Oct. 27, 2003
FAIRFAX, VA ... George Mason University baseball head coach Bill Brown has announced Shawn Stiffler, who spent the past two seasons as the program's No. 2 assistant coach, has been promoted to be the team's top assistant coach. He replaces Joe Raccuia, who left after four seasons to become the head coach at Marist College.
Stiffler, 24, will coordinate George Mason's recruiting efforts and assist Brown in the management of all aspects of the Patriot baseball program. He also will continue as the team's pitching coach.
Stiffler joined the George Mason staff for the 2002 season as he made the natural progression from being one of the most intelligent and dedicated pitchers on the George Mason staff. He earned his B.A. degree in communication in December 2001 after completing a solid four-year Patriot career from 1998-2001.
In his first season as a coach in 2002, Stiffler guided the Patriot mound corps to a 4.73 team earned run average, its lowest since 1995 and the fifth-lowest since the program moved to the NCAA Division I level in 1980. Last season, George Mason set a school record for fewest walks in a season with 138 and had a 2.5:1 ratio in strikeouts to walks (339:138). The 273 runs the Patriots allowed were the fewest since 1993 and the eighth-lowest total in Mason's Division I history. George Mason finished the 2003 campaign with a 31-20 overall record, the program's first 30-win season since 1999, and advanced to the championship game at the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament.
"It is exciting for me to be able to elevate Shawn into the No. 1 assistant's position," said Brown, who enters his 23rd year as the Patriot head coach and has a career record of 602-553-5. "He has earned the promotion with his tireless work ethic, outstanding baseball knowledge and the ability to communicate both with recruits and the players within our program. Shawn has unlimited career potential ahead of him in college baseball, and we are fortunate he is a part of the Mason baseball program."
Over the past six years, Stiffler has been an instructor at various showcase camps. These include the Northern Virginia Baseball Showcase and the Virginia Wesleyan Fall Expo, and he has been the director of the Bill Brown Baseball Camp at George Mason. In 2003, he was the manager for the Vienna Mustangs in the Clark C. Griffith Collegiate Baseball League, a local wood-bat summer league for college-level players.
A native of Somerset, PA, Stiffler is a 1997 graduate of Somerset High School. He had an outstanding four-year career for the Golden Eagles, posting a 6-1 record with a 1.54 ERA as a senior after going 6-0 with a 1.62 ERA as a junior. He earned honorable mention All-America honors from USA Today as a senior and was drafted in the 53rd round by the Minnesota Twins. A first-team all-county and All-Laurel Highlands Conference selection as a junior, Stiffler was selected to participate in the Team One National Showcase in Cincinnati. He also played three years on the basketball team at Somerset, earning all-county and all-conference honors.
Stiffler is a member of an athletic family. His grandfather, Tom Qualters, appeared in 34 major league games from 1953-58, and his uncle played college baseball at Clemson. Stiffler's father, Robert, played college basketball.
