Ex-MLBer named new Manhattan baseball coach

Former Major League Baseball player David Miller was officially introduced as Manhattan College’s new head baseball coach on Sept. 8.

Miller, former head coach of La Salle University (another Lasallian Christian Brothers institution) and Penn-State University Abington, inherits the team after Mike Cole departed. Cole now serves as the top assistant at Army West Point under head coach Chris Tracz.

“We are excited to welcome David Miller to the Jasper family and to our Bronx campus to lead our baseball program,” said Manhattan College Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Marianne Reilly. “David is a proven winner at all levels of baseball with a history of success at LaSalle and Penn State Abington.

“Having someone who values and understands our Lasallian heritage, while being a dominant player themselves, will ensure our program is set up for success. We look forward to him taking our storied and historic baseball program to new heights at Manhattan College.”

Miller, a former first round draft pick for the Cleveland Indians in 1995, spent more than a decade playing in the MLB and has an additional 15 years of professional baseball experience as a coach, recruiter and businessman.

Before coming to Manhattan College, Miller earned the Coach of the Year title in the Atlantic 10 Conference while coaching at La Salle in 2