blank

Fred Batchelor

Position: Head Coach Alma Mater (Yr.): Valley Forge Christian College (`88)

Fred Batchelor enters his ninth 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 107 wins, are 73-61 (.545) in MEAC play and have posted .500 or better in the conference seven of the last eight seasons. 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.

The Lady Hawks matched their win total and MEAC record from the previous year during the 2011-12 season, going 12-18 with an 8-8 conference standing, finishing in 6th place in the MEAC with one of the strongest defenses in the country. Led by Adobi Agbasi, who averaged 3.7 blocks a game to finish third in all of Division I women's basketball, UMES allowed just 53.9 points per game and allowed opponents to shoot just 33.7%, the ladder being the sixth best in the NCAA. UMES defeated Savannah State 51-28 in the first round of the MEAC Tournament, earning the strongest defensive performance ever in the MEAC Tournament. The Lady Hawks were just short of an upset of 3-seed Florida A&M in the second round.

In the 2010-11 season, the Lady Hawks saw Casey Morton become the fourth player in UMES women's basketball history to score 1,000 points, earning it on January 5th, 2011 against Savannah State. She finished her career with 1,230 points. The team went 12-19 and went 8-8 in MEAC, marking the fourth straight season the Lady Hawks have gone .500 or better in conference play. UMES once again took the seventh seed in the MEAC Tournament, repeating last year's result with a victory over 10-seed Delaware State before a close loss to 2-seed Morgan State in the following round.

The 2009-10 season saw UMES finish with a 12-16 overall record (8-8 in conference). The Lady Hawks earned the seventh seed in the MEAC Tournament, defeating No. 10 Delaware State in the opening round before falling to eventual tournament champion Hampton in the quarterfinal round.

In 2008-09, 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 had back-to-back winning seasons. The 2008-09 season also saw April McBride receive First Team All-MEAC recognition for the second of three straight years. McBride exhausted her eligibility following 2009-10 as arguably one of the best players in UMES women's basketball history. She scored 1,698 career points, second all-time at the school and was a three-time First Team All-MEAC selection.

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 the 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.

Collegiate Head Coaching Record: Fred Batchelor