Kelly Swiney, a 1999 graduate of Allegheny College, completed his ninth season season as the head coach at his alma mater in 2017. In his seven of his nine seasons as the Gators’ skipper, he has guided the team to winning seasons, including a trip to the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament Championship game in 2013.
In 2017, Swiney guided the Gators to a 23-17 season, marking the team's fifth consecutive 20-win campaign. On April 30 at Oberlin, the Gators defeated the Yeomen 10-5 to mark Swiney's 200th career victory at Allegheny, making him just the fourth coach in the 130-year history of the program to reach the milestone. Two Gators, Jacob Shick and Robert Dimaggio, earned First Team All-NCAC honors, while Corey Keenan was an Honorable Mention selection. Additionally, Keenan, Austin Bristol, and Tyler Wagner were each named to the NCAC Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes sophomores, juniors, and seniors who carry a cumulative GPA over 3.50.
In 2016, Allegheny finished 21-14 overall and owned a 10-4 mark in league play. The Gators rattled off an 11-game winning streak from Apr. 17 to May 7, scoring 113 runs while eclipsing double-digit runs on five different occasions during that stretch. Swiney saw five of his players named All-NCAC in First Team selections Chase Boyer, Robert DiMaggio, and Joe Killian, as well as Honorable Mention picks Jacob Shick and Wyatt Sibiga.
Killian and Boyer became the first Allegheny duo in 23 seasons to respectively be named NCAC Player and Pitcher of the Year. In addition, the pair garnered
D3baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings All-Mideast Region accolades as Killian was named to two First Teams, while Boyer collected Third Team honors from the former and Second Team plaudits from the latters.
In 2015, the Gators posted a 23-16 overall mark, a 14-5 record in conference, and advanced to their third consecutive NCAC Tournament with a three-game series victory over Denison in the NCAC Crossover series. Allegheny dropped the first game, 6-7, before forcing a winner-take-all bout with a decisive 10-1 victory in the second game. In the decider, sophomore right-hander Robert Julian threw a three-hit shutout as the Gators defeated the Big Red, 3-0, to move onto Chillicothe.
Seven players (Chase Boyer, Zach Gray, Joe Killian, Robert Julian, Jacob Shick, Corey Keenan, Adam Bronson) were named to All-NCAC teams after the season and two (Gray, Killian) collected ABCA All-Mideast Region plaudits.
The Gators finished the 2014 campaign with a 27-14 overall record and a 13-6 mark in league play. Allegheny moved onto the NCAC Tournament with a two-game sweep of Wabash in the NCAC Crossover series and saw five players (Kyle Davis, Mike Pezzone, Steven Ramsdell, Brandon Ellis, Joe Killian) garner All-NCAC recgonition. Davis signed a professional deal with the Raton (N.M.) Oscos of the independent Pecos League following the season.
In 2013, the Gators compiled a 26-16 record to mark the highest win total under Swiney’s tutelage, including a 11-7 mark in conference play, to host a first round, NCAC Crossover series against the DePauw Tigers. The Gators would win the series, two games to one, to earn a spot in the 2013 NCAC Tournament, the Gators’ first appearance since the 2010 campaign.
Once in the NCAC Tournament, the Gators used a 5-3 win over Denison and a comeback, 6-5 decision over Oberlin to advance to the Tournament Championship game against Wooster. The immensely successful tournament run procured four All-Tournament selections for the Gators, as rising senior Kyle Davis, juniors Eric Weyant and Zach Gray along with Frank Triozzi ’13 were named to the listing.
Rising Sophomore Joe Killian closed Allegheny’s most successful season since 2001 by earning the program’s third NCAC Newcomer of the Year honor. In total, three Gators made the All-NCAC listing, as Killian, Davis and rising senior Eric Brandt were named to the season-ending squad.
In his second season at the helm, his team posted a 25-15 overall record, and qualified for the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament for the first time since 2007.
A talented hitter as a player, Swiney has been instrumental in the consistent upward trend of his teams’ offensive numbers. Most notably the 2011 club produced a 20-point spike in the team batting average from 2010, finishing with an NCAA top-10 ranked .343 batting average.
Prior to taking the head job at Allegheny, Swiney served as an assistant coach for two seasons at Amherst College (Mass.) under legendary coach Bill Thurston. During his tenure, the Lord Jeffs competed in two New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Tournaments, with a runner-up finish in 2008. In addition, with Swiney on staff, Amherst notched consecutive 20-win seasons, including the program's third-highest total (24 in 2008). Primarily a hitting coach, Swiney was instrumental in the offensive improvement of Amherst over a two-year span that included an incline in batting average, runs, hits, runs batted in and home runs.
Leading up to his successful stint at Amherst, Swiney spent time as an assistant coach at Washington and Jefferson University, Thiel College, and King's College (Pa.). 2001, a few years removed from his collegiate playing days, marked the beginning of his coaching career with a one-year stay at King's College. The following year, Swiney became an assistant at Thiel, and remained there until 2004. The 2003 Thiel squad won the program's first President's Athletic Conference (PAC) title in 21 years, and broke the school record for wins in a season.
While at Washington and Jefferson, Swiney helped the baseball team to a 66-28 record over two seasons including a school-record 34 wins in 2006. The team appeared in back-to-back Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) South Region Tournament Finals, winning the championship in ’06. Once again as the hitting coach, he helped bolster the team’s offensive statistics, most notably helping raise the team’s batting average from .256 in ’04 to .328 in ’06.
Swiney also served as the head coach for the Ohio Warhawks Baseball Club from 2005-2008. The Warhawks are an elite summer baseball program based in Columbus. His record during his tenure with the Warhawks was 161-38 including 12 tournament championships. In 2008, Swiney led the Warhawks to a National Runner Up finish at the 18U C.A.B.A. World Series.
Current Chicago White Sox outfielder and 2013 Major League Baseball (MLB) Amerian League Rookie of the Year candidate J.B. Shuck played under the leadership of Swiney in 2005. The Ohio State alum and 2006 Big 10 Freshman of the Year, Shuck was drafted in the sixth round of the 2008 draft by the Houston Astros, making his major league debut for the Astros on Aug. 11, 2011.
A three-year starter for the Gators in the outfield, Swiney finished his career with a .356 career batting average, and currently ranks third on the all-time list for doubles in a season with 17. He was named to the All-NCAC Second Team as a senior in 1999, and was a part of the 1997 team that set the school record for victories with 40. That season, the Gators took the NCAC crown. Swiney would also be a part of the 1999 NCAC Championship team, and took part in three NCAA playoff runs, including two regional runner-up finishes in 1996 and 1997.
While at Allegheny, Swiney earned a bachelor's degree in Managerial Economics. In 2008, he received a master’s degree in Sport Management from California University of Pennsylvania.
Kelly and wife Julie are the proud parents of two children, son Will and daughter Rose.
| Season |
Overall Record |
NCAC Record |
| 2009 |
22-16 |
10-6 |
| 2010 |
25-15 |
12-4 |
| 2011 |
16-14 |
5-6 |
| 2012 |
18-21 |
11-5 |
| 2013 |
26-16 |
11-7 |
| 2014 |
27-14 |
13-6 |
| 2015 |
23-16 |
14-5 |
| 2016 |
21-14 |
11-6 |
| 2017 |
23-17 |
8-11 |
| TOTAL |
201-143 |
96-56 |
Updated 6/10/17
