University of Pennsylvania Athletics

Josh Schwartz joined the Penn baseball coaching staff in July 2013 as the pitching coach after spending six successful seasons in the same position at Gloucester County College. During his tenure, the Roadrunners won two NJCAA Division III National Championships (2010, 2013). He also helped develop seven All-American pitchers.

At Penn, Schwartz has coached the last three Ivy League Pitchers of the Year: Christian Scafidi in 2019; Kevin Eaise, a unanimous selection in 2022; and Ryan Dromboski in 2023. (Penn played just eight games in 2020 and 14 in 2021 due to Ivy League regulations regarding COVID-19.)

Following two seasons cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, Penn set a slew of program records in 2022 and 2023, most notably breaking the 30-win plateau for the first time in program history with 33 victories in 2022 and 34 in 2023. That included a program-record 17 wins in Ivy League play in 2022 and 16 more in 2023 as Penn won the Ivy League regular-season title both years and took 13 of 14 conference series across the two seasons. Under Schwartz' tutelage, the Quaker pitching staff struck out 484 batters in 2022 (shattering the previous mark of 358 set in 2018), then broke that record again in 2023 with 520 punchouts (235 in Ivy play). In 2022, Joe Miller became just the second pitcher in program history to strike out more than 80 batters in a season, finishing the year with 91, and then a year later Dromboski set the program mark with 97 K's while Cole Zaffiro also hit 80 for the season and Owen Coady fell one shy of the mark with 79.

The 2023 was a particularly dominant season in the program annals, as Dromboski (.197), Coady (.209) and Zaffiro (.211) went 1-2-3 in overall opponent batting average and Carson Ozmer finished with a league-high six saves (four of them in Ivy play). All four of them earned All-Ivy with Dromboski and Zaffiro earning first-team honors, Coady getting second-team, and Ozmer earning honorable mention recognition. As a team, Penn's ERA was by far the lowest among the Ancient Eight programs both overall (4.15) and in Ivy play (3.29). 

In a shortened 2020 season, Penn's pitching staff posted an Ivy League-low ERA (4.00) with 62 strikeouts, 41 walks, and held opponents to a league-low .224 batting average. 
 
Entering the 2019 season with a trio of experienced starting pitchers, Schwartz was able to strike fear in Ivy League opposition with one of the best weekend rotations among Ancient Eight teams. Leading the rotation was the Quakers’ junior ace Christian Scafidi, who was named the Ivy League and Big 5’s Pitcher of the Year. Scafidi finished the season with the League’s lowest ERA (2.62) and finished the season with one of the conference’s best strikeout/walk ratios (45 K’s/9 BB’s). Scafidi and fellow junior starter Mitch Holcomb both finished the season with a 6-1 record after nine starts.
 
Following the loss of multiple pitchers to the MLB Draft, Schwartz was tasked with rebuilding the Quakers' bullpen nearly from scratch in 2018. The lone returning starter -- senior Gabe Kleiman -- anchored the group while several young arms developed, eventually leading to a dangerous staff eight deep. By year end, the 2018 Quakers had set a new bar for program strikeouts (358), surpassing last season's group by eight. Amongst the Ivy League, Penn finished second in ERA (4.63) and first in strikeouts, tossed four complete games and wrapped up the season with one shutout (at Yale, 5/13). Unsurprisingly, Kleiman served as the group's top performer, closing out the season with two complete games, a team-high 69 strikeouts -- good for 10th all-time in program history -- and 70.1 innings pitched.
 
Schwartz graduated his first class of pitchers on the staff in 2017, and saw the staff finish second in the Ivy League with a 4.16 ERA. The Quakers ran away with the strikeout lead, totaling 350 in 45 games to set a new all-time program record. The staff also posted three complete-game shutouts and three pitchers earned Ivy League or Big 5 Pitcher of the Week honors. Schwartz oversaw two All-Ivy performers in unanimous first-team selection Jake Cousins and honorable mention recipient Gabe Kleiman. Cousins' seven wins on the season gave him 20 for his career, ranking third on the program's all-time wins list while his 2.91 career ERA ranks sixth. Adam Bleday's 74 strikeouts on the year are the sixth-most in a single season in program history.
 
In 2016, Schwartz helped the Quakers to a 3.99 ERA, good for second in the Ivy League. Under his tutelage, Gabe Kleiman won Philadelphia Big Five Student-Athlete of the Year, as well as All-Ivy and All-Big Five selections.
 
In 2015, Penn finished with a 22-15 overall record, with a 16-4 Ivy League mark. The 16 wins in league play were the most in program history. The Quakers fell to Columbia, 4-2, in a playoff game to determine the Ivy League Gehrig Division title.
 
On the mound, the Quakers led the Ivy League in earned run average (3.34) setting a new mark besting the 2014 season for the lowest in Head Coach John Yurkow's association with the program. Penn also lead the league in WHIP (1.30), and finished with 209 strikeouts, averaging 6.53 per game.
 
Senior catcher Austin Bossart was named Co-Ivy League Player of the Year, the first under Yurkow, and the fifth in program history. He was also a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award recognizing the nation's best catcher.
 
The Quakers had five players selected First-team All-Ivy, three Second-team All-Ivy, and two named All-Ivy Honorable mention. The 10 players recognized as All-Ivy is the most in program history, breaking last season’s mark of nine players earning All-Ivy recognition.
 
In 2014, Penn finished tied atop the Ivy League Gehrig Division at the end of the regular season and faced off against Columbia, falling 4-0, in a one game playoff for the right to play in the Ivy League Championship series.
 
A program record nine players were named All-Ivy at the end of the season, with four first-team selections, two second-team selections, and three named honorable mention. Throughout the course of the spring, the Quakers earned four Ivy League Player of the Week awards, also a program record.
 
Schwartz's pitching staff recorded a 3.60 earned run average in 2014. The Quakers also led the Ivy League in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.21) and were second in the league in strikeouts per nine innings (7.3).
 
As a player, Schwartz was a three-time All-America pitcher at Division III Rowan from 2002-05. During his time as an undergrad, he set the All-Division NCAA mark for consecutive victories with 37. Upon graduation, Schwartz went on to be drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals and played one season in their minor league system. He followed that with another season of professional ball with the New Jersey Jackals of the CAM-AM Independent League before joining GCC’s staff.