Dick Cooke is a former American college baseball coach, who served primarily as the head coach of the Davidson Wildcats baseball program. He was named to that position prior to the 1991 season, and is the winningest and longest-serving baseball coach in school history.[1]
Playing career
Cooke played at Richmond, earning three varsity letters as a left-handed pitcher. After graduating with a degree in journalism in 1978, he spent three years in the Boston Red Sox organization at class-A, appearing in 85 games with a 2.95 ERA.[1]
Coaching career
A few years after ending his playing career, Cooke accepted a position as assistant coach at Richmond, where he remained for five seasons. He departed to become assistant athletic director and head baseball coach at Belmont Abbey in 1989, where he re-instituted the baseball program that had been discontinued at the varsity level 17 years earlier. After two years with the Crusaders, he accepted the head coaching position at Davidson. In his time with the Wildcats, ten players have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft. Cooke has also worked with USA Baseball, serving as an auxiliary coach at the 2000 Olympic Games and 2008 Olympic Games.[1] In the summer of 2012, Cooke was named chairman of the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee.[2] Just a month later, the car Cooke was driving was struck by another vehicle, leaving him with serious head injuries. After the 2013 season, Cooke was honored with the CollegeBaseballInsider.com's Tom Walter Inspiration Award.[3][4][5] Cooke resigned following the 2018 season.[6]
Head coaching record
The table below lists Cooke's record as a head coach at the Division I level.[7]
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
^The top eight finishers of the SoCon's nine teams qualified for the tournament in 1993.
^The top eight finishers of the SoCon's nine teams qualified for the tournament in 1994.
^The top eight finishers of the SoCon's nine teams qualified for the tournament in 1995.
^The top eight finishers of the SoCon's nine teams qualified for the tournament in 1996.
^The top eight finishers of the SoCon's nine teams qualified for the tournament in 1997.
^The top eight finishers of the SoCon's ten teams qualified for the tournament in 1998.
^The top eight finishers of the SoCon's eleven teams qualified for the tournament in 2000.
^The top eight finishers of the SoCon's ten teams qualified for the tournament in 2002.
^The top eight finishers of the SoCon's ten teams qualified for the tournament in 2003.
^The top eight finishers of the SoCon's ten teams qualified for the tournament in 2004.
^All ten of the SoCon's teams qualified for the tournament in 2006.
^All ten of the SoCon's teams qualified for the tournament in 2007.
^All ten of the SoCon's teams qualified for the tournament in 2008.
^The top eight finishers of the SoCon's eleven teams qualified for the tournament in 2009.
^All ten of the SoCon's teams qualified for the tournament in 2014.
