In a surprise move, legendary St. John’s Head Coach Ed Blankmeyer has stepped down to join the New York Mets organization as manager of the Brooklyn Cyclones and extended Spring Training coordinator.
Blankmeyer is the winningest coach in Red Storm history as well as BIG EAST history. He has compiled a record of 829-500-4 over his 24 seasons. Under his guidance, the Red Storm have won five BIG EAST tournament championships and 23 winning seasons. Additionally, he has appeared in one Super Regional in 2012.
He has been named BIG EAST Coach of the Year a staggering eight times and notched 40-win seasons on 9 occasions.
Two former Red Storm players were drafted in the first round during Blankmeyer’s tenure; Craig Hansen in 2005 and Joe Panik in 2011. A total of 91 have moved on to play professional baseball.
St. John’s has been blessed with unprecedented continuity when it comes to Head Coaches. They’ve had only three since 1956 and they have all gone on to be inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Blankmeyer was induced in 2018, joining Jack Kaiser and Joe Russo.
Additionally, he coached Team USA Collegiate Baseball Team in 2015.
It is unclear who his replacement will be. Opening Day is just over one month away as they open up on February 14 against Kennesaw State. They are expected to make an announcement by the end of the week.
