Mark Kingston (baseball)

Mark Kingston
Current position
TitleAssociate head coach
TeamCreighton
ConferenceBig East
Annual salary$600,000[1]
Biographical details
Born (1970-05-16) May 16, 1970 (age 54)
Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Playing career
1989–1992North Carolina
1992Helena Brewers
1993Peoria Chiefs
1993Geneva Cubs
1994Daytona Cubs
1995Orlando Cubs
1995Daytona Cubs
1996Orlando Cubs
1997Grays Harbor Gulls
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1999Illinois State (Asst.)
2000–2001Miami (FL) (Asst.)
2002–2008Tulane (Asst.)
2009Illinois State (Asst.)
2010–2014Illinois State
2015–2017South Florida
2018–2024South Carolina
2025–presentCreighton (associate HC)
Head coaching record
Overall490–335–1 (.594)
TournamentsNCAA: 12–14
American: 2–4
MVC: 13–6
SEC: 2–5
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
2× MVC Coach of the Year (2010, 2013)

Mark Kingston (born May 16, 1970) is an American college baseball coach who is currently the associate head coach at Creighton University. He was previously the head coach at the University of South Carolina, the University of South Florida and Illinois State University.[2][3][4][5]

Playing career

Kingston played high school baseball at Potomac High School in Dumfries, Virginia where he was a Collegiate Baseball Top 50 recruit, and was drafted out of high school by the New York Yankees in the 35th round of the 1988 MLB Draft. Choosing instead to play college ball at North Carolina, he played four seasons, helping the team to an Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title and berth in the 1989 College World Series in his freshman year. He was drafted in the 45th round of the 1992 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. After playing rookie ball in the Brewers organization, he played four additional seasons in the Chicago Cubs organization, reaching Class-AA, and one season with the independent league Grays Harbor Gulls.

Coaching career

After his playing days were over, Kingston was hired as an assistant coach at Purdue. He was promoted to the top assistant position after two seasons, and then served one year at Illinois State. He then served two seasons at Miami (FL), where he helped guide the team to the 2001 College World Series title, produced two All-Americans, and saw 18 players sign professional contracts. He then moved to Tulane as recruiting coordinator, where six of his seven classes were ranked in the Top 25 nationally by Collegiate Baseball. The Green Wave reached the 2005 College World Series as the top seed, and earned academic honors in Omaha. In 2009, Kingston served as associate head coach at Illinois State before being elevated to the top job the following season.

Kingston was named the head coach at South Florida ahead of the 2015 season. Kingston coached at USF from 2015 to 2017 and led the Bulls to a pair of NCAA Regional appearances.

On June 30, 2017, Kingston was named the head baseball coach at South Carolina, becoming the 30th head coach in program history. Despite inheriting a team that failed to reach the postseason the year before, Kingston led the Gamecocks to an NCAA Regional crown and an NCAA Super Regional appearance in his first year at the helm. Kingston was relieved of his head coaching position on June 3rd, 2024.

On June 17, 2024, Kingston was named the associate head coach/head coach in waiting for Creighton. He will serve under Ed Servais, who will be going into his 22nd and final season as head coach of the Bluejays in 2025.[6]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Illinois State Redbirds (Missouri Valley Conference) (2010–2014)
2010 Illinois State 32–24 (.571) 15–6 (.714) T–1st Louisville Regional
2011 Illinois State 36–18 (.667) 13–8 (.619) 3rd
2012 Illinois State 33–19 (.635) 10–9 (.526) 4th
2013 Illinois State 39–19 (.672) 16–5 (.762) 1st
2014 Illinois State 33–22 (.600) 10–11 (.476) 5th
Illinois State: 173–102 (.629) 64–39 (.621)
South Florida Bulls (American Athletic Conference) (2015–2017)
2015 South Florida 34–26–1 (.566) 13–11 (.542) T–3rd Gainesville Regional
2016 South Florida 24–33 (.421) 8–16 (.333) T–7th
2017 South Florida 42–19 (.689) 14–10 (.583) T–3rd Gainesville Regional
South Florida: 100–78–1 (.561) 35–37 (.486)
South Carolina (Southeastern Conference) (2018–2024)
2018 South Carolina 37–26 (.587) 17–13 (.567) 3rd (East) Fayetteville Super Regional
2019 South Carolina 28–28 (.500) 8–22 (.267) 5th (East)
2020 South Carolina 12–4 (.750) 0–0 (.000) (East) Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021 South Carolina 34–23 (.596) 16–14 (.533) 4th (East) Columbia Regional
2022 South Carolina 27–28 (.491) 13–17 (.433) 5th (East)
2023 South Carolina 42–21 (.667) 16–13 (.552) 3rd (East) Gainesville Super Regional
2024 South Carolina 37–25 (.597) 13–17 (.433) 5th (East) Raleigh Regional
South Carolina: 217–155 (.583) 83–96 (.464)
Total: 490–335–1 (.594)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

See also

References

  1. ^ "2018 'Autonomy 5' Baseball Head Coach Compensation Survey". July 2018.
  2. ^ "Mark Kingston Bio". Illinois State Redbirds. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  3. ^ "Mark Kingston Bio". Tulane Green Wave. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  4. ^ Aaron Fitt (July 24, 2008). "Illinois State Hires Kingston". Baseball America. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  5. ^ "Kingston, Razo and Kay lead MVC honors for Illinois State baseball". WJBC. May 21, 2013.
  6. ^ Anderson, Jake (June 17, 2024). "Creighton baseball names Mark Kingston as coach-in-waiting to replace Ed Servais". KETV. Omaha, NE. Retrieved June 18, 2024.