Jerry Shank joined the NCCU baseball program as assistant coach in charge of pitching in the summer of 2011 from the University of Hartford where he was assistant coach in charge of the pitching staff and recruiting coordinator.
In his first two seasons, the Eagle pitching staff has made major improvements including a modern day record setting season in 2013. As a whole, the staff was No. 1 in the MEAC with a 3.95 ERA, and set new marks in walks allowed per nine innings (2.66), earned runs allowed (209), walks allowed (141), strikeouts (279), strikeouts looking (89) and earned run average (3.95).
Under Shank’s tutelage, Glenn Frye became the first pitcher in the modern era to earn All-MEAC honors as the right hander was placed on the second team.
Shank came to Hartford after serving as an assistant coach for the last two years at Canisius College. Previously, he spent two seasons at Ohio Valley University as the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, while also coaching the pitching staff.
During his two years at Canisius, the Golden Griffins won 77 games (26th-most in the country), the most by any school in the Northeast region. Also, Canisius is one of 30 schools across the nation to win 35-plus games each of the past two seasons.
The Golden Griffins advanced to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament each of the past two seasons, with the 2008 team winning a program-record 41 games. In 2008, Canisius earned its first regular-season MAAC title since 1994 and won the program’s first postseason game. In 2009, Canisius advanced to the MAAC Championship game for the first time in program history.
While at Canisius, Shank had a pitcher named to all-league teams each of the past two seasons, with Shane Davis becoming the first pitcher in conference history to be named the MAAC Pitcher of the Year and MAAC Rookie of the Year in the same season. He was also a part of the recruitment of two incoming freshmen who were drafted in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft.
The Fighting Scots appeared in the conference tournament in both of Shank’s seasons at Ohio Valley, winning the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 2006.
Before his time at Ohio Valley, Shank was the top assistant at Eastern Mennonite University where he worked with the pitching staff.
Shank played four seasons at the collegiate level. He started at Hampden-Sydney College where the Tigers advanced to the conference tournament in 2003 and then transferred to Eastern Mennonite for his final two seasons, where he graduated in 2005 with a degree in history.
