Head Coach Matt Midkiff

Matt Midkiff
Head Coach

Matt Midkiff is entering his 10th season as the head baseball coach at Swarthmore in 2021. During his tenure, Midkiff has led the Garnet to a 194-133-1 record with seven winning seasons, and a career record of 248-220-3 in 12 seasons at the college level.

In 2022, the Garnet returned from a nearly two year hiatus to win the second Centennial Conference Championship in program history, both under Midkiff's leadership. The Garnet were 23-19 but secured a 14-4 record to go along with a first place finish in the league.

Over the 2019 and the shortened 2020 season, Midkiff and the Garnet secured a 37-14 record with six wins over top-25 teams during that span, including a win over No. 1 Wooster. 

In 2018, Midkiff led the Garnet to the best season in school history. The Garnet won a school-record 38 games including 15 in the Centennial Conference, securing the No. 1 seed in the conference playoffs. The Garnet won the school’s first conference title, defeating Johns Hopkins 4-3 in 11 innings at Clothier Field on May 6. The Garnet went on to win the NCAA Regional in Auburn, New York, by sweeping all four games, advancing to compete in the Division III World Series in Appleton, Wisconsin. In Appleton, Swarthmore went 1-2 and finished the season with a final ranking of No. 6 in the country, another school best. For this success, Midkiff was named Centennial Conference Coach of the Year, D3Baseball.com Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year and ABCA Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year.

During his tenure, Midkiff has coached 33 all-conference players, one Centennial Conference Player of the Year, 12 all-region and three All-Americans. He picked up his 150th win as Swarthmore’s head coach against Ursinus College on April 7, 2019.

Midkiff, formerly an assistant baseball coach at Swarthmore, returned to the college after serving as the head baseball coach at Eastern University from 2009 to 2012.

At Eastern, Midkiff resurrected a struggling baseball program, guiding the Eagles to a pair of 20-win seasons during his four-year tenure. Midkiff was named the MAC-Freedom Conference Coach of the Year in 2010 after leading the Eagles to a school-record 21 victories, which marked an 18-game improvement from the previous season. During his stint at Eastern, Midkiff also served as director of marketing and promotions and designed the baseball program's first alumni game and spring break community service project.

Prior to Eastern, Midkiff served as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Swarthmore for two seasons (2007-08). During his two-year stint, Midkiff helped recruit seven student-athletes that would go on to earn All-Centennial Conference honors over their careers. Midkiff was also the department's strength and conditioning intern, developing a strong and collaborative relationship with coaches, student-athletes and administrators.

A native of Brandon, Florida, Midkiff played collegiately at the University of South Florida and Wilkes University. During his junior season at Wilkes, he was named first team All-Freedom Conference as a utility player. After graduating from Wilkes, Midkiff remained at his alma mater to begin his baseball coaching career and earn his MBA in marketing.

Midkiff lives with his wife, Kelly, son, Brooks, and daughter, Paisley. Kelly was a four-year letter winner in lacrosse at Old Dominion University.