Brad Babcock

Bradley Littleton Babcock (March 10, 1939 – June 2, 2020) was an American college baseball coach, the head coach of James Madison (JMU) from 1971 to 1989. Under him, the Dukes appeared in five NCAA tournaments (four in Division I) and the 1983 College World Series. His overall record in 19 seasons was 555–251–4, including a home record of 339–71–1.

Coaching career After graduating from Lynchburg College in 1963, Babcock worked as a high school baseball coach in Colorado, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

James Madison started its baseball program in 1970, shortly after it became co-educational. Babcock took over in 1971, its second season. It started out as an NCAA Division II program but joined Division I for the 1977 season.

In 1983, the Dukes became the first Virginia school to make the College World Series (CWS). The Dukes opened the season with an exhibition game against the St. Louis Cardinals. After losing in the ECAC Tournament, many players returned home, thinking the season was over, but the team was given an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. JMU went 4–0 in the East Regional to reach the CWS, where it lost games to Texas and Stanford in Omaha.

Head coaching record Below is a table of Babcock's yearly records as a collegiate head baseball coach.

Administrative career After stepping down from the baseball coach position following the 1989 season, Babcock worked in JMU's athletic department. He was added to the department's Hall of Fame in 1998. He retired as executive association athletic director in 2003.

Personal Babcock's son Whit is the athletic director at Virginia Tech; he previously held the same position at Cincinnati. Whit was the batboy on the 1983 College World Series team and played for Babcock in 1989, his final season as JMU's head coach. Babcock died on June 2, 2020, at the age of 81.