A lifelong fan has gotten an opportunity of a lifetime by becoming the head coach for Maryland baseball.
On June 12, 2023, Maryland athletic director Damon Evans announced that he had hired Matt Swope to be the next head coach for the Maryland baseball team.
“It’s a dream come true,” Swope said on Glenn Clark Radio June 15. “Growing up a lifelong fan, my parents went to Maryland. They got married at the chapel at Maryland. My dad was at Sigma Chi at Maryland. I went to high school at DeMatha on Route 1, so everything that I’ve ever done has been synonymous with Route 1 and College Park, and interwoven into how I grew up.”
Swope is replacing Rob Vaughn, who was the head man at Maryland for six seasons. Vaughn led the Terps to three straight NCAA Tournament berths from 2021-2023, and Maryland hosted a regional for the first time ever in 2022. Vaughn won Big Ten Coach of the Year in back-to-back seasons (2022 and 2023) and was named the 2022 ABCA/ATEC East Region Coach of the Year. He also coached 29 players who have been drafted or signed professional contracts.
Swope, 43, has been working for the team since 2013. He was the director of operations from 2013-2017, then an assistant coach from 2017-2022. After gaining experience as an assistant coach, he became the associate head coach from 2022-2023. Now, Swope is the head coach.
Swope played for Maryland as a four-year starter. The outfielder finished his career with a .331 batting average, 16 home runs and 135 RBIs. He stands second in program history in runs scored (181) and hits (253), fifth in walks (106), seventh in total bases (360), ninth in RBIs and 10th in stolen bases (44).
