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New Orleans Privateers
2024 New Orleans Privateers baseball team
Founded1970
UniversityUniversity of New Orleans
Head coachBlake Dean (9th season)
ConferenceSouthland
LocationNew Orleans, Louisiana
Home stadiumMaestri Field at Privateer Park
NicknamePrivateers
ColorsRoyal blue, silver, and navy[1]
     
College World Series appearances
1974*, 1984
*at Division II level
NCAA regional champions
1984
NCAA Tournament appearances
1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1996, 2000, 2007, 2008
Conference tournament champions
American South 1989
Sun Belt: 1978, 1979, 2007

The New Orleans Privateers baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of the University of New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.[2] The team is a member of the Southland Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The team plays its home games at Maestri Field at Privateer Park in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Privateers are coached by Blake Dean.

History

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Bob Hines, first coach (1970–1971)

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Formed as early as 1970, the University of New Orleans, formerly known as Louisiana State University of New Orleans, started NCAA play in the Division II ranks. Bob Hines served as the first coach in UNO baseball history, directing the team to an 8–19 record in 1970 – its first season – followed by a 14–25 mark in 1971. The losing record in 1971 would be the last for the UNO program until Tom Schwaner's 1986 squad went 29–30. UNO defeated Southeastern Louisiana 7–6 on Mar. 13, 1970 in the first game in school history.

The Maestri years (1972–1985)

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In 1972, Illinois native, Ron Maestri, was hired by then chancellor Homer Hitt as the second head coach to lead the Privateers. Following two consecutive winning seasons in the first two seasons with their new coach, the Privateers made school history in 1974 with a Division II College World Series berth. In Game 2, the Privateers recorded their first CWS win in a defeat of Valdosta State by a score of 13–9. They followed with a 6–2 win over Central Missouri State in game 6. After being bested by UC-Irvine, the Privateers bounced back to 2 consecutive wins over University of New Haven and previously unbeaten UC-Irvine. The comeback fell short, however, as the Privateers lost the final elimination game against UC-Irvine 14–1.

On July 1, 1975, the Privateers made the jump to Division I, hoping to build on their previous success.[3] They joined the newly formed Sun Belt Conference in which they won the conference tournament in both 1978 and 1979 before becoming an NCAA Division I independent in 1980. After appearing in five NCAA Regionals in eight years, the Privateers finally made Louisiana sports history. In 1984, the University of New Orleans was the first in-state school to appear in the Division I College World Series.[4] In Game 1, the Privateers were defeated by the reigning CWS champions Texas by a score of 6–3. They bounced back to defeat and ultimately eliminate Big 10 representative Michigan. In Game 10 on June 6, however, the University of New Orleans fell to Oklahoma State in 10 innings and was eliminated.

During Maestri's 14 seasons as head coach, the Privateers had a winning record each year, made seven appearances in the NCAA tournament, one College World Series appearance, and won at least forty games six times, while all other coaches in the school's history have had four such seasons. The program's overall record during his tenure was 517–245–1 (.678), as he is by far the winningest coach in school history.

Tom Schwaner era (1986–1999)

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Following the success of Maestri, Tom Schwaner was hired as the third head coach for the Privateers. After seven years competing as Division I Independents, the Privateers would join 6 teams in the formation of the American South Conference. As members, the Privateers would win the regular season title in 1988, while winning the conference tournament in 1989. On July 1, 1991, the Privateers would join the Sun Belt Conference once again as the American South and Sun Belt Conference would merge.

After a few up and down years, the Privateers would once again find success in the 1996 season by earning a trip to the South II Regional in Baton Rouge as a 5 seed. In their first game, the Privateers would defeat Georgia Tech by a score of 13–3 and would follow with a victory over cross town rival Tulane by a score of 13–5. In their third game, they would face host team LSU and would ultimately lose before being eliminated by Georgia Tech in their fifth game.

Randy Bush (2000–2004)

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Before the 2000 campaign, the university would hire former player and two time World Series champion, Randy Bush, as the fourth head coach of the Privateers. In his first season, the Privateers would record their first regular season title since 1988 and their first in the Sun Belt. Despite not winning the conference tournament, they would earn a 2 seed in the Baton Rouge Regional due to their success in the regular season. In their first game of the regional they would fall to Louisiana-Monroe. Facing elimination, the Privateers would defeat Jackson State before falling once again to Louisiana-Monroe.

