HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison head baseball coach
Marlin Ikenberry has announced on Tuesday afternoon the hiring of Travis Ferrick to the coaching staff as the program's pitching coach.
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"I am very excited to have Travis join the JMU baseball family," said Ikenberry. "I've had the great pleasure of knowing Travis since his high school days and have followed his development as a coach over the years, as he comes from a coaching family with his dad and brother both coaches. He has worked with some of the best coaches in the industry and is a relentless recruiter, teacher, and coach. The energy that he brings to this profession is infectious and he has done an unbelievable job at developing young men and pitchers."
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Ferrick comes to Harrisonburg after spending the past six seasons at Dayton as its pitching coach, with the final three seasons spent being the top assistant as well as the recruiting coordinator. This 2023 season saw the Dayton pitchers set the program record for strikeouts in a season with 552, finish in the top 50 nationally with a 9.6 strikeouts-per-nine ratio and have the top recruiting class in the Atlantic 10 Conference and a top 100 class nationally.
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"I'm very excited to join Coach Ikenberry and his staff at JMU," Ferrick said. "I'm ready to get to work and help JMU compete for a championship!"
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During his tenure with the Flyers, Ferrick oversaw the drafting of pitcher Mark Manfredi in the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft, three All-Region selections, five All-Atlantic 10 selections (one pitcher), five A-10 All-Rookie selections (three pitchers) and six A-10 All-Academic selections three pitchers).
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Prior to Dayton, Ferrick got his start in the college coaching world as the pitching coach for Army West Point during the 2017 season. While at West Point, the Black Knights set the then-program record for strikeouts in a season with 402. The relievers also recorded 11 saves that season, which currently stands tied for fifth in program history. The pitching success led to a 10-game turnaround and the first conference tournament appearance in three years.
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Before going to New York, Ferrick was social studies teacher and varsity baseball and football coach at Osbourne Park High School in Manassas, Va. from 2015-16. He also was the head coach of the 15U Stars Travel Baseball team in Bristow, Va. from 2014-15.
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Ferrick earned a bachelor's degree in history and secondary education, graduating from Boston College in 2015. He was a letterwinner on the baseball team, earning ACC All-Academic honors in 2014 and 2015. He was the awarded the Sonny Nictakis Award, which is given to a BC player who wears number eight and represents a player who has overcome adversity and represents the program in the highest light.
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