 
|
Fred Batchelor enters his seventh season as women's basketball head coach at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
Batchelor is the winningest coach in UMES women's basketball history. Under his leadership, the Lady Hawks have compiled over 70 wins and are 49-37 in MEAC play. His ultimate goal is to lead UMES to the NCAA tournament by building a program that exemplifies high character, exceptional talent and a diligent work ethic.
Last season, the Lady Hawks posted their fourth winning conference record and advanced to the MEAC tournament semifinals. It was also the first time in over 18 years that UMES women's basketball has had back-to-back winning seasons. The 2008-2009 season also saw April McBride receive First Team All-MEAC recognition for the second consecutive year.
Batchelor's staff has recruited and developed four student-athletes who finished their freshman season on the MEAC All-Rookie Team, including local standout Casey Morton, who was 2007-08 Rookie of the Year. He also coached Kristi Veltkamp, the MEAC's inaugural Defensive Player of the Year in 2006.
Batchelor has over 20 years of coaching experience at a variety of levels. Having coached men's basketball for half of his career, he has served as head coach of Villa Maria Junior College where he took that program from zero to double-digit wins in just one season.
He also served as a men's assistant at the University at Buffalo. He returned to his alma mater, Buffalo State College, to serve as the interim men's head coach. At the conclusion of that year, he was named the women's basketball head coach at Buffalo State, where he has experienced his most success as a collegiate head coach.
He led his team to a school-record 25 wins and was the first African-American coach in both men's and women's basketball to win the State University of New York Athletic Conference championship in its 60-plus-year existence. As a result, he was voted SUNYAC Coach of the Year. He also guided the Bengals to an NCAA Division III tournament appearance.
Before coming to UMES, he also served as women's head coach at Elizabeth City State where he lead thr Vikings to a third-place finish along with a semifinal CIAA tournament appearance.
Batchelor received his Bachelor's degree from Valley Forge Christian College where he was a two-time National Christian College All-American point guard recording over 1,600 points and over 800 assists. He was recently inducted into VFCC's Athletic Hall of Fame.
He also earned his Master's degree in Multi-disciplinary Studies (with a concentration in Educational Leadership) from Buffalo State.
Batchelor resides in Virginia Beach, Va., with his wife, Odette, and their two children, Trey and Tiara. |
|||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
