Henry Manning, a four-year starter and former captain of the Pace
University baseball team, begins his ninth season as the head
baseball coach of the Setter program. He took over the head
coaching duties in May 2000, one season after returning to his alma
mater as the assistant coach.
Last season
was another successful one for Coach Manning who for the second
consecutive season led Pace back to the postseason as the #5 seed
in the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament. The Setters finished
with a 31-23 record and were 18-12 in the NE-10 in 2008, marking
first time in school history the team has posted three straight
seasons of 30+ wins. Coach Manning has led the Setters to three of
their four 30+ wins seasons in school history with the other 30-win
season coming in 1985. In the Northeast-10 Tournament last year,
the Setters defeated the #4 seed UMass Lowell 7-1 to advance to the
double-elimination Final Four of the tournament. Pace dropped its
first game 4-3 to top-seeded Bryant, before being eliminated from
the tournament with a 6-1 loss to #2 Southern Connecticut.
Manning had two more players drafted into Major League Baseball as
Matt Rigoli and First Team All-Conference Jack Cawley were both
selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2008 MLB Draft. Rigoli
was taken in the 21st round, while Cawley was selected in the round
34. They join an elite class of former Pace players drafted into
the professional ranks, bringing Coach Manning's total to nine
players drafted during his tenure as head coach. Rigoli and Cawley
join Matt Arburr (2007 St. Louis Cardinals, 17th round), David
Qualben (2006 Houston Astros, 7th round), Bryan Hallberg (2006
Houston Astros, 12th round), Earl Oakes (2006 Oakland Athletics,
24th round), Matt Reilly (2006 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 27th
round), Pat Stanley, (2004 Colorado Rockies, 16th Round) and Mike
Bohlander (2002 Chicago White Sox, 27th Round) as former Setters
under Coach Manning who joined the professional ranks.
Prior
to coming back to Pace, Manning enjoyed a nine-year professional
career in baseball as both a player and coach. As a player,
Manning was a catcher in the Chicago White Sox organization from
1991-1995, reaching the AAA level in 1994. He spent half of
the 1995 season playing for the Winnipeg Goldeyes in the
independent Northern League where he earned All-Star honors. He
finished his playing career in 1996 after a brief stint with the
Boston Red Sox organization.
In 1997, Manning's first coaching job was managing the Johnstown Steal in the Frontier League. There, he guided the team to the best overall record and lost in the championship series. He then spent two years as the Assistant General Manager/Coach of the New Jersey Jackals, where he helped build a team that won the Northern League title in the Jackals' inaugural season.
As a Setter, Manning ranks among the all-time leaders in hits, doubles, home runs, RBI and runs scored. As a freshman he led the team with a .373 average, and had his best year in 1988 when he hit .385 with 7 home runs. He played two years in the highly regarded Cape Cod Summer League for the Brewster White Caps ('88) and Chatham A's ('89).
Manning holds a BA degree in Mathematics. He and his wife
Kristen reside in New Jersey with their daughter Julia and son
Matthew.
