Black Says Goodbye To Guilford After 16 Seasons
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Guilford College athletics department announced the departure of Nick Black ’02 on Thursday afternoon. Black has been a member of the Quaker baseball coaching staff since his graduation, serving as the head coach for the past 16 seasons.
During his time with Guilford, Black has compiled a 260-318-2 record, while coaching 27 All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) honorees and a two-time All-American in Kyle Wooden ’11.
He saw Trevor Denton ’18 to Second Team All-South Region Honors, who joined Josh Shepherd ’18 and Mitchell Stumpo ’19 on All-ODAC Teams.
“I thank Gene Baker for hiring me on as an assistant coach,” said Black. “I thank Randy Doss for seeing the promise in me when he gave me the opportunity to be the head coach. I also want to thank all of the folks that have supported the baseball program, without amazing people in your corner, it’s extremely hard to get anything my accomplished.”
“What has always made Guilford special is the people and I am truly grateful for having the opportunity to build so many lifelong relationships. Guilford is a great community and I owe everything to so many who helped me along the way, not just in Athletics, but in all departments at Guilford. I have been associated with Guilford, in some fashion for the last 23 years and I just would like to thank everyone that has had an effect on my life. I had the great honor to be around Hall of Fame coaches like Stuart Maynard, Tommy Grayson, and Marion Kirby. I got to work for another Hall of Fame coach in Tom Palombo, but the greatest thing about these last 19 years as a coach, is the relationships that I got to build with the players. I have had the opportunity to watch guys mature and become adults, I’ve had the privilege of seeing them get their first jobs, I got to see a lot of them get married, and now I’m getting to meet their children. There’s not a coach alive that wouldn’t have liked to win more games during their tenure, but when you see your players come back and watch their kids run around the bases after the games, that’s what it’s all about. I am truly thankful for all of those moments.”
The Guilford graduate has continued to help his team exceed past college, seeing pitcher Logan Collier ’07 drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 37th round after posting a 24-18 record in his first season behind the bench. Black has also led Wooden (Sweden), Bryan Bialecki ’11 (Australia) and Ben Bizier ’07 (Germany) to professional playing careers.
“It saddens me to know that Nick Black is leaving Guilford. He has served Guilford well as Head Baseball Coach for 17 years.” Said Interim President Jim Hood ’79, Ph.D., “As an alumnus, Nick understands Guilford’s heritage and culture, and it has been my pleasure to get to know him (talking side by side through our open truck windows at times) and to teach a number of his players over the years. I wish him the very best with his next endeavor.”
“Nick Black’s name has been synonymous with Guilford College Baseball. First as a player and team Captain, then Assistant Coach and finally as Head Coach for 16 years. He has left an indelible mark on our team, alumni and the Athletic Department. I join many in thanking him for his devoted service to our Baseball team and the Guilford Community.” Athletics Director Bill Foti said.
Guilford College and its athletics department would like to thank Nick for his hard work and dedication to the school and wish him well in his future endeavors.
“One of the questions I was asked was, what have I helped Guilford accomplish? In reality I probably haven’t helped Guilford accomplish all that much, but Guilford has helped me accomplish pretty much everything in my adult life, including my wife Heather (former Guilford Soccer player) who I have been married to for 17 years.” Said Black. “Her sacrifices have allowed me to live out a dream of coaching at my alma mater. We will both always be Quakers!”