FN Speaks With New Baseball HC Jayson King
By: Edward Perez – Staff Writer
The University of Dayton recently announced former associate head coach at Army, Jayson King, as the newest head coach for Dayton Flyers baseball.
King replaces Tony Vittorio who coached Dayton Flyer Baseball for 18 years and led the team to their first Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship in 2012.
In a press release published on the official website of Dayton Flyer Athletics, UD Director of Athletics Neil Sullivan said “[King] is a proven winner, a proven recruiter and a proven teacher of the game. [He] shared a vision of excellence, on and off the field, that meets our standards at the University of Dayton.”
Flyer News spoke to Coach King Wednesday to get to know him a little more.
King grew up in Canton, Massachusetts, a town in Norfolk County that is a part of Greater Boston.
“I grew up playing a whole bunch of sports but baseball was the sport that gave me the best opportunity to play in college,” King said.
King played baseball for Framingham State University where he was team captain and received an Unsung Hero Award.
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As an athlete, King said he was always eager to learn as much as he could about the sport to improve and contribute to the team.
“I always was one to put in the extra work,” King said. “I wanted to learn the game to the next level and back then we would figure a lot of stuff out on our own.”
King believes a lot the skills and traits he developed as an athlete transferred over into his career as a coach.
“The work ethic, the passion for the game, and some leadership stuff being a captain, that stuff all translated over,” King said.
King now boasts 20 years as a head coach, 18 of which were spent at Franklin Pierce University, where he sealed his term with a record of 675-338-3.
King’s career highlights include 10 Northeast-10 Conference Championships for the Franklin Pierce Ravens, seven trips to the NCAA Division II College World Series, and earning the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Northeast Region Coach of the Year honor seven times.
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Now a Flyer, King says he excited to join a program that competes at the highest level.
“There were just a lot of things that would resonate [with me],” King said. “The community would be important, academics would be important, and the development of the whole person: the spirit, mind, and body. That’s kind of the philosophy I’ve always had.”
King added that the move to Dayton fell in line with everything he hoped to accomplish and has been smooth thus far. He says he is appreciative of the support he has gotten from the UD’s Department of Athletics and described them as incredible
“One of the most important things too is the people and [a real family atmosphere],” King said. “For me, it’s about family and playing baseball and I feel that both of those things are being done at the highest level at Dayton.
King’s short-term vision is to win the A-10 Tournament. He added that the ultimate goal for anyone to who hopes to be successful in his position would be to take the team to the College World Series.
“We’re going to work hard and we’re going to train and do everything right in hopes that it leads us to a lot of championships,” King said. “We want the coaches and the players alike to have that type of vision.”
Photo Courtesy of collegebaseballdaily.com and daytonbaseball twitter.