Mike McRae (baseball)

Mike McRae is a Canadian college baseball coach who is currently an assistant baseball coach at Virginia Commonwealth University. He was formerly the head coach of the Canisius Golden Griffins. McRae was Canisius's head coach from the start of the 2005 season to the end of the 2017 season. Under McRae in 2013, Canisius advanced to its first NCAA Tournament.[1] Before becoming the head coach at Canisius, he was the head coach at Niagara from 2002–2004, and an assistant at several NCAA Division I programs from 1996–2001.

Mike McRae

Current position
Title	Assistant coach
Team	VCU
Conference	A-10
Biographical details
Born	Niagara Falls, Ontario
Alma mater	Colby College '91 Niagara University '93
Playing career
1988–1991	Colby
Position(s)	P
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1996–1997	Niagara (asst.)
1998	Winthrop (asst.)
1999–2001	Maine (asst.)
2002–2004	Niagara
2005–2017	Canisius
2018–present	VCU (asst.)
Head coaching record
Overall	369–343
Tournaments	NCAA: 0–2
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
MAAC Coach of the Year (2003, 2008, 2010, 2014)

McRae attended Division III Colby College in Waterville, Maine. He played four seasons of baseball and one season of ice hockey for the Mules.[2]

Coaching career

Division I assistant

After starting a club baseball team at Brock University in Ontario, Canada and coaching it for the 1995 season,[3] McRae got his first NCAA coaching job as an assistant at Niagara. He coached there from 1996–1997, and Niagara won a MAAC North Division championship in his second season. In 1998, he was an assistant at Winthrop in Rock Hill, South Carolina, before returning to the northeast to become an assistant at Maine from 1999–2001.[2]

Niagara

On July 3, 2001, McRae was named head coach at Niagara, where he attended graduate school. In comments on his reasons for accepting the job, McRae said, "One, my aspirations to become a head coach, and there aren't that many Division I openings that come up each year. Also, it's near home and it gives me a chance to see friends and family again. And my wife is from that area as well."[4]

McRae was the head coach at Niagara for three seasons (2002–2004). In his first season, the team finished in 8th place in the MAAC. In both his second and third, Niagara qualified for the MAAC Tournament by finishing the regular season in the top four of the conference. Both teams won 16 conference games, then a program record. In 2003, McRae was named the MAAC Coach of the Year.[5][6][7]

Canisius

Following the 2004 season, McRae became the head coach at Canisius.[5] In the three seasons prior to McRae's hiring (2002–2004), Canisius's record was 12–119.[6]

In his first two seasons, Canisius finished with a sub-.500 conference winning percentage and did not qualify for the postseason. In 2007, the team finished fourth in the MAAC to qualify for the program's first MAAC Tournament since 1994. It went 0–2 in the tournament.[2][8]

In 2008, Canisius went 41–13 and finished tied for first in the MAAC. The team finished third at the MAAC Tournament, but got the program's first postseason win, 16–7 over Manhattan in an elimination game. McRae won his second MAAC Coach of the Year Award.[2][9] After finishing second in 2009, the team won the MAAC outright in 2010. The team lost in the MAAC championship game, and McRae won his third MAAC Coach of the Year Award.[2][10] Canisius qualified for the 2011 and 2012 MAAC Tournaments, and it lost in the championship round again in 2012. It started the tournament with two wins, but lost two extra-inning games to Manhattan in the championship round.[11]

In the 2013 season, McRae's team set a program record for wins by going 42–17. McRae won his 300th game as a head coach on March 16, when Canisius defeated Ohio, 16–8.[12] The team finished tied for third in the MAAC to qualify for its seventh consecutive MAAC Tournament. As the third seed in the tournament, Canisius started off 2–0 by defeating second-seeded Marist, 2–1, and first-seeded Rider, 18–7. In the championship round, the team defeated fourth-seeded Siena, 12–11, to advance to the 2013 NCAA Tournament.[1] Canisius was seeded fourth in the Chapel Hill Regional, hosted by #1 national seed North Carolina. The team went 0–2 in the regional, losing 6–3 to North Carolina in the opening game and 14–6 to second-seeded Florida Atlantic in an elimination game.[13][14]

In 2014, Canisius finished the season 40–16 and won the MAAC regular season title. In the MAAC Tournament, the team won its first two games but lost twice to Siena in the championship round.

Seven of McRae's players at Canisius have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, most recently Garrett Cortright in 2013. Sean Jamieson, taken in the 17th round in 2011, is Canisius's highest overall pick under McRae.[15]

VCU

McRae was named an assistant baseball coach at Virginia Commonwealth University on September 1, 2017.[16]

Personal life

McRae has two teenage children, Madison and Mason. He was married for 20 years to his wife, Michelle (McDonald) McRae, before her death on September 5, 2015.[17]

Yearly records

Below is a table of McRae's records as an NCAA head baseball coach.[6][18]

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Niagara Purple Eagles (MAAC) (2002–2004)
2002	Niagara	12–34	9–17	8th
2003	Niagara	26–25	16–10	t-3rd	MAAC Tournament
2004	Niagara	27–27	16–9	t-2nd	MAAC Tournament
Niagara:		65–86	41–36
Canisius Golden Griffins (MAAC) (2005–present)
2005	Canisius	9–38	5–21	9th
2006	Canisius	18–36	9–18	8th
2007	Canisius	20–35	13–12	4th	MAAC Tournament
2008	Canisius	41–13	19–5	t-1st	MAAC Tournament
2009	Canisius	36–22	16–8	2nd	MAAC Tournament
2010	Canisius	39–21	19–5	1st	MAAC Tournament
2011	Canisius	26–32	12–10	t-4th	MAAC Tournament
2012	Canisius	33–27	16–8	2nd	MAAC Tournament
2013	Canisius	42–17	15–9	t-3rd	NCAA Regional
2014	Canisius	40–16	22–6	1st	MAAC Tournament
Canisius:		304–257	146–102
Total:		369–343
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

References

1. McShea, Keith (May 26, 2013). "Canisius Baseball Wins First MAAC Title". Campus Watch. The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on August 3, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
2. "Mike McRae". GoGriffs.com. Canisius Sports Information. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
3. Feschuk, Dave (July 12, 1995). "Baseball Dreams a Brock Reality". BrockBadgersBaseball.com. St. Catharine's Standard. Archived from the original on August 3, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
4. Holyoke, John (July 4, 2001). "UM's McRae Named Niagara Baseball Coach". BangorDailyNews.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
5. "Canisius Names Mike McRae Head Baseball Coach". MAACSports.com. August 1, 2004. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
6. "Annual Conference Standings". BoydsWorld.com. Boyd Nation. Archived from the original on August 3, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
7. "2012 Niagara Purple Eagles Baseball Media Guide". Niagara Sports Information. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
8. Stanton, Phil (April 16, 2008). "Nine Innings with Mike McRae". CollegeBaseballInsider.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
9. "Baseball Records First Postseason Victory". GoGriffs.com. Canisius Sports Information. May 23, 2008. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
10. "Rider Defeats Baseball for the 2010 MAAC Crown". GoGriffs.com. Canisius Sports Information. May 28, 2010. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
11. Tsujimoto, Ben (May 27, 2012). "Canisius Men's Baseball Blows Chance for MAAC Championship, Tries Again Today". Buffalo.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
12. Fitt, Aaron (March 17, 2013). "Saturday Roundup: Oregon State, LSU Clinch Big Road Series". BaseballAmerica.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
13. "Canisius Baseball Eliminated at NCAA Tournament". WKBW.com. Canisius Sports Information. June 1, 2013. Archived from the original on August 3, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
14. Snyder III, Gib (June 10, 2013). "Passion for the Game: Local Alums Help Canisius Build Successful Baseball Program". ObserverToday.com. Dunkirk, NY: The Observer. Archived from the original on August 3, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
15. Petro, Michael J. (June 13, 2013). "Major League Baseball: Frontier Grad Cortright of Canisius Drafted by O's". MetroWNY.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
16. "Baseball announces McRae and Tutwiler as coaching additions". vcuathletics.com. September 1, 2017. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
17. http://www.pattersonfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=1652942
18. "2013 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Baseball Standings". D1Baseball.com. Jeremy and Cynthia Mills. Archived from the original on August 1, 2013. Retrieved August 1, 2013.

External links

• VCU profile