CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Boston College and head baseball coach Mike Gambino have agreed to a five-year contract extension following the Eagles’ 37-20 campaign. Gambino’s team matched the program’s best single-season record and ended the year with a trip to the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional final.
“We are excited that Mike has committed to Boston College for the foreseeable future and he has clearly earned this extension,” said William V. Campbell Director of Athletics Blake James. “He has developed a strong Birdball culture built on character, toughness, and class and we all look forward to the continued growth and success of BC baseball under his leadership. I am confident that even greater achievements lie ahead.”
Gambino, a 1999 graduate of BC, has been at the helm of the Eagles since the 2011 season. He guided Boston College to just its second NCAA Tournament appearance since 1967 in 2016 and the program’s first Super Regional.
The 2023 Eagles returned to the postseason after recording their best ACC season since joining the league. BC was ranked for 12 consecutive weeks and peaked at a program-best No. 9 in the polls.
“Thank you to Father Leahy, Blake James, and our entire university leadership,” said Gambino. “I came here to help build a program and one day get to Omaha. We are constantly making progress and working toward both, but our work is not done. With the continued support of the BC community and dedication and hard work of our players, staff, and the Birdball family I believe we can take our thing to Omaha.”
Through 2022, Gambino has overseen the development of 33 MLB draft picks. The Eagles have had three first-round picks since 2015 and six players taken in the top five rounds over that stretch. Since 2018, six former BC players have earned their big league call-up.
In year six of his tenure as head coach, Gambino, and the Eagles made the program’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament in seven years and were one win away from the College World Series. BC went to three ACC Championships in four years, beginning in 2016, for the first time in program history, and reached the ACC Semifinals in 2019; another first for the Eagles.
Following the success of the 2016 season, Boston College built the Harrington Athletics Village, which opened in 2018, to replace Shea Field; the longtime home of BC baseball and softball. The Eagles then moved into the Pete Frates Center, a 31,000-square-foot indoor hitting facility with player lounges and locker rooms, for the 2021 season. The building was named and dedicated in honor of Pete Frates, a former BC baseball captain, director of operations, and champion for ALS, who lost his battle with the disease in 2019.
Gambino, who was an All-Big East second baseman at BC, earned his degree in English and theology. He initially returned to the Heights as an assistant coach under Pete Hughes from 2005-06. Gambino’s wife Jill is an assistant field hockey coach at BC. They have two children; Sonny and Callahan.
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