Tom Walter and post-Katrina (2005–2009)

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Tom Walter was chosen to be the fifth head coach for the Privateers. Despite the tremendous damage sustained to the East Campus of UNO, the Privateers were able to salvage a winning season and a trip to the Sun Belt Tournament. Building on their success, the Privateers were able to take the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship in 2007, a feat that had eluded them since 1979, and their first NCAA regional berth since 2000. In the NCAA regionals, the Privateers shocked host team Wichita State in the first game before losing to Arizona 9–8 and Wichita State to be eliminated.

The Privateers were able continue their success by making it to the SBC Championship Game before losing to the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky. Despite not winning an automatic bid, their regular season efforts were enough to earn them a spot as a 3 seed in the Baton Rouge Regional. They would eventually lose to Southern Miss, defeat Texas Southern in game 3, and be eliminated by in game 5 by Southern Miss.

Bruce Peddie and NCAA division relocation talks (2010–2013)

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With the exit of Tom Walter, and talks of a move to Division III or eliminating athletics all together, Assistant Coach Bruce Peddie was promoted to head coach. The Privateers compiled a 13–39 through the 2010 season in their final campaign in the Sun Belt before they officially left the conference on June 30, 2010.[5] Despite being in division status limbo, the Privateers continued to play Division I opponents during the 2011 season as a Division I Independent and suffered another losing season.

The 2012 season marked the first season the baseball team would not be playing a full Division I schedule since 1975. Instead, the Privateers were accepted by the Gulf South Conference as a provisional member. As such, the Privateer baseball team played a largely Division II schedule with the exception of Nicholls State, McNeese, and Southern. On March 8, 2012, only 11 games into the 2012 season, Chancellor Peter Fos announced that the Privateers would not go through with their intention to compete as a Division II institution and would remain Division I.[6]

With their Division I status reinstated, the Privateers competed in the 2013 season as Division I Independents and completed a 7–44 record. On May 31, 2013, it was reported that Bruce Peddie was relieved of his duties as head coach.[7]

The return of Ron Maestri (2013–2015)

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On July 2, 2013, UNO Athletic Director Derek Morel announced that former baseball coach and athletic director, Ron Maestri, would be returning as the head coach after a 28-year absence from coaching.[8] On February 23, 2015, it was announced that Ron Washington was named volunteer assistant.[9]

On May 19, 2015, Ron Maestri announced his retirement as head coach of the Privateers, effective July 1, 2015. Maestri finished with a 543–315–1 record with the Privateers over two stints as head coach. His Privateer teams appeared in the NCAA Division I baseball tournament nine times and in the College World Series two times.[10]

Blake Dean (2016–present)

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After being named interim coach on May 21, 2015, Blake Dean was named the seventh head baseball coach of the Privateers for the 2016 season.[11] The team nearly won as many games as they had won the previous three seasons (31 to 33) and more than doubled their win total (from 15 to 31) in Dean's first season earning a trip to the Southland Conference tournament marking their first postseason appearance since 2008, which was the last time UNO was invited to the NCAA tournament. In his second year as head coach, the team started 5–0, and ended up defeating in-state rival LSU twice in a season for the first time since 2008.[12] The Privateers once again reached the Southland Tournament but were eliminated by eventual champion Sam Houston State. The program won thirty games in a season in back-to-back years for the first time since the 2007–2008 seasons, and Blake Dean became the only other coach in program history besides Ron Maestri to begin their tenures with back-to-back winning seasons. Dean's 90 wins in his first three seasons trails only Tom Schwaner and Randy Bush for the most wins by a head coach in his first three seasons in school history, and is more than the previous 7 seasons combined (89) immediately preceding his arrival.

Head coaches

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Records are through the end of the 2022 baseball season.

Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
1970–1971 Bob Hines 2 22–44 .333
1972–1985 Ron Maestri 14 517–245–1 .678
1986–1999 Tom Schwaner 14 462–373 .553
2000–2004 Randy Bush 5 144–145 .498
2005–2009 Tom Walter 5 153–147 .510
2010–2013 Bruce Peddie 4 41–160 .204
2014–2015 Ron Maestri 2 26–78 .250
2016–present Blake Dean 8 225–194–1 .537
Totals 54 seasons 1621–1412–2 .534

