletics, physical education and recreational sports since 1977, French’s coaching career began in 1982 as the head women’s basketball coach at Alfred State College in New York. At the helm for five years, he became the Pioneers’ all-time winningest coach.

French then moved on to Division-II Mansfield University in Pennsylvania, where he coached both softball and women’s basketball from 1987-91. In his four years, he won more softball games (95) than any other coach in school history at the time, as his team improved its win total each season, from 11 in 1988 to 33 in 1991. The Mountaineers also set school records for number of wins in a season each year. French led Mansfield to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Mid-Atlantic championship game three times, winning the title in his final season.

After five years as an assistant women’s basketball coach at the Naval Academy, French moved back to his home state of New York, where he served as the head softball and women’s basketball coach at Division-III SUNY-Geneseo, racking up more wins in four seasons (119) than any other softball coach in school history. In his first season, 1998, the Knights won a school-record 31 games, and they topped that two seasons later with 33 victories. French’s softball teams qualified for ECAC’s all four years, and they were ECAC North Champions in 2000. French was also the head tennis coach at Geneseo for one season.

French came to UMBC, his first Division-I head coaching job, before the 2002 season, and he immediately led the Retrievers to their second-ever NCAA berth and a school-record 47 wins. The Retrievers defeated Bethune-Cookman in the NCAA play-in series for their first win in an NCAA Tournament game in school history. In 2003, French’s Retrievers were Northeast Conference regular season co-champions.

“UMBC is the culmination of over two decades of hard work and success,” French said. “My lifelong dream was fulfilled when I was chosen to become head coach at the Division-I level.”

In French’s first two seasons at UMBC, his teams were 37-7 in Northeast Conference games. With a 40-22 record in 2003, the Retrievers posted back-to-back 40-win seasons for the first time in school history.

The last two seasons have been more of a struggle for the Retrievers, as UMBC made the switch from the Northeast Conference to the more competitive America East. In doing so, French suffered his first two losing seasons since his first year at Mansfield in 1988.

“What you find in the America East are more athletic players who are more advanced, and are definitely bigger and stronger,” said the coach, who added there are no easy outs in the league. “You have to get nine batters out every game, which is a challenge for the pitchers as well as the defense.”

Since coming to UMBC, French’s teams have broken most school records on offense, including hits, home runs and runs scored. His teams and players have also been ranked nationally in numerous NCAA categories, giving him the reputation as one of the best hitting coaches on the east coast. A strong believer in bat speed, line drive power and hitting to all fields, his 2002 and 2003 UMBC teams alone were among the best in the nation offensively.

“Look for something you can hit,” French said. “Be selective yet aggressive at the plate and finish your swing. On offense, the more times you can turn the lineup over, the more successful you should be.”

A strong recruiter, French is his own recruiting coordinator and has a keen eye for talent, as he looks for strong athletes on the field who are also strong students in the classroom. Over the past 23 years, French's softball and basketball teams have been ranked both regionally and nationally. In addition, his players have received All-American, All-Region, All-ECAC and All-Conference honors.

In his first four seasons at UMBC alone, French has coached seven all-region players and 16 all-conference athletes, including the 2002 NEC Rookie of the Year and the 2002 and 2003 NEC Players of the Year, and an Academic All-District team member.

French received his Bachelor's degree in recreation from SUNY-Brockport in 1977 and his Master's in recreation from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1984. The Waterloo, N.Y., native also received an associate's degree from Monroe Community College in 1975. He currently resides in Annapolis, Md., with his wife, Cathy, and their sons, Dominic (11), and Angelo (9).

Joe French's Career Softball Coaching Record

                    Career: 354-217-1 (.620)/12 seasons

                    *School wins record