Baseball Coaching Staff
Mark Kingston

Head Coach

Coach Info:
Position: Head Coach
Hometown: Buffalo, N.Y.
Alma Mater: North Carolina
Graduating Year: 1995
Experience: 2 Years
Phone: (813) 974-2504
Email: [email protected]



Follow @CoachKingUSF on Twitter

Mark Kingston
As head coach
Year School Record Postseason
2010 Illinois State 32-24 NCAA Regionals / MVC Tournament Champions
2011 Illinois State 36-18 MVC Tournament
2012 Illinois State 33-19 MVC Tournament
2013 Illinois State 39-19 MVC Regular Season & MVC Tournament Runner-Up
2014 Illinois State 33-22 MVC Tournament Runner-Up
2015 USF 34-26-1 NCAA Regionals
2016 USF 24-33 --
Overall 231-161-1
As an assistant
Year School Record Postseason
1997 Purdue 30-25 --
1998 Purdue 23-29 --
1999 Illinois State 35-24 --
2000 Miami 41-19-1 NCAA Super Regionals
2001 Miami 53-12 NCAA College World Series Champions
2002 Tulane 36-27 NCAA Regionals
2003 Tulane 44-19 NCAA Regionals
2004 Tulane 41-21 NCAA Super Regionals
2005 Tulane 56-12 NCAA College World Series
2006 Tulane 43-21 NCAA Regionals
2007 Tulane 34-26 --
2008 Tulane 39-22-1 NCAA Regionals
2009 Illinois State 25-23 --
Overall 500-280-2
NCAA Tournament Appearances
NCAA Regionals 2000 (Div. I), 2001 (Div. I), 2002 (Div. I), 2003 (Div. I), 2004 (Div. I), 2005 (Div. I), 2006 (Div. I), 2008 (Div. I), 2010 (Div. I), 2015 (Div. I)
NCAA Super Regionals 2000 (Div. I), 2001 (Div. I), 2004 (Div. I), 2005 (Div. I)
NCAA College World Series 2001 (Div. I), 2005 (Div. I)











Mark Kingston was named the sixth coach in USF baseball history in June of 2014 and the 2016-17 season marks his third with the Bulls.

In 2016, the Bulls recorded 517 strikeouts, second most in program history. It was also the first time that USF has posted back-to-back seasons of over 500 strikeouts. Two of the program’s four, 500 strikeout seasons have come in the Coach Kingston era. He guided infielder Kevin Merrell to a team-high .320 batting average and a first team all-conference selection in The American. Pitcher Brandon Lawson also notched over 100 strikeouts on his way to a second-team all-conference honor. The Bulls won two series against ranked teams (No. 25 Michigan State, at No. 22 East Carolina), and also had three players that were drafted - pitcher Tommy Eveld (9th round, Arizona), pitcher Brandon Lawson (13th round, Tampa Bay), and outfielder Luke Maglich (34th round, Philadelphia).

He made an immediate impact at USF in 2015, leading the Bulls to an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2002. Kingston and his staff increased the Bulls’ 2014 win total by seven and earned the team’s first NCAA Tournament win in 13 years. Coach Kingston’s guidance also helped produce four players who were drafted by Major League Baseball clubs, including pitcher Jimmy Herget (sixth round, Cincinnati), pitcher Tommy Peterson (12th round, Washington), infielder Kyle Teaf (30th round, Tampa Bay), and pitcher Casey Mulholland (37th round, Dodgers). Infielder Kevin Merrell was recognized as a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American as catcher Levi Borders was also named to the Johnny Bench Watch list and a unanimous selection on The American's First Team. Herget was also named to The American's First Team, and Peterson earned second team honors. Merrell, first baseman Buddy Putnum, and Teaf were also named to the NCAA Gainesville Regional All-Tournament team. Other season highlights included an Opening Day 2-1 win over No. 17 Cal State Fullerton and an 8-5 victory at No. 18 Illinois.

A two-time Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year honoree, Kingston came to USF with a long track record as a top-level recruiter and a producer of offensively explosive teams. He spent 2010-2014 as the head coach at Illinois State University, where he led the Redbirds to two MVC regular season championships, one conference tournament title and twice broke the program’s season wins record. He won more than 30 games in each of his five seasons at ISU, a program-record string that included a season-record 39 wins in 2013. He reached the MVC tournament championship game three times and compiled an overall record of 173-102 (62.9%).

Kingston has helped lead 10 teams to NCAA Tournament berths as an assistant and head coach – with four of those teams appearing in the NCAA Super Regionals, two participating in the College World Series and one winning a national championship. As a player at the University of North Carolina, Kingston was part of the 1989 Tar Heels squad that won an Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title and advanced to the College World Series. He also helped UNC win the ACC Tournament and advance to NCAA Regionals in 1990.

Kingston helped the Hurricanes capture the 2001 College World Series as the No. 1 overall seed as an assistant coach. His 19-year collegiate coaching career also includes stops at Tulane, where he helped guide the Green Wave to the 2005 College World Series and recruited and coached 10 future Major League Baseball players, and Purdue.

Drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers out of North Carolina in 1992, the Northern Virginia native played professionally for five seasons with Milwaukee and the Chicago Cubs organizations.

