WEST CHESTER, PA - West Chester University has named former University of Delaware assistant coach Greg Mamula as it interim head baseball coach. Mamula (maa-mew-lah) takes over for Matt Brainard who resigned.
Mamula was an assistant coach at the University of Delaware for five years where he served as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for the Blue Hens.
As the recruiting coordinator, Mamula has proven to be one of the hardest working and most respected recruiters in the region.Of the 11 players named to the inaugural 2005 Colonial Athletic Association All-Rookie Team, three freshman Blue Hens were represented. In addition, the 2005 freshman class produced a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, a second team All-Conference selection and one of the CAAs top statistical pitchers.Infielder Kyle Buchholz, a member of the 2006 freshman class, was named the Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year this spring after hitting 18 home runs.
As the Blue Hen pitching coach, Mamula oversees one of the CAAs top pitching staffs.The 2005 staff led the conference in strikeouts, allowed the second-lowest opposing batting average and finished third in team earned run average.Delaware has had two pitchers drafted - Mark Michael (4th round, St. Louis Cardinals, 2003) and Mike Mihalik (40th round, Philadelphia Phillies, 2004) in the past three seasons.
Mamula has held two head coaching positions.In the summer of 2005, Mamula was the head coach of the Sanford Mainers of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL).Sanford finished with a 23-19 record and the fourth-best record in the 12-team NECBL.In the summer of 1999, Mamula was the head coach of the Rome Indians of the New York Collegiate Baseball League.
Mamula began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant under Bruce Peddie at Shippensburg (PA) University.
He spent three years at Shippensburg and served as the infield coach, assisted with the hitting and assisted with recruiting.During his three seasons, Shippensburg was consistently ranked among the top 25 programs in the NCAA Division II poll.
In two of his three seasons at Shippensburg, the Red Raiders advanced to the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament, while in 1999, Shippensburg fell one win shy of advancing to the Division II College World Series.
During his three years at Shippensburg, the Red Raiders had four players selected in the Major League Baseball draft. While at Shippensburg, Mamula earned a masters degree in elementary school counseling.
Mamula is a 1998 graduate of St. Bonaventure University with a degree in elementary education. He had a successful playing career at St. Bonaventure as a four-year starter in the infield for the Bonnies, twice being named to the Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team. He led the Bonnies in several offensive categories during his junior and senior seasons.
As a senior, he was named a team captain and was chosen St. Bonaventures student-athlete of the spring. Additionally, Mamula was named Atlantic 10 Player of Week twice during his career.
A native of Western Pennsylvania, Mamula played high school baseball for his father, Larry, at DuBois High School. Larry Mamula was one of the winningest high school baseball coaches in Western Pennsylvania, having won over 70 percent of his games during his 20 years as head coach at DuBois.
In 1989 and 1992, his teams were ranked in the top 25 in the country according to USA Today. Twice, he coached the Gatorade Pennsylvania High School Player of the Year. He had six of his players drafted, including a first-round selection and a former major leaguer. Over 40 of his players went on to play college baseball.
Greg and his wife, Melissa, reside in Bear, DE. Melissa works at nearby Christiana Hospital.
