Cliff Godwin

Last updated
Clifford "Cliff" McKinley Godwin
Current position
TitleHead coach
Team East Carolina
Conference The American
Record378–177–1
Biographical details
Born (1978-02-02) February 2, 1978 (age 46)
Snow Hill, North Carolina, U.S.
Playing career
1998–2001 East Carolina
Position(s) Catcher
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2003 Kinston HS (asst.)
2004 UNC Wilmington (asst.)
2005 Vanderbilt (asst.)
2006 Notre Dame (asst.)
2007–2008 LSU (asst.)
2009–2011 UCF (asst.)
2012–2014 Ole Miss (asst.)
2015–presentEast Carolina
Head coaching record
Overall378–177–1
TournamentsNCAA: 18–16
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Awards

Clifford "Cliff" McKinley Godwin (born February 2, 1978) is an American baseball coach and former catcher, who is the current head baseball coach of the East Carolina Pirates. He played college baseball at East Carolina from 1998 to 2001 for head coach Keith LeClair.

Contents

Early years

Godwin was raised in Snow Hill, North Carolina. He attended Greene Central High School in Snow Hill. [1]

Playing career

Godwin enrolled at East Carolina University to play for the Pirates. He red-shirted his freshman season. Over the next four years, he started 126 games as a catcher, and served three years as team co-captain. He batted .322 with 15 home runs and RBIs as a senior and was named 1st team All-Colonial Athletic Association.

In addition to his playing career at East Carolina, Godwin also graduated magna cum laude in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in management information systems, and went on to earn his MBA from ECU in 2002. He was a two-time Academic All-American selection during his time as a player. [1]

After graduating, Godwin spent two years playing professionally with the Gateway Grizzlies and the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League.

Coaching career

After his two years in the Frontier League, Godwin began his coaching career as an assistant at Kinston High School in Kinston, North Carolina, 20 minutes from his hometown of Snow Hill. He spent one season at Kinston before moving on to his first position at the Division I level, with the UNC Wilmington Seahawks. He spent two seasons at UNC Wilmington before moving on to Vanderbilt.

At Vanderbilt, he served as the Commodores' Director of Baseball Operations before joining Paul Mainieri's staff at Notre Dame for the 2005 season. After two seasons at Notre Dame, he followed Mainieri to LSU prior to the 2007 season. In 2008, Godwin's LSU offense hit .306 with 100 home runs and 95 stolen bases.

After two seasons with Mainieri at LSU, which included a trip to the College World Series in 2008, Godwin coached at UCF. With UCF, he helped with numerous highly ranked recruiting classes and helped lead the Knights to the NCAA tournament in 2011, their first appearance since 2004. Following his stint at UCF, Godwin moved on to Ole Miss, where he served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. In 2014, he helped lead the Rebels to their first College World Series appearance since 1972. [1]

On June 25, 2014, Godwin was hired as head coach at his alma mater, East Carolina University, replacing former Pirates head coach Billy Godwin. [2] [3]

Godwin's first career game as a head coach came on February 13, 2015, a 3–1 loss to Virginia. [4] His first win came on February 21, 2015, against UNC Greensboro. [5]

Head coaching record

The following is a table of Godwin's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach. [6]

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
East Carolina Pirates (American Athletic Conference)(2015–present)
2015 East Carolina 40–2215–92nd NCAA regional
2016 East Carolina 38–23–115–8–12nd NCAA Super Regional
2017 East Carolina 32–287–178th
2018 East Carolina 44–1814–104th NCAA regional
2019 East Carolina 47–1820–41st NCAA Super Regional
2020 East Carolina 13–4Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021 East Carolina 44–1720–81st NCAA Super Regional
2022 East Carolina 46–2120–41st NCAA Super Regional
2023 East Carolina 47–1918–61st NCAA regional
2024 East Carolina 27-78-3
East Carolina:378–177–1147–69–1
Total:378–177–1

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Narron (catcher)</span> American baseball player and coach

Samuel Woody Narron was an American Major League Baseball player and coach. Born in Middlesex, North Carolina, Narron batted and threw right-handed; he stood 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) (178 cm) tall and weighed 180 pounds (81.7 kg). He was the uncle of Major League catcher, coach and manager Jerry Narron and MLB coach Johnny Narron, and the grandfather of pitcher Sam Narron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skip Bertman</span> American baseball player and coach, college athletics administrator

Stanley "Skip" Bertman is an American former college baseball coach and athletic director at Louisiana State University (LSU). He led the LSU Tigers baseball team to five College World Series championships and seven Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships in 18 years as head coach. He amassed 870 wins, 330 losses, and three ties for a .724 winning percentage. His .754 winning percentage in NCAA baseball tournament competition is the highest among head coaches in college baseball history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clark–LeClair Stadium</span>

Clark–LeClair Stadium is a baseball park located on the campus of East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the home field of the East Carolina Pirates of the American Athletic Conference. The stadium was named after Pirate alumnus and contributor Bill Clark and former Pirates coach Keith LeClair. ECU's current head coach is Cliff Godwin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Mainieri</span> American baseball player and coach

