Kevin Leighton

Kevin Leighton

Sport(s)	Baseball
Current position
Title	Head Coach
Team	Fordham
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Biographical details
Born	August 28, 1979 Brewster, New York
Playing career
1998–2001	Seton Hall
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2002–2005	Manhattan (Asst.)
2006–2011	Manhattan
2012–Present	Fordham

Kevin Leighton (born August 28, 1979) is an American college baseball coach, currently serving as head coach of the Fordham Rams baseball program. He was named to that position prior to the 2012 season.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]} His brother, Brian Leighton, is also a baseball coach

Playing career

After a successful high school career in Brewster, New York, Leighton was drafted in the 1997 MLB Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. He instead chose to attend college, and played four seasons with Seton Hall, helping the Pirates to the 2001 Big East Conference Baseball Tournament title, and a pair of NCAA Division I Baseball Championship appearances. Leighton earned his degree from Seton Hall in 2001, and would later add a master's degree from Manhattan College.^[1]

Coaching career

After graduating, Leighton accepted an assistant coach position at Manhattan, serving under then-head coach Steve Trimper. With Trimper's departure for Maine, Leighton was elevated to head coach, after just four years as an assistant. He led the Jaspers to a pair of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament titles and NCAA Division I Baseball Championship appearances. In his first season, the Jaspers won the MAAC Tournament and advanced to regional final the NCAA Tournament, resulting in Leighton being named the American Baseball Coaches Association Northeast Region Coach of the Year in 2006. Manhattan would repeat the performance in 2011, but fell in both NCAA Tournament games. In his time at Manhattan, Leighton coached 51 All-Conference players and produced eleven professional players. On July 18, 2012, Leighton was named head coach at Fordham.^[1]

Head coaching record

This table shows Leighton's record as a head coach at the Division I level.

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Manhattan (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) (2006–2001)
2006	Manhattan	34–23	17–9	2nd	NCAA Regional
2007	Manhattan	35–19	21–5	2nd	MAAC Tournament
2008	Manhattan	31–20–1	19–5	1st	MAAC Tournament
2009	Manhattan	35–18	18–6	1st	MAAC Tournament
2010	Manhattan	31–20	15–9	4th	MAAC Tournament
2011	Manhattan	34–19	20–2	1st	NCAA Regional
Manhattan:		200–119–1
Fordham (Atlantic 10 Conference) (2012–present)
2012	Fordham	22–34	12–12	8th (13)
2013	Fordham	22–33	8–16	12th (15)
2014	Fordham	24–30	13–14	7th (12)	Atlantic 10 Tournament
2015	Fordham	22–32	13–11	7th (13)	Atlantic 10 Tournament
Fordham:		90–129	46–53
Total:		290–248–1
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

See also

• Career statistics and player information from The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• List of current NCAA Division I baseball coaches

References

1. "Kevin Leighton". Manhattan Jaspers. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
2. 2013 Yearbook (PDF). Manhattan Jaspers. p. 88. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
3. "2013 Baseball Coaching Staff". Fordham Rams. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
4. "Kevin Leighton named Fordham coach". ESPN. July 18, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
5. "Leighton takes over as head coach at Fordham". College Baseball Insider. July 18, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
6. "Leighton takes over at Fordham". NCAA. July 18, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
7. "Ex-Manhattan Jaspers Coach Kevin Leighton Moves To Fordham". CBS 2. July 19, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
8. Dennis Waszak Jr. (June 2, 2011). "Upset-minded Manhattan ready for NCAAs, Florida". USA Today. Retrieved December 1, 2013.