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).
Swope said that although he will build on what Vaughn has put in place, every coach needs to be authentic and stay true to who they are in order to succeed. Swope doesn’t believe that he will make any wholesale changes, but he will take everything that has worked in the past and try to make it better.
Resources are crucial to unlocking the next step for Maryland. Swope said that the university is going to break ground very soon on a new indoor facility that will be behind left field. Having a pipeline from administration, but primarily from former players and donors, builds momentum for donations which can lead to some special things, and it shows commitment and growth to the baseball program.
“When I was there as a player, we had four scholarships. We didn’t have the resources. We were bussing to Florida State,” Swope said. “… When we hosted that regional last year, I was in tears. To see more stands added and the fans there, I can’t even put into words the difference between then and now, and even Maryland fans or people from the area maybe don’t quite understand that.”
Swope said that the team had come a long way, having been to the NCAA Tournament six times in 10 years and winning Big Ten titles in back-to-back seasons. Swope credits the players and relationships that have been built.
“It’s always going to start with the players and end with that, and the relationships you build with them,” Swope said.
Many major league teams have been interested in Swope throughout the years. Swope said that he has very strong relationships with people in the major leagues, from hitting coaches to executives. He said that anybody who knows him knows that he is not in it for the money, the stature or the position. Maryland is home to him, and being the head coach is important to him.
“This is a destination job for me,” Swope said. “This has never been a job for me. This is a lifestyle.”
For more from Swope, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Chris Lyons/Maryland Terrapins