March 20, 2005

RUTGERS-CAMDEN'S WILLIAMS CAPTURES HIS
100TH CAREER BASEBALL COACHING VICTORY

ALL-TIME WINNINGEST RAPTOR COACH REACHES MILESTONE IN CALIFORNIA

Rutgers-Camden head baseball coach Keith Williams earned his 100th career coaching victory on March 13 when the Scarlet Raptors defeated Wisconsin-La Crosse, 12-7, in the opening game of the California Classic in Los Angeles.

The all-time winningest coach in the history of the Rutgers-Camden program, Williams has guided the Scarlet Raptors to a 94-65 mark since the 2001 season.

Now in his seventh season at the helm of the Raptor program, Williams has guided Camden to its three winningest seasons in school history. He turned the program around during his third year at Rutgers-Camden in 2001, setting a school mark for wins with a 21-15 record. In 2002, he earned NJAC Coach of the Year honors after leading the Raptors to a 32-10 overall record while qualifying for the NJAC tournament – a feat that only had been accomplished one other time in school history. He also led the 2002 Raptors to their first ever postseason victory, a ten-inning 9-8 triumph over William Paterson in the NJAC tournament.

The Scarlet Raptors continued their amazing three-year run in 2003, posting a 21-16 record which was capped by winning the ECAC Metro championship – the school’s first ever postseason baseball title. During that three-year span, Rutgers-Camden posted a phenomenal 74-41 record, producing 17 percent of the total victories in the history of the program.

During Williams' tenure, the Raptors' roster has multiplied from his first season -- when his team finished with eight players -- to roughly 40 players now. The program has gone from a team which had to forfeit five games in 1999 due to a lack of players, to one which is so popular that a junior varsity club was formed in 2002.

Williams' accomplishments as a head coach are a continuation of the success he has found at all levels of the game. He has been a top-notch baseball player for years in South Jersey, where he played on the state champion Cherry Hill Babe Ruth team in 1985, and was a three-year American Legion starter for Medford Post 307 (1986-88).

A 1987 graduate of Bishop Eustace High School, Williams played baseball, soccer and basketball for the Crusaders, earning All-Parochial honors in baseball. He continued his education and baseball career at Catholic University, where he was a four-year starter and a team captain. He graduated from Catholic in 1991 with a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering.

Williams received his Master of Science in Administration, Sport and Recreation from West Chester University in 2003, and was hired in 2004 as Rutgers-Camden's Assistant Director of Recreational Services. Prior to taking that job at Rutgers-Camden, Williams served as a high school teacher at Camden Catholic, Bishop Eustace and Eastern.