The W. Joseph Blood Head Coach of Baseball holds the top spot at Penn among all sports with 623 career victories. Combined with his soccer victories, Seddon has recorded an impressive 777 career wins during his time at Penn. He is the longest-tenured Ivy League baseball coach and holds the record for most career victories. The Ivy League veteran owns 294 career Ivy League/Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League (EIBL) wins and five Ivy/EIBL titles. Seddon is also among the Top 50 winningest active baseball coaches in NCAA Division I. On the soccer side, Seddon guided the Quakers to three Ivy League championships, six NCAA tournament appearances and a 154-70-27 mark in his 19 years as head coach.
Seddon eclipsed the 600-win plateau during the 2003 season as the Red and Blue finished in second place in the Lou Gehrig division of the Ivy League for the second consecutive season, just three games behind Princeton for a slot in the play-offs. The Quakers all-time leader in victories (623), Seddon coached six All-Ivy players last season, including four first-teamers. Seniors Andrew McCreery and Nick Italiano received their sceond nod in as many years, while sophomores Nate Moffie and Brian Winings made their first appearance on the post season team. Senior Steve Glass was named to the All-Ivy second-team and classmate Ben Krantz received honorable mention.
In 2003, Penn won six of 11 Ivy League games down the stretch falling just three games short of taking the Lou Gehrig Division. The Quakers finished the year second in the league in team batting average (.301). They hit the third most home runs in the Ancient Eight last year, knocking 31 over the wall. The Red and Blue collected 22 wins in 2003, the fourth most in school history. Penn pitchers worked 318.2 innings striking out 271 batters.
After more than three decades as an Ivy League choach, Seddon looks to his love of the game and his ability to change with the times as a way to stay fresh.
"If you’re into baseball and love it you can change with the game and you have to because the game changes all the time," Seddon said.
“I have as much enthusiasm as ever. I am blessed to have been able to coach for this long. It’s not a job to me.”
Many people have been touched just by having known "9" (Seddon's nickname) and he has made an impact on a number of athletes' playing careers with his talent and enthusiasm for Penn and its storied baseball program. Under Seddon's tutelage, three players have been named Ivy League/EIBL Pitcher of the Year - Doug Smidt (1988), Craig Connolly (1989 and 1990) and Ed Haughey (1995); three players were named Ivy League Player of the Year - Mike Shannon (1996), Chris May (2001) and Andrew McCreery (2003); five Ivy League Blair Batting Championships have been earned - Ben Breier (1990, .500), Mike Shannon (1996, .469), Mark Nagata (1997, .481), May (2001, .455) and McCreery (2002, .417); five trips to the NCAA Baseball Championships were made (1975, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1995) and 49 players have been named First-Team All-EIBL/Ivy League during his tenure.
Seddon currently has a pair of former Quakers active in Major League Baseball with Doug Glanville (1989-91) playing for the Texas Rangers and Mark DeRosa (1994-96) playing with the Atlanta Braves. Four players off last year’s squad were either drafted or signed to a major league organization. Nick Italiano (Phillies), Andrew McCreery (Diamondbacks), Russ Beocato (Orioles) were drafted and Ben Krantz (Diamondbacks) was signed as a free-agent later.
In the last six seasons, Seddon has had 30 players named All-Ivy League and three players have hit over .400 for the season (Mark Nagata in 1997, Drew Corradini in 1998 and Nick Italiano in 2000).
The more things change the more they stay the same and even know the goal is still to win the Ivy, the way to get there is a little different. “There is so much more emphasis on strength and conditioning now. Before it was a little, now it is 100 percent,” Seddon added, “More athletes are one-sport athletes now.”
In 1996 and 1997, Penn tied for first in the Gehrig Division. In 1995, the team not only won the division, but the Ivy League Championship as well. Penn has recorded 20 wins in five of its' last eight seasons, pushing Seddon's 20 or more winning seasons to 13. He was also in the dugout when sophomore Sean McDonald became the first Penn pitcher since 1992 to throw a no-hitter as he held Cornell hitless on April 16, 1998. In 1994, Seddon guided the Quakers to a first-place finish in the Gehrig Division of the Ivy League with a 14-6 league record.
To culminate Seddon's 30th season in 1999 at the helm of the Quakers’ baseball program, Penn traveled to Italy to play seven games against various Italian national teams. The Quakers fared well overseas as Seddon guided his squad to a 5-1-1 record during the two-week tour.
Seddon is a 1956 graduate of Springfield (Mass.) College, where he lettered in baseball, hockey and soccer and earned All-New England soccer honors his senior year. Following graduation, he served as an assistant baseball coach at his alma mater and at Northfield-Mount Hermon Prep. In 1958, Seddon became the head baseball and soccer coach at Hackensack (N.J.) High School, where he guided the soccer program to a 115-28-8 record, including five Northern New Jersey crowns and a state title.
Ten years later, Seddon launched his collegiate coaching career at the University of Pennsylvania, assuming the position of head soccer coach in 1968 and taking over the baseball program three years later. In his 19 seasons as head coach, Seddon guided the Quaker soccer team to three Ivy League championships, six NCAA tournament appearances and a 154-70-27 mark before stepping down in 1986.
Most recently, Seddon was inducted into the Bergen County (N.J.) Soccer Hall of Fame, the South Jersey Soccer Hall of Fame and the New Jersey State Soccer Hall of Fame.
Seddon currently resides in Moorestown, N.J.
