Allegheny College Athletics

Kelly Swiney, a 1999 graduate of Allegheny College, is in his sixth season as the head coach at his alma mater. In his first four seasons as the Gators’ skipper, he has guided the team to winning seasons each year, including a trip to the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament Championship game in 2013.
 
Last season, 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.

In his time as the head coach at Allegheny, Swiney has managed 22 All-NCAC performers, and mentored back-to-back NCAC Pitcher of the Year recipients in 2009 and 2010.  In 2012, Swiney landed four athletes on All-NCAC teams, including first team pitcher and rising senior Kyle Davis.
 
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 Los Angeles Angels 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.