Conversations with College Coaches: Marymount University
Baseball Factory is privileged to work with programs from every level of college baseball. We strive to educate and guide our players when it comes to choosing the right school. The more information a player knows about a school, coach and program, the better. Dan Mooney had the chance to sit down with Frank Leoni, the Head Coach at Marymount University. In 2012, Marymout hired Coach Leoni, who had coaching stops at Rhode Island and William & Mary, as the baseball program's first head coach. Marymount is a Division III program in the Capital Athletic Conference. Find out what Coach Leoni had to say about his mentors, the importance of video and what he looks for in a recruit.
1. How long have you been coaching? How long at Marymount University?
I’ve been a head coach for over 20 years, having first held the position when I was 23. For 13 years, I was the head coach at my alma mater, the University of Rhode Island. For the past seven years, I was the head coach at the College of William & Mary. I became the first ever head coach at Marymount on October 1, 2012.
2. Who are some of your mentors or coaches that you look up to?
I have been fortunate to have played for and to learn from some of the finest coaches in baseball. Retired legends Bob Wells (Frostburg St) and Andy Baylock (UCONN) are two of the most influential coaches in my career.
3. What is the first thing about your school and program that you’d want a recruit to know about?
We are serious about building a program that can compete at the DIII national level. The expectation from day one will be that everyone in the program will work toward accomplishing this goal!
4. What qualities do you look for in a prospect on the field? Off the field?
On the field, I’m drawn to athletic players and true baseball players. I love hard-nosed guys that play the game the right way. Baseball needs to be very important to those I recruit. Off the field, I look for high character types. Our program requires academic accountability so we like serious students, even if they aren’t in the top of their class. Most importantly, I look for those that put team success before personal gain.
5. How has video helped your recruiting?
I like video and will use it to get a feel for a player’s skill set. Video is like an appetizer. It gives you a taste before the main course, which is seeing a player in person. In some cases, we’ll recruit based on video with recommendations from trusted sources.
6. Do you recruit from Junior Colleges?
Yes, most definitely. JC transfers are often important pieces to the team dynamic. At Marymount, we plan to have a significant JC presence as we start to build.
7. Can you break down your fall practice schedule? What will you try to accomplish?
The fall of 2013 is extremely important. We will try to acclimate a roster of 30+ players to our system through practices and scrimmages. We plan to practice 4 days per week for 4 weeks in the fall. In addition, we plan to have a structured strength training and conditioning program throughout the fall semester. During the winter off-season, we will also have a structured, voluntary program designed to improve each player’s baseball skill set.
8. Do you have a strength and conditioning coach?
I’m working on assembling a staff as we speak. Having a knowledgeable strength and conditioning coach is a top priority for our program, as I firmly believe that improvement in this area is one of the most critical pieces to player development.
9. Anything planned for your facilities (upgrades, changes, etc.)?
These are exciting times for our brand new program at Marymount. Our University President played DI college baseball and our AD spent 17 years as an athletic administrator at Alabama. I believe we have the leadership in place to quickly establish Marymount as a successful baseball program. That said, our facility is one area that we plan to build the needed infrastructure. We have already invested significant funds to renovate our existing facility. Upgrades that have been made include: a complete renovation of the playing surface, a state of the art scoreboard, new bullpens, new batting cage, all new field equipment and all new fencing. Over the next few years, additional renovations will be made to add professional style dugouts and press box, stadium seating and more.
10. Is there anything you would like to add about your assistant coaches, recruits, parents, or program that we have not asked you about?
It was very important to me to have a great pitching coach. George Fisher, who worked on my staff at William & Mary, joined us here at Marymount in October as our pitching coach. Coach Fisher and I have worked very hard to recruit the inaugural Saint roster. We will be adding a few more quality coaches soon. I believe the biggest thing our recruits and parents have discovered so far is that we are well on our way to building something extremely special at Marymount.
If there are any questions that you'd like to see our staff ask in future installments of "Conversations with College Coaches" or any schools that you'd like to see featured, please contact us at [email protected].
