Shawn Stiffler
# Shawn Stiffler

Shawn Stiffler (born April 2, 1979) is an American college baseball coach and former pitcher, who is the current head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He played college baseball for the George Mason Patriots from 1998 to 2001 under head coach Bill Brown. Stiffler had been a part of the Rams baseball program since 2007, where he spent the first 5 seasons as an assistant to Paul Keyes.

## Playing career

Stiffler played high school baseball from 1994–1997 at Somerset Area High School, in Somerset, Pennsylvania where he earned All-American honors as a pitcher. He was drafted in the 53rd round by the Minnesota Twins in the 1997 MLB Draft, but elected instead to continue his baseball career at the collegiate level, joining the George Mason Patriots baseball team.

## Coaching career

Immediately following his career with George Mason, Stiffler was picked up as an assistant for the George Mason Patriots baseball program. He worked the first two years as the number two assistant before being promoted to the head assistant for the 2004 season. Stiffler was hired as the Virginia Commonwealth's (VCU) pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. As a recruiter for VCU, Stiffler recruited 15 eventual Major League Baseball draft picks. He would serve the role as a recruiter and pitching coach until 2007, where he was promoted to an assistant. In Stiffler's first season as an assistant, the Rams would boast one of their strongest campaigns in program history, winning 27 games and the 2007 CAA tournament.

On April 11, 2012, Stiffler was named the head coach on an interim basis when Paul Keyes stepped down to health reasons. Stiffler finished the 2012 season out with a 12–9 record, and in December 2012 was promoted to head coach on a full-time basis.

In 2015, Stiffler led his team to the best season in school history. The Rams finished 40–25 overall with Stiffler leading the team to their first NCAA Division I Super Regional appearance, being recognized by both the NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball Coach of the Year.

On July 12, 2022, it was reported that Shawn Stiffler is being hired to be the next head baseball coach at the University of Notre Dame.

### Heading coaching record

Below is a table of Stiffler's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.

Statistics overview :

| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| VCU Rams (Colonial Athletic Association) (2012) ||||||
| 2012 | VCU | 12–9 | 8–9 | 5th | CAA tournament |
| VCU Rams (Atlantic 10 Conference) (2013–2022) ||||||
| 2013 | VCU | 28–26 | 12–12 | t-8th | |
| 2014 | VCU | 37–20 | 15–10 | 4th | Atlantic 10 tournament |
| 2015 | VCU | 40–25 | 14–10 | t-4th | NCAA Super Regional |
| 2016 | VCU | 38–19 | 17-9 | 2nd | Atlantic 10 tournament |
| 2017 | VCU | 35–22 | 21-7 | 1st | Atlantic 10 tournament |
| 2018 | VCU | 34–23 | 14-10 | t-5th | Atlantic 10 tournament |
| 2019 | VCU | 39–19 | 19–5 | 1st | Atlantic 10 tournament |
| 2020 | VCU | 9–8 | 0–0 | | Season canceled due to COVID-19 |
| 2021 | VCU | 38–16 | 13–3 | 1st (South) | NCAA Regional |
| 2022 | VCU | 42–20 | 19–5 | 2nd | NCAA Regional |
| VCU: | VCU: | 352–207 | 152–80 | | |
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2023–present) ||||||
| 2023 | Notre Dame | 30–24 | 15–15 | 4th (Atlantic) | |
| Notre Dame: | Notre Dame: | 30–24 | 15–15 | | |
| Total: | Total: | 382–231 | | | |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||

* ↑ Took over on an interim basis during the 2012 season.
* ↑ 6 of the CAA's 11 teams qualified for the tournament.