Year-by-year results

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Statistics overview
Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Division II Independent (1970–1975)
1970 Bob Hines 8–19
1971 Bob Hines 14–25
1972 Ron Maestri 24–17
1973 Ron Maestri 26–13
1974 Ron Maestri 34–14 D–II College World Series Runner-Up
1975 Ron Maestri 23–20
Sun Belt Conference (1976–1979)
1976 Ron Maestri 26–14–1
1977 Ron Maestri 35–9 NCAA Regional
1978 Ron Maestri 35–16 1st
1979 Ron Maestri 49–14 1st NCAA Regional
Division I Independent (1980–1987)
1980 Ron Maestri 46–15 NCAA Regional
1981 Ron Maestri 48–16 NCAA Regional
1982 Ron Maestri 49–16 NCAA Regional
1983 Ron Maestri 34–29
1984 Ron Maestri 45–24 College World Series
1985 Ron Maestri 43–28 NCAA Regional
1986 Tom Schwaner 29–30
1987 Tom Schwaner 44–19 NCAA Regional
American South Conference (1988–1991)
1988 Tom Schwaner 42–23 14–1 NCAA Regional
1989 Tom Schwaner 33–34 10–5 NCAA Regional
1990 Tom Schwaner 37–27 11–4
1991 Tom Schwaner 26–31 9–9
Sun Belt Conference (1992–2010)
1992 Tom Schwaner 27–27 10–11
1993 Tom Schwaner 25–28 9–10
1994 Tom Schwaner 35–23 16–8 Sun Belt Tournament
1995 Tom Schwaner 36–22 15–11 Sun Belt Tournament
1996 Tom Schwaner 43–21 19–8 NCAA Regional
1997 Tom Schwaner 31–25 11–15
1998 Tom Schwaner 29–29 13–13 Sun Belt Tournament
1999 Tom Schwaner 25–34 15–18 Sun Belt Tournament
2000 Randy Bush 38–25 20–9 NCAA Regional
2001 Randy Bush 25–32 13–14 Sun Belt Tournament
2002 Randy Bush 31–28 12–12 5th Sun Belt Tournament
2003 Randy Bush 23–32 7–17 9th
2004 Randy Bush 27–28 13–10 3rd Sun Belt Tournament
2005 Tom Walter 20–39 10–14 7th Sun Belt Tournament
2006 Tom Walter 30–28 12–12 T–4th Sun Belt Tournament
2007 Tom Walter 38–26 16–14 T–2nd NCAA Regional
2008 Tom Walter 43–21 18–11 2nd NCAA Regional
2009 Tom Walter 22–33 12–18 T–9th
2010 Bruce Peddie 13–39 2–26 11th
Division I Independent (2011)
2011 Bruce Peddie 4–50
Division II Independent (2012)
2012 Bruce Peddie 17–27
Division I Independent (2013)
2013 Bruce Peddie 7–44
Southland Conference (2014–Present)
2014 Ron Maestri 11–38 2–28 14th
2015 Ron Maestri 15–40 3–27 13th
2016 Blake Dean 31–26 14–16 T–7th Southland tournament
2017 Blake Dean 30–28–1 16–14 T–7th Southland tournament
2018 Blake Dean 29–32 14–16 T–7th Southland tournament
2019 Blake Dean 29–27 13–17 T–9th
2020 Blake Dean 11–6 2–1 T–2nd [n 1]
2021 Blake Dean 29–28 23–17 3rd Southland Tournament
2022 Blake Dean 30–23 13–11 3rd Southland tournament
2023 Blake Dean 36–24 13–11 T–3rd Southland tournament
Total: 1621–1412–2

      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

(Records as of May 27, 2023)
Source:[13]

NCAA tournament History

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Year Record Pct Notes
1977 1–2 .333 Eliminated by Baylor in the South Central Regional semifinals
1979 1–2 .333 Eliminated by Mississippi State in the South Regional semifinals
1980 1–2 .333 Eliminated by Western Kentucky in the South Regional semifinals
1981 1–2 .333 Eliminated by Michigan in the Mideast Regional semifinals
1982 2–2 .500 Eliminated by Wichita State in the South Regional Finals
1984 5–3 .625 Won the South II Regional
College World Series (5th place)
1985 1–2 .333 Eliminated by Michigan in the South I Regional semifinals
1987 2–2 .500 Eliminated by LSU in the South II Regional semifinals
1988 0–2 .000 Eliminated by Texas in the Central Regional Second Round
1989 3–2 .600 Eliminated by Texas in the Midwest Regional Finals
1996 2–2 .500 Eliminated by Georgia Tech in the South II Regional semifinals
2000 1–2 .333 Eliminated by Louisiana–Monroe in the Baton Rouge Regional Second Round
2007 1–2 .333 Eliminated by Wichita State in the Wichita Regional Second Round
2008 1–2 .333 Eliminated by Southern Miss in the Baton Rouge Regional Second Round
Total 22–29 .431 14 NCAA tournament Appearances
1 College World Series Appearance

