Rob Sheppard - Baseball Coach - Seton Hall University Athletics

Rob Sheppard

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
robert.sheppard@shu.edu
Phone:
(973) 761-9557

Phone: 973-761-9557
Email: robert.sheppard@shu.edu

Rob Sheppard was named the head coach of the Seton Hall baseball program on June 30, 2004, becoming the 17th head coach in the history of the baseball program, and just the third since 1948. He inherited a winning tradition and legacy left by his father, Mike Sheppard, Sr., who won 998 games in 31 years as coach from 1973-2003.

Prior to being elevated to head coach, Sheppard served as an assistant coach for seven seasons under his father, and associate head coach for two seasons.

Since taking over, Sheppard has continued to foster the culture of hard work on the field and academic excellence created by his father. During his 20 years at the helm, he has mentored six All-Americans and 71 Pirates that have earned All-BIG EAST honors. Furthermore, 40 of his Pirates have gone on to sign professional baseball contracts with Major League Baseball affiliated franchises, including seven in 2018, a program record.

Sheppard’s 20 years at the helm rank third all-time at Seton Hall behind only Hall of Famers Mike Sheppard, Sr. and Owen T. Carroll. His 520 victories are second only to his father.

The 2023 season served as a bounce back campaign for the program as Sheppard and his staff guided the Pirates back to the BIG EAST Tournament for their 11th appearance in 12 seasons. The Pirates' 31 wins last season was its highest win total since 2016 and it marked a 13-win improvement over the 2022 season. Last year's Seton Hall squad also hit .291 as a team, its highest clip since 2014, and 40 home runs, the most since 1999 and just the 10th 40-home run season in program history. Progress was made on the mound as well as the staff ERA dropped from 6.38 in 2022 to 4.43 in 2023 season. Pirate pitching also walked nearly 50 fewer batters in 2023 than they did in 2022. Sheppard and his staff was awarded BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year honors for their efforts.

Seton Hall's streak of 10 consecutive trips to the BIG EAST Championship was the longest active streak in the conference at the time after finishing in the top four of the league once again in 2021. Sheppard helped guide the Pirates to 16 BIG EAST victories – the most in the conference and the most for the program since 2013. The Hall had six players earn All-BIG EAST accolades including first team selections Jerry Huntzinger, Matt Toke and David Festa.

In 2018, the Pirates qualified for the BIG EAST Championship tournament for an eighth consecutive year, making it to the Championship Game out of the loser’s bracket, before ultimately finishing as the tournament runner-up. It’s the second time during Sheppard’s head coaching tenure that the Pirates have reached the title game. In all, the Pirates finished with a 30-20-1 final record, which marks the sixth time in the last eight years that the team has reached the 30-win plateau. Seton Hall’s seven All-BIG EAST honorees are its most since 2014.

In 2014, Sheppard's crew was nationally ranked for nine weeks and held the nation's longest home win streak in May. The Pirates finished with a 39-15 overall record, their most wins since 2000. Among several high notes, Seton Hall won road series at Arizona, James Madison and Richmond. Sheppard was named NJCBA Coach of the Year for a second straight season in 2014. Under Sheppard's tutelage, All-American Josh Prevost was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year, while D.J. Ruhlman was named Co-Player of the Year.

In 2013, Sheppard's Pirates went 37-19 and 18-6 in BIG EAST Conference play. After beginning the season with losses in their first nine games, the Pirates won 37 of their final 47 games, including a stretch of 13 straight wins, which culminated in a victory over Michigan at CitiField, home of the New York Mets. Seton Hall finished the historic season with a top-50 RPI and was ranked as high as 19th in the nation by Baseball America. Following the season, six members of the team signed professional baseball contracts and four were selected in the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Amateur Draft. Giuseppe Papaccio was named a Third Team All-American to highlight the team's several individual accolades. Sheppard earned NJCBA Coach of the Year honors.

The 2011 season resulted in one of the most successful campaigns of Sheppard's tenure, with the Pirates capturing their first BIG EAST Championship since 2001 to advance to the NCAA Regionals. Seton Hall earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament when it defeated St. John's University, 4-2, to win the third conference title in program history. The Pirates defeated second seed University of Arizona 4-0 in the opening round of the NCAA Regional and ended the year with 34-25 overall record.

