New England Baseball Journal

  • Login
  • Logout
  • Subscribe
  • Dashboard
Subscribe
Division 3

D3 insider: Paul Svagdis shares plan for coaching alma mater Tufts in Q&A

By Joshua KumminsOctober 27, 2021

Newly hired Tufts coach Paul Svagdis' 606 wins at Azusa Pacific are the most in the history of a program. (Azusa Pacific University)

Paul Svagdis (Falmouth, Mass.) is coming home to Tufts University. Svagdis will return to his alma mater as the Jumbos’ head coach after leading the Azusa Pacific University program in California since 2002. He will take over for John Casey, the legendary skipper who retired at the beginning of this school year after leading Tufts to 765 wins and 10 regional and conference championships during a 38-year career.

After playing four seasons (1990-93) and serving as a two-year captain for Casey’s Jumbos, Svagdis spent four years following graduation as an assistant baseball and football coach at Tufts. He moved west to Pomona College after earning his Master’s degree in 1996 and served as the head baseball coach and assistant football coach for six years before moving to Azusa Pacific. His 606 wins at Azusa Pacific are the most in the history of a program that transitioned from the NAIA to NCAA Division 2, winning 40-plus games from 2017-19.

Svagdis has amassed 718 wins across 25 years as a head coach. His teams have won eight conference regular-season titles and advanced to six NCAA Regionals, five NAIA Regionals, and the NAIA World Series in 2007 and 2008. Svagdis has coached more than 35 eventual draft picks, including two-time MLB All-Star Stephen Vogt.

From his California home, Svagdis spoke with New England Baseball Journal for a Q&A to discuss his plans for the Jumbos, returning home, the lessons that he’s taken away from Casey, his recruiting pitch and more.

Tags: Azusa Pacific University, Cape Cod League, John Casey, Paul Svagdis, Tufts University

Subscribe to finish reading this story

SUBSCRIBE

Members login below

Register
Forgot Password?

Related Articles

Podcast: The Show’s Steve Lomasney talks WWBA World Championship

Steve Lomasney recently returned from the Perfect Game WWBA World Championship, where he coached the Red Sox Scout Team. The former Red Sox draft pick…
Read More

Alex Tawa making mark at Loomis before taking game to South Florida

Once pitcher Alex Tawa resolved himself into making a decision to repeat his junior year, he knew big changes were coming, along with his ability…
Read More

Tabor Academy dual-sport star Javar Williams has a D1 future in baseball

The stage is about to get a lot bigger for Javar Williams. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound multi-sport star is on the brink of becoming one of…
Read More

Our Free Weekly Newsletter

  • Subscribe
  • Seamans Media, Inc.
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Contact Us

© Copyright 2022 Seamans Media, Inc. • All Rights Reserved

Contact Us!

Please write a brief description and someone will get back to you shortly!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.