Awards

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  • Golden Spikes Award – Augie Schmidt (1982)
  • NCAA Division I All-American Selections – Augie Schmidt (1982), Ted Wood (1987)
  • NCAA Division II All-American Selections – Eric Rasmussen (1973), Terry Kieffer (1974)
  • NCAA College World Series All-Tournament Team – Scott Raziano (1984)
  • Sun Belt Conference Freshman/Rookie of the Year – Steve Stanson (1995)
  • Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year – Thomas Diamond (2004), Bryan Cryer (2008)
  • Sun Belt Coach of the Year – Ron Maestri (1979)

Professional players

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Privateers in the Majors

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Athlete Years Active Team(s)
Eric Rasmussen 1975–1983 St. Louis Cardinals (1975–1978, 1982–1983)
San Diego Padres (1978–1980)
Kansas City Royals (1983)
Roger Erickson 1978–1983 Minnesota Twins (1978–1982)
New York Yankees(1982–1983)
Randy Bush 1982–1993 Minnesota Twins (1982–1993)
Wally Whitehurst 1989–1996 New York Mets (1989–1992)
San Diego Padres (1993–1994)
New York Yankees (1996)
Mark Higgins 1989 Cleveland Indians (1989)
Brian Traxler 1990 Los Angeles Dodgers (1990)
Ted Wood 1991–1993 San Francisco Giants (1991–1992)
Montreal Expos (1993)
Joe Slusarski 1991–1993, 1995, 1999–2001 Oakland Athletics (1991–1993)
Milwaukee Brewers (1995)
Houston Astros (1999–2001)
Atlanta Braves (2001)
Jim Bullinger 1992–1998 Chicago Cubs (1992–1996)
Montreal Expos (1997)
Seattle Mariners (1998)
Jason Waddell^ 2009 Chicago Cubs (2009)
Thomas Diamond 2010 Chicago Cubs (2010)
Johnny Giavotella 2011–Present Kansas City Royals (2011–Present)
Joey Butler 2013 Texas Rangers (2013)

^Jason Waddell played for the Privateers in 2000 before transferring to Riverside Community College

Source:[14]

Major League Baseball

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New Orleans has had 89 Major League Baseball Draft selections since the draft began in 1965.[15]

Trivia

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  • The Privateers have had 2 players compete on the U.S. Olympic Baseball Team. Joe Slusarski and Ted Wood were both members of the 1988 gold medal team in the Seoul, South Korea Olympics.[citation needed]
  • As of the 2013 MLB draft, a total of 82 Privateers have been selected.[16]
  • The highest drafted Privateer was Augie Schmidt in 1982 as the 2nd overall pick to the Toronto Blue Jays.
  • The Privateers have finished top 15 in attendance 8 times. The highest mark achieved was 85,884 spectators in 1987.[17]
  • Staff members at Maestri Field were awarded the Groundskeeper of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association in 1991.[17]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Season suspended indefinitely on March 13, 2020 and ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

References

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  1. ^ New Orleans Privateers – Official Brand Identity (PDF). July 13, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  2. ^ "New Orleans Privateers". d1baseball.com. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  3. ^ "University Of New Orleans – Important Dates in Privateer History". University of New Orleans. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  4. ^ "History of New Orleans Baseball". Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  5. ^ "New Orleans pulls plug on Sun Belt membership". ESPN. January 20, 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  6. ^ "UNO Privateers decide to remain in NCAA Division I". ESPN. March 9, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  7. ^ "New Orleans Privateers fire baseball coach Bruce Peddie". ESPN. May 31, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  8. ^ "UNO welcomes Ron Maestri back as baseball coach, hoping to resurrect and rebuild program - NOLA.com". NOLA.com. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  9. ^ "Ex-Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington filling time volunteering but anxious to return to Major League Baseball".
  10. ^ Brandon Scardigli (May 19, 2015). "Maestri Announces Retirement from New Orleans Baseball". University of New Orleans. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  11. ^ Brandon Scardigli (May 21, 2015). "Blake Dean Named Interim Head Coach of Privateers Baseball". University of New Orleans. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  12. ^ "Baseball Prevails 7–4 Against No. 6 LSU In 15-Inning Game". University of New Orleans. March 16, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  13. ^ "2004 New Orleans - the Baseball Cube".
  14. ^ "University of New Orleans Baseball Players". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  15. ^ "MLB Amateur Draft Picks who came from "University of New Orleans (New Orleans, LA)"". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
  16. ^ "MLB Amateur Draft Picks who came from "University of New Orleans (New Orleans, LA)"". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  17. ^ a b "University Of New Orleans – Maestri Field". Retrieved September 16, 2014.
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