The individual accolades poured in for the players and coaching staff throughout the year. Senior hurler Joe DiRocco was selected as an ABCA Third-Team All-American - first Pirate to earn the distinction since 1997 - and was also an All-BIG EAST First Team honoree and named NJCBA Pitcher of the Year. Sheppard was recognized as the ABCA East Region Co-Coach of the Year for the first time in his career.

Sheppard was the acting head coach in 2004, guiding the Pirates to a 17-33-1 record. Seton Hall was hampered by injuries, but managed to post some noteworthy accomplishments in his first season. SHU took a 4-2 decision over 4th-ranked Notre Dame at Owen T. Carroll Field on April 23, and followed that with a memorable 20-0 win over Villanova on "Mike Sheppard Day". Senior Joey Scott was named the NJCBA Co-Player of the Year and also earned All-BIG EAST Second Team honors, while senior Chris Noonan was picked in the 17th round of the MLB Draft by the St. Louis.

During the 2001 season, Rob earned his first head coaching experience at the collegiate level when he served as interim head coach while Mike, Sr., recovered from triple bypass heart surgery. After a slow start with Seton Hall winning just three of its first 12 games, he rallied the Pirates to a 14-4-1 record in April. After clinching a BIG EAST Tournament berth in the final weekend of the regular season, Sheppard guided Seton Hall to three straight victories and the Pirates' first conference championship since 1987.

In the NCAA Clemson Regional the following week, Seton Hall defeated top-seeded South Alabama twice to advance to the championship round. It marked the Pirates' most successful run in the NCAA Tournament since 1984. After helping Seton Hall to a 34-23-1 record, Sheppard was recognized for his efforts as he was selected NJCBA Division I Coach of the Year.

A 1992 graduate of Seton Hall's Stillman School of Business, Sheppard was the third member of his family to play middle infield for the elder Sheppard. Older brothers Mike and John played shortstop and second base, respectively, in the 1980s. As a college player, Sheppard helped Seton Hall to four BIG EAST Tournament appearances and served as a captain of the Pirate team that finished as the runner-up at the BIG EAST Tournament during his senior season. That year, Sheppard ranked fifth on the team in hitting and led the squad in sacrifice bunts with 15. Sheppard concluded his collegiate career with a .278 batting average, 130 hits and 58 RBI in 158 games as a Pirate.

Sheppard broke into the coaching profession in 1993 as an assistant coach with the Vailsburg American Legion team which reached the New Jersey state finals three out of four seasons. In 1994, Sheppard served as the interim head coach for the Immaculate Conception High School baseball team. Sheppard is the latest in a long line of family members to become a head baseball coach in New Jersey. Mike Sr., served as head coach of Seton Hall from 1973-2003. Rob's oldest brother, Mike Sheppard Jr., is currently the head coach at Seton Hall Prep, while his brother John is the head baseball coach and athletic director at Morristown Beard Prep School.

Sheppard holds master's degrees in Business Information Systems (December 1996) and Sport Management (May 1997) from Seton Hall. He and his wife Kelly currently reside in Millington, NJ. They have two sons, Robert Jr., born during the Pirates' trip to the 2000 NCAA Tournament, and Patrick.

THE SHEPPARD FILE

Coaching Experience	Playing Experience:
Collegiate/Amateur:	Seton Hall University 1989-92
Head Coach, Seton Hall - 2004-Present (520-498-3, 20+ seasons)
Associate Head Coach, Seton Hall - 2001-04	Other Distinctions:
Interim Head Coach, Seton Hall - 2001	2001 NJCBA Coach of the Year
Assistant Coach, Seton Hall - 1995-01	2001 BIG EAST Champions
Assistant Coach, Vailsburg American Legion - 1993	2001 NCAA Tournament
Head Coach, Immaculate Conception - 1994	2011 ABCA East Region Co-Coach of the Year
	2011 BIG EAST Champions
	2011 NCAA Tournament
	2013 NJCBA Coach of the Year
	2014 NJCBA Coach of the Year
	2018 BIG EAST Runners-Up
	2023 BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year