9	Pat Murphy
	Position: Head Coach Experience: 6th Year/15th Year Overall Alma Mater: Florida Atlantic '82 Overall Record: 561-280-3

"Sun Devil Baseball is the nation's greatest college tradition. I am honored and proud to be a part of it."

And so Pat Murphy became only the third head coach in Arizona State's 40-year baseball history. His five-year tenure at the helm of the ASU program has been marked with success.

Murphy put together one of the most prolific offensive teams in ASU history last year. With a 39-21 overall record, 12-12 in conference action, the Sun Devils led the nation in batting average (.356) and scoring (11.32 runs per game). The .356 team average ties for the best single-season batting average in school history set by the 1981 National Champion ASU squad. As a team, the Devils led the conference in almost every offensive statistical category. Arizona State had more players drafted in the '99 Major League Amateur Draft (10) than any other school in the Pac-10 conference. The 1999 season also produced Pac-10 Player of the Year, ASU shortstop Willie Bloomquist.

Murphy and his coaching staff led the 1998 Sun Devils to the pinnacle of collegiate baseball - the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. It was Murphy's first trip to the big show, and it would be a memorable one. ASU finished second in the nation with a 41-23 overall record and a third-place finish in conference play (18-11). Arizona State ended the season with a No. 2 ranking in every major college baseball poll. Six players earned All-America status and 10 players were taken in the '98 MLB Amateur Draft, including Ryan Mills, who was the sixth pick overall by the Minnesota Twins. And on March 22, with a 7-6 victory over California, Murphy became the youngest coach (with 75% of his wins coming from Div. I) to reach 500 career victories. For his efforts, Murphy was named Coach of the Year by Baseball America.

The 39-year-old Syracuse, N.Y. native and his coaching staff have assembled some of the finest recruiting classes in the nation in three short years. His 1995 class was ranked number one in the nation with names such as Phill Lowery, Andrew Beinbrink and Ryan Mills. The recruiting class of 1996 featured freshman All-American (HM) Willie Bloomquist as well as Kevin Tillman, Dustin Delucchi, pitchers Eric Valenzuela and Jay Gehrke. The 1997 class includes Jeff Phelps, Drew Friedberg and Robby Milner, who were all drafted in the '97 MLB Amateur Draft. Other top prospects include transfers Dan Meier and Chuck Crumpton.

The 1997 season saw a return to the postseason, as Murphy guided the Devils to their 16th regional appearance. Arizona State just missed an 18th trip to Omaha, bowing out in the championship game of the Atlantic Regional to host Miami. ASU finished with a No. 11 ranking by Baseball America and a 39-22 overall record.

The Devils ended the 1996 season ranked 25th by Baseball America and posted 35 Div. 1 wins with eight of those coming against top 25 teams. The '96 team batting average (.338) was the fourth best in school history. Murphy's 1996 squad was one of the best offensive teams in the country, leading the Six-Pac in seven offensive categories including batting average, runs and hits. Murphy lost 11 players from the '96 team to the MLB Draft.

Murphy's 1995 club posted 34 wins, with nine of those triumphs over top-10 foes, including College World Series participants USC, Stanford and Florida State.

He has also started renovations at Packard Stadium, including a new batting cage complex, already one of the finest college baseball facility in the country.

Murphy spent the previous seven seasons as head coach at Notre Dame, where he guided the Irish to a consistent level of success unmatched in the history of the program. Murphy, who rebuilt Notre Dame into a top-20 program, posted a 318-116-1 (.732) record, including consecutive trips to NCAA regional finals in each of the past three seasons, a streak matched only by Texas. In 14 years as a head coach, Murphy has an overall record of 522-258-3 (.670).

Under Murphy's guidance, the Irish averaged more than 46 wins per season and rejuvenated the pride in the Notre Dame program to the point where a new 3,000-seat stadium was built on the Notre Dame campus in the fall of 1993.

Murphy's 1994 squad finished 46-16 and came within one win of a trip to the College World Series. The Midwestern Collegiate Conference champs advanced to the finals of the NCAA East Regional in Clemson, S.C., knocking off the host Tigers along the way. Notre Dame finished the season ranked 18th by Collegiate Baseball and 20th by Baseball America.

During his career, Murphy has achieved great success grooming players for the major league draft. Murphy coached 1998 first-round draft pick Ryan Mills (6th pick overall by the Minnesota Twins). Former ASU pitching coach David Sinnes, who played for Murphy at Notre Dame, was not drafted out of high school and was picked up in the 19th round by Toronto. Major leaguer Dan Peltier, who was not drafted out of high school, was drafted in the third round after playing for Murphy.

Murphy also founded the Guadalupe Project in 1995, which provides baseball instruction and life skills lessons to underprivileged youth. Murphy, his coaching staff and players take part in this program each Monday.

Coach Murphy was responsible for the concept behind the Team One Showcase which Jeff Spellman, former Notre Dame sports information assistant, started and runs today.