Kingston was twice named a “Rising College Coach” by Kendall Rogers of Perfect Game USA during a five-year tenure at ISU (2010-2014) in which he earned MVC Coach of the Year honors in 2010 and 2013 and helped 18 Redbirds earn first-team all-MVC honors. Two of his players were named MVC Player or Pitcher of the Year and eight were selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Kingston led ISU to rapid success as the Redbirds ranked second in conference wins (64) from 2010-14 while posting two first-place finishes and no worse than a fourth place conclusion in the MVC. His overall winning percentage of .629 and average of 35 wins per season were a strong improvement. ISU’s average RPI rating of 69.50 from 2010-13 ranked fifth among all northern Division I programs and Kingston’s recruiting classes contained 15 players ranked in the Top 20 in the state of Illinois by Prep Baseball Report, more than any other university.

He took over the ISU program after serving one season as the team’s associate head coach and promptly posted the most successful first-year head coaching stint in program history. Kingston led the 2010 Redbirds to their first-ever share of the MVC regular-season title, their first MVC Tournament title since 1994 and their first NCAA Tournament game victory since 1976. ISU’s 32-24 record was the most wins for the Redbirds since 1999 and the most ever by a first-year head coach.

In 2011, Kingston guided the team to a then-record season win total (36-18), including a marquee victory at Miami, and seven players onto the All-MVC team. The following year (2012) ISU went 33-19 and posted a 10-game win-streak, the program’s longest since 1984. Closer Kenny Long was selected by the Houston Astros in the 22nd round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft, marking three-consecutive seasons in which a Redbird was selected in the MLB draft.

In 2013, Kingston guided ISU to a program-best 39 wins (39-19), posted a school-record 12-game winning streak, won the MVC outright for the first time in school history and set a Valley-record with eight first-team All-MVC selections. Offensively, ISU paced the MVC in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and home runs and the pitching staff fired a program-record 13 complete games, including 10 shutouts.

Prior to returning to ISU, Kingston was part of 500 wins (500-279-2) in 13 seasons as an assistant coach and was widely respected as one of the top assistants in the nation. He spent the previous seven years at Tulane University, serving as recruiting coordinator and the final five seasons as associate head coach with the responsibility of overseeing recruiting, coaching hitters and developing catchers and infielders.

At Tulane, Kingston’s recruiting and coaching efforts helped the Green Wave to six postseason appearances, two NCAA Super Regionals and a berth in the 2005 College World Series. The 2005 Green Wave team was seeded as the top team overall while also receiving the top-academic honor in Omaha. Tulane averaged nearly 42 wins per season with Kingston on staff.

Kingston recruited or coached seven players who became All-Americans at Tulane, including James Jurries (2002) and Michael Aubrey (2003). The Green Wave sluggers became the first hitters in 18 years to hit .400 for the season and both earned Conference USA Player of the Year recognition. Aubrey was selected by the Cleveland Indians 11th overall in 2003, the highest Tulane player ever taken in the draft.

Prior to Tulane, Kingston spent two years at Miami (Fla.), where he helped the Hurricanes capture the 2001 College World Series as the No. 1 overall seed. While at Miami, the Hurricanes finished with top-five school single-season marks in batting average, runs scored and slugging percentage, and led the nation with 228 stolen bases in 2001. In the run to the 2001 national title, the `Canes had an NCAA-best 17-0 run to end the season and set a College World Series record with 12.3 runs per game while hitting .373 as a team in Omaha.

Kingston spent one year as an assistant at Illinois State, helping the 1999 Redbirds set a then-school record for wins in a season (35), runs scored, RBI, doubles, hits and walks, while finishing second in school history in home runs, total bases and batting average.

Kingston began his coaching career with two seasons at Purdue, helping the Boilermakers post three of the top-seven batting averages in school history and place five position players on the All-Big Ten team after not posting any the year before his arrival.

A 1995 graduate of North Carolina with a degree in communications, Kingston was part of the 1989 Tar Heels squad that won an Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title and advanced to the College World Series. He also helped the team win the ACC Tournament and advance to NCAA Regionals in 1990 as a sophomore. Kingston received the Trippe Bourne “Most Dedicated Player” Award for his outstanding work ethic and leadership during his junior campaign, and was named a team captain his senior season.

Kingston attended Potomac High School (Virginia), where he developed into a Collegiate Baseball Top-50 Prospect and was drafted by the New York Yankees after leading his team to the 1988 state championship. In 2006, Kingston was inducted into the Potomac Hall of Fame.

Kingston and his wife, the former Letitia Kelly, have three children, Kailyn Grace, Cameron James and Kathryn Patricia. He also wrote and produced two instructional videos for Championship Productions, “Keys to Consistent Hitting” and “Catching Drills and Fundamentals.” He also was the only assistant coach chosen to write a chapter in “The Baseball Drill Book” produced by the American Baseball Coaches Association.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT MARK KINGSTON

Kendall Rogers, Perfect Game USA
“Mark Kingston has twice been named one of our rising coaches in college baseball for a reason. Mark was instrumental in Tulane’s success during the Rick Jones era. He has a reputation as a great coach, recruiter and someone who relates well to everyone. I think USF made a terrific hire, and someone with Florida roots, in Mark Kingston."

Aaron Fitt, Baseball America
"USF hit the jackpot with the Mark Kingston hire. He proved himself as a premier recruiter long ago, helping build Tulane into a national power, and he showed that he has what it takes to succeed as a head coach during his years at Illinois State, lifting the Redbirds out of obscurity and making them annual contenders in the Missouri Valley Conference. Kingston has the right temperament to lead, he is an excellent talent evaluator, and he’ll have no trouble selling recruits on his vision for the future of USF baseball."











[Post edited by SoCloseHokie at 05/22/2017 3:07PM]