Bill Mathews
Head Baseball Coach
mathewwj@eckerd.edu
Eckerd College Head Baseball Coach Bill Mathews began his Eckerd career in 1975 as a player. One of his teammates was Toronto Blue Jays third base coach Brian Butterfield, and former Blue Jays manager Carlos Tosca and San Francisco general manager Brian Sabean were assistant coaches. Mathews was made an assistant coach as a junior and served in that capacity until 1981.
His next move found him at Canterbury School of Florida in St. Petersburg, where he taught classes and coached baseball and basketball. He served as athletic director for seven years, director of guidance for five years, and principal for three years. He returned to Eckerd in 1990 as head baseball coach, and his list of accomplishments since his return are staggering.
Mathews was named Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year in 1999, the same year he completed a six-year stint as a member of the NCAA Baseball Committee. In each of his 16 years as head coach, Eckerd has placed more baseball players on the SSC Commissioner's Honor Roll than any other institution. 11 of Mathews' players have signed professional contracts. "The thing that I enjoy most about Eckerd College," Mathews said, "is that we are committed to the true definition of the term 'student-athlete'."
In addition, Mathews served as the head coach of the Polish National Team from 1997 until 2005, earning four medals in European Championship play, two of which are gold. Mathews is also the coaching coordinator for Tampa Bay Rays camps. He teaches several courses at Eckerd in the areas of athletic administration and social ethics.
Mathews holds a bachelor's degree in management from Eckerd and a master's in educational administration from the University of South Florida. He currently resides in St. Petersburg with his wife Karen. The couple has three children, Chris, Katie and Zach.
Mark "Doc" Hampton
Assistant Baseball Coach/JV Coach
Mark "Doc" Hampton has been helping out around Turley Field for the past seven years. The native of Des Moines, Iowa played baseball at Des Moines Area Community College before attending Drake University, where he was an honor student and earned a B.A. in psychology and an M.S. in Counseling and Personnel Services.
Doug Banks
Assistant Baseball Coach
Billy Evers
Assistant Baseball Coach
After a four-year stint wearing the Eckerd College uniform as a player, Billy Evers Jr. returns to the dugout, this time as an assistant coach for the Tritons.
A member of Eckerd’s baseball team from 2000-2004, Evers wasn’t a single-position player during his career as he played defense in at least five positions.
To many, Evers is remembered for his pitching prowess as he threw two no-hitters in his career, the first in summer league play during his senior year, and the second in just his fifth collegiate start against Rollins College, the nation’s second-ranked team at the time.
His excellence on and off the diamond was evident to many during his time at Eckerd. As such, he was awarded the James R. Harley Award in 2004, signifying the best male athlete at Eckerd College.
After graduating with his degree in Management and Athletic Administration, Evers took his baseball career to the professional level as he was drafted in the 35th round of the 2004 draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, where he pitched in their minor league system for three years.
If the Evers name sounds familiar, it is because he is the second Bill Evers to walk the Eckerd campus as a Triton. His father, the senior Bill, played for EC in the late-1970’s and was inducted into the Eckerd College Hall-of-Fame in 2003.
The junior Evers resides in St. Petersburg.
Joe Sinicola
Assistant Baseball Coach
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