Murphy began his Notre Dame tenure in 1988, taking over a team that had a 65-80 combined record the three previous seasons. With a nucleus of players who finished 15-29 in 1987, and had never enjoyed a winning season at Notre Dame, Murphy began revamping the program and promptly led the Irish to a 39-22 mark.

In his 1988 debut at Notre Dame's Fall Classic, the upstart Irish triumphed twice over a powerhouse Miami squad, setting a precedent for the big win that became a trademark of Murphy's Notre Dame teams. The team's 39 wins during the regular season were the most in the history of the program, and lifted the Irish to the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Eastern Division title.

The following six campaigns saw the Irish garner national rankings, conference titles, NCAA tournament appearances, 45-win seasons and more. Murphy's efforts were rewarded in just two years, as in 1989 the Irish posted a school-record 48 wins and logged their first NCAA tournament appearance in 19 years. Murphy guided the program to its first national ranking as the Irish were rated that year as high as 16th in The Sporting News, 23rd in Baseball America, and 24th in the ESPN / Collegiate Baseball polls. Later, the Irish would earn their first MCC title by winning the final four games of the conference tournament in a span of 23 hours as Murphy snared his first MCC Coach-of-the-Year honor.

That season was followed by two more 45-win seasons. The 1990 Irish squad put together a 46-12 record, which ranked fourth in the nation. Over the last 29 games of the season, Notre Dame achieved a 25-4 mark to bring Murphy another MCC Coach-of-the-Year award.

In 1991, Notre Dame overcame a schedule that saw the Irish play their first 27 games on the road to post a 45-16 record. Included were wins away from home over national power Texas and eventual national champion LSU and a mid-season 18-game win streak.

The 1992, '93, and '94 seasons added emphasis to Murphy's status as one of the nation's top coaches, as his Irish teams grabbed MCC titles and in each year beat regional hosts to come within one game of a trip to Omaha for the College World Series. It's no wonder why the Irish were labeled in 1992 by Baseball America as "the nation's fastest rising program."

In 1990, Murphy began a baseball tournament hosted by Notre Dame which is held in Seattle's Kingdome.

Success and Murphy have gone hand in hand through the years. He has earned numerous accolades in the collegiate, professional and international ranks throughout his short, yet illustrious career.

One of Murphy's biggest accomplishment was leading the Holland national team to the European championship in the summer of 1987. The victory qualified the Dutch team for the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. Murphy was asked to lead the squad in the Olympics but turned the offer down so he could concentrate on building the Irish program instead.

In addition to his international experience, Murphy has spent numerous years in the collegiate ranks as a player, assistant coach and head coach. He gained his first collegiate experience as a pitcher at Florida Atlantic University, where he received both his bachelor's and master's degrees, and eventually signed a professional contract with the San Francisco Giants in 1982. His four-year pro career included stints in the Giants and San Diego Padres organizations, along with two independent clubs.

Murphy began his head coaching career at Maryville (Tenn.) College, leading the Division III Fighting Scots to their best record in 10 years during his first and only season in 1983. He was also an assistant football coach while at Maryville. He then returned to Florida Atlantic to serve as an assistant coach and administrative assistant to the athletic director. During his two-year stay, FAU compiled an 84-30 record and was consistently ranked among the top 10 Division II teams in the nation.

During the summer following the 1984 season, Murphy helped to develop baseball in Australia as a state manager in New South Wales. Murphy was in charge of running baseball clinics and promoting the sport to the public. Following his stint in Australia, Murphy was named player-coach of the Tri-Cities Triplets of the Class A Northwest League, making him the youngest manager in professional baseball.

A return to the college ranks came in 1986, as Murphy signed on as head coach at California's Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. In his first year as head coach, Murphy piloted Claremont to its first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship in 11 years while posting a 24-16 record, including a 15-3 league mark. Murphy was named the West Region's Division III coach of the year as the Stags reached a 10th-place national ranking. The Stags followed that season with a 21-18-1 mark, before Murphy took the helm at Notre Dame.

Pat Murphy Year-by-Year
Career Record: 561-279-3 (.668)/15 seasons
Arizona State Record: 188-108 (.635)/Five seasons

The Murphy File
Academics

• Has never had a player declared ineligible for a season

Pro Ball

• All but one of the players he recruited were drafted higher after playing under him.
• First coach to have his team use wooden bats in practice.

Miscellaneous

• 1998 marked ASU's return to the College World Series.
• Has a 3-1 record at the College World Series.
• Has a 17-11 record in regionals including three straight years of knocking out the regional host team.
• Was founder of the College Baseball Classic tournament in Seattle, Wash. and was instrumental in starting the Team One Showcase in Cincinnati for the top high school prospects.

Coach Murphy Big Wins on the Road

* denotes a NCAA regional game and site

Murphy vs. 2000 Opponents