Paul Mainieri is an American former baseball coach and second baseman. He played college baseball at LSU, Miami-Dade CC and New Orleans before pursuing a professional baseball career. He then served as the head coach of the St. Thomas Bobcats (1983–1988), the Air Force Falcons (1989–1994), the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1995–2006) and the LSU Tigers (2007–2021). Mainieri coached LSU to the 2009 College World Series Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Carolina Pirates</span> Athletic teams that represent East Carolina University

The East Carolina Pirates are the athletic teams that represent East Carolina University (ECU), located in Greenville, North Carolina. All varsity-level sports teams participate at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the American Athletic Conference. The school became an NCAA member in 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Lebo</span> American basketball player and coach

Jeffrey Brian Lebo is an American basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for his alma mater, North Carolina. He was previously the head men's basketball coach at East Carolina (2010-2017), Auburn University (2004–2010), the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (2002–04), and Tennessee Tech (1998–2002).

Billy Godwin is an American college baseball coach and former pitcher. He is the former head baseball coach at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Godwin played college baseball at Atlantic Christian College in 1986. He was the head baseball coach of East Carolina from 2006 to 2014. In 2015, Godwin was listed as an area scout, based in Emerald Isle, North Carolina, for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Carolina Pirates football</span> College football team

The East Carolina Pirates are a college football team that represents East Carolina University. The team is a member of the American Athletic Conference, which is in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Mike Houston is the head coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 LSU Tigers baseball team</span>

The 2008 LSU Tigers baseball team represented Louisiana State University in the NCAA Division I baseball season of 2008. This was the final year for the team in the original Alex Box Stadium. A new stadium was built during the season and opened on opening day of the 2009 season.

David Grewe is the former head baseball coach at Michigan State University and former associate head baseball coach at Louisiana State University, and former head baseball coach at Milligan College, and former assistant baseball coach at Notre Dame, Central Michigan and University of Chicago. He won the 2009 National Championship in Omaha, Nebraska with the LSU Tigers.

Terry Rooney is an American baseball coach and former pitcher, who is the current recruiting coordinator for the LSU Tigers. He played college baseball at Davis & Elkins College in 1993, transferring to Radford where he played from 1994 to 1996. Rooney then served as the head coach of the UCF Knights (2009–2016) and the interim head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide (2017).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 LSU Tigers baseball team</span> NCAA Division I college baseball season

The 2009 LSU Tigers baseball team represented Louisiana State University in the NCAA Division I baseball season of 2009. This was the first year for the team in the new Alex Box Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Carolina Pirates baseball</span>

The East Carolina Pirates baseball team is an intercollegiate baseball team representing East Carolina University in NCAA Division I college baseball and participates as a full member of the American Athletic Conference. The Pirates have made regular appearances in the NCAA tournament. As of 2023, they have the most NCAA tournament appearances without a College World Series appearance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCF Knights baseball</span>

The UCF Knights baseball team represents The University of Central Florida in National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division I. The Knights compete in the Big 12 Conference. The Knights play their home games on UCF's main campus in Orlando, Florida at John Euliano Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Carolina Pirates men's basketball</span> Mens college basketball team

The East Carolina Pirates men's basketball team represents East Carolina University in NCAA Division I college basketball and competes in the American Athletic Conference. The Pirates are coached by Mike Schwartz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Link Jarrett</span> American college baseball coach

Lincoln "Link" Jarrett is an American college baseball coach and former shortstop, who is the current head coach of the Florida State Seminoles. Jarrett played college baseball at Florida State University from 1991 to 1994 for coach Mike Martin. He was the head coach at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro from 2013 to 2019 and University of Notre Dame from 2020 to 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 East Carolina Pirates baseball team</span>

The 2015 East Carolina Pirates baseball team represents East Carolina University during the 2015 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Pirates play their home games at Clark–LeClair Stadium as a member of the American Athletic Conference. They are led by head coach Cliff Godwin, in his first season at East Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 East Carolina Pirates football team</span> American college football season

The 2018 East Carolina Pirates football team represented East Carolina University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Pirates, led by third-year head coach Scottie Montgomery, played their home games at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, and were members of the East Division in the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 3–9, 1–7 in AAC play to finish in fifth place in the East Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jayden Gardner</span> American basketball player

Jayden David Darrel Gardner is an American basketball player for the Kortrijk Spurs. He played college basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers and the East Carolina Pirates.

Chad Oxendine is an American baseball coach and former catcher who is the current the head baseball coach of the Longwood Lancers. He played college baseball at Coastal Carolina for head coach Gary Gilmore from 2001 to 2004.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Cliff Godwin Bio". ecupirates.com. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  2. Lara-Cinisomo, Vince (June 26, 2014). "East Carolina Appoints Cliff Godwin As Coach". Baseball America . Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  3. "ECU hires Cliff Godwin as coach". ESPN.com . 25 June 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  4. "Virginia Opens with 3–1 Win at East Carolina". virginiasports.com. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  5. "ECU clinches first AAC regular season title".
  6. "2019 ECU Baseball Fact Book" (PDF). East Carolina University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved June 6, 2019.