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Rutgers-Camden
announced that longtime assistant John Wink has been named as the
institution’s new head baseball coach on July 25. Wink, who served as the
Scarlet Raptors pitching coach for the past nine seasons, replaces Keith
Williams who resigned earlier in the month to take the head coaching job
at Division II St. Andrews Presbyterian College in
Laurinburg,
NC.
“We’re excited to have John in this new role,” said Rutgers-Camden
Director of Athletics Jeff Dean. “He has a lot of support and confidence
from the alumni and the staff. We think he’s going to do a terrific job.”
“Everything happens for a reason,” Wink said. “I know I’m very excited
about the opportunity to continue what Keith and I have been doing for the
last nine years. I think we’re moving in the right direction with the
program.”
Since rebuilding the program in their first two years at Rutgers-Camden,
Williams and Wink have helped the Scarlet Raptors post a 155-114-1 mark
during the last seven seasons. After posting a combined 7-49 mark in 1999
and 2000, the Raptors set a short-lived school record for victories in a
21-15 campaign during the 2001 season. That season started a seven-year
stretch in which the Raptors produced the five highest victory totals in
Rutgers-Camden baseball history, including a record 32-10 mark in 2002.
Rutgers-Camden fielded a young team in 2007, when it posted a 15-24 record
for only its second losing mark in the last seven years.
“Last year I think we lost 8-10 games in the eighth or ninth inning,” Wink
said. “That comes from inexperience. I expect them to learn and grow from
that experience.
“I think the plusses (of being named coach) are that we keep the
continuity of the program going. From the players’ point of view, there’s
a comfort factor. We were very young last year. The young guys can grow
from that experience and not think about a coaching change. They know how
I operate and they know what’s expected of them.”
Wink received recognition for his work during the fall of 2003 when he was
honored as a recipient of the second annual AFLAC National Assistant Coach
of the Year Award. Over 350,000 assistant coaches were nominated from
around the country. Only 500 high school and college coaches, representing
all 50 states and the
District of Columbia,
received the award.
A 1990 graduate of
Holy
Cross
High School,
Wink pitched for the Lancers under head coach Greg Luzinski, the former
Philadelphia Phillies star. As a senior he went 8-1 for the Lancers’ 1988
South Jersey Parochial A championship team.
Wink continued his pitching career at Virginia Wesleyan College. A
four-year varsity hurler for the Marlins, he graduated from Virginia
Wesleyan in 1994 with a B.A. in Business Management.
Former Scarlet Raptor Mike Roth will serve as one of Wink’s assistants,
returning to the Rutgers-Camden coaching staff for his fifth season. In
addition to serving as the head coach, Wink will continue his role
handling the Raptor pitchers.
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