Stricklin Signs Extension Through 2014

KENT, Ohio -- Kent State University head baseball coach Scott Stricklin has been signed to a contract extension through 2014, Director of Athletics Joel Nielsen announced Tuesday (July 13). Financial terms of the deal are being finalized.

The Kent State alum and 2006 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year has guided his alma mater to a 222-128 overall record, five MAC championships and three NCAA tournament appearances in six seasons.

"We are pleased and excited to keep a coach of Scott's character and talent on board through 2014," Nielsen said. "Scott's dedication and commitment to his alma mater are tremendous and the results on the field bear that out. What we've also come to learn over the past few weeks is that the support for Scott and Kent State baseball from alums and friends of the program is strong and unwavering."

Stricklin, 38, directed the Golden Flashes to their second consecutive NCAA Tournament berth in 2010. After wrapping the regular season up with its fourth MAC East Division crown in five years, Kent State won five elimination games in three days to capture the MAC tournament title and earn a trip to the NCAA Los Angeles Regional.

Stricklin's Kent State squads have enjoyed winning seasons every year he has been at the helm. Ranked 18th nationally to start the year, the Flashes won 43 games in 2009 - the third most in school history - en route to eliminating nationally-ranked Cal Poly in the NCAA Tempe Regional.

"I'm very excited to be staying at Kent State," Stricklin said. "Being the head coach at my alma mater is very special to me and my entire family. I want to thank our previous athletic director, Laing Kennedy, for all the support he gave us over the last six years. It was an honor to work for him. I am also excited to move forward with our new athletic director, Joel Nielsen. We have all worked very hard to build a successful program on the playing field and in the classroom, and we look forward to continuing our championship tradition here at Kent State."

The Plains, Ohio, native has developed his student-athletes into standouts both on the baseball diamond and in the classroom. A total of 19 Kent State baseball players have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft under Stricklin. Off the field, the team has registered back-to-back perfect 1,000 scores the last two seasons in the NCAA's Academic Performance Rate report, while the team's grade-point average has risen from 2.35 in spring 2004 to 3.20 in fall 2009 - the best in program history.

Stricklin lettered three seasons as a catcher at Kent State, earning All-MAC honors in 1992 and '93. He graduated magna cum laude from Kent State in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in marketing and played five seasons of minor league baseball before retiring in the spring of 1998.

Kent State also inked associate head coach/pitching coach Mike Birkbeck to an extension through 2014. The University of Akron alum and former Major League Baseball hurler completed his 15th season with the KSU baseball program in 2010. Birkbeck has a track record of propelling collegiate pitchers to the professional level, as 21 Kent State pitchers have been drafted by Major League teams.

Assistant coach Scott Daeley will also remain on the staff next year. A 2002 graduate of Wake Forest University, Daeley has been with the Flashes since 2004.

"Keeping our coaching staff intact was extremely important to me, and I am certainly very fortunate to have Mike and Scott on my staff," Stricklin said. "We have been together for six years and we are all very proud of what we have been able to accomplish together."

Stricklin and his wife, Cheri, have two daughters, Sydney and Keaton, and a son, Cale.