Over a year into the job as the head coach at Auburn University, the hiring of John Pawlowski in June of 2008 has already begun to pay dividends. Despite missing the Southeastern Conference Tournament by a game-and-a-half in his first season, improvements could be seen in the team's play and production in 2008, finishing the regular season with 31wins. With a roster full of talents but void of previous success at the collegiate level, Pawlowski's 31 wins in 2009 were the third most for an Auburn coach in his debut season on the Plains. The difference in 2009 was the pop in the lineup as Auburn hit 103 home runs a year after hitting just 58 with two-thirds of the starting lineup from 2008 back for 2009. At the conclusion of the season, four Auburn players had their name called in the Major League Baseball Draft, two of them for the first time, including fifth-round pick Joseph Sanders. When Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs went searching for a new baseball coach in the summer of 2008, it didn't take him long to determine that Pawlowski was the right man to take on the task of restoring the pride and tradition that were synonymous with Auburn's baseball program not that long ago. Now a 10-year head coaching veteran and another branch off Clemson head coach Jack Leggett's coaching tree, Pawlowski brings with him a pedigree that includes a seven-year professional baseball career and stops on both Leggett's and Pat Murphy's coaching staffs at perennial powers Clemson and Arizona State, respectively, before his nine-year run at the College of Charleston. During his stay at CofC, he guided the Cougars to a .637 winning percentage, two regular season conference championships and three straight NCAA Tournament berths from 2004-06. "This is a tremendous opportunity and I'm looking forward to helping bring the Auburn baseball program back to national prominence," Pawlowski said at the press conference to announce his hiring. "There is a rich history and tradition here at Auburn and I plan on working tirelessly to make this a national contender." Since arriving on the Plains, Pawlowski, 46, has lived up to his initial billing both inside the clubhouse and in the Auburn community at large, helping raise money for multiple charities while also putting in place the measures to get the program back to the College World Series for the first time since Hal Baird took Auburn there in 1997. A three-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year (2004, 2005 & 2007), Pawlowski turned a regionally successful program at the College of Charleston into a nationally recognized program to be feared as the Cougars twice established school records for wins in a season and advanced into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in CofC history in 2004, an accomplishment that the Cougars repeated in 2005 and 2006. By the end of the 2006 season the College of Charleston was clearly on the map as it went to SEC Champion Kentucky's home field and went 3-0 to win the NCAA Regional and advance to the Atlanta Super Regional. The Cougars finished the year ranked as high as 12th nationally. In nine years at the College of Charleston, Pawlowski guided the Cougars to a 338-192-1 mark overall and a 170-86-1 (.663) record in Southern Conference play. He also helped develop his players into 42 all-conference honors, four academic All-America honors, three SoCon Pitchers of the Year and two SoCon Players of the Year accolades. Additionally, he had 17 all-America honors bestowed upon his players since 2001. Pawlowski's run of success at Charleston can be aptly defined by his 180-67 (.729) record from 2004-07, which established school and conference records for most wins in a four-year span, which includes a 53-year history of the Southern Conference, and three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament along with two regular-season conference championships. The 2006 season has been hailed as the finest in College of Charleston history as the team posted a 46-17 overall record and a 20-7 record in Southern Conference play, winning the school's first Southern Conference Tournament title to go along with the unprecedented success in the NCAA Tournament, but his success in 2004, establishing school records for overall (47) and conference (25) wins and 2005 when he topped both of those accomplishments (48-15 overall, 27-3 SoCon) speak to the foundation that he was able to build at the South Carolina school. From 2004-06, Pawlowski mentored three straight SoCon Pithcers of the Year in Nich Chigges (2006), Brett Harker (2005) and Ryan Johnson (2004). Prior to his arrival at College of Charleston, Pawlowski was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Arizona State in 1999. Before that he served as the pitching coach and assistant recruiting coordinator at Clemson from 1994-98. During that time, the Tigers made five consecutive NCAA regional appearances and two trips to the College World Series (1995 and 1996). While an assistant at Clemson, Pawlowski's staff led the country in earned run average in 1996 with a staff that featured the No. 1 and No. 4 overall picks in that's years MLB draft in Kris Benson and Billy Koch. In his five years at Clemson, the Tigers had 15 pitchers drafted, while the recruiting classes ranked in the top 10 nationally each year. As a player at Clemson from 1983-85, Pawlowski finished his Tiger career with a 21-12 record and a 3.89 ERA over 54 games. He made 30 career starts working 240 1/3 innings with eight complete games, three shutouts and five saves. Pawlowski was the sixth-round draft pick of the Chicago White Sox in 1985 and made his major league debut in September of 1987. After playing more than seven years for the Chicago White Sox (1986-91), California Angels (1991-92) and Baltimore Orioles (1992) organizations, Pawlowski returned to Clemson to begin his coaching career and complete his degree. Pawlowski received his bachelor's degree in Industrial Education from Clemson University in May of 1996. The Johnson City, N.Y. native graduated from Seton Catholic Central in Binghamton, N.Y. in 1982. In 2007, he was inducted into the Upstate New York Section IV Hall of Fame. Pawlowski has three daughters, Christine (17), Mary Louise (15) and Jenny Caroline (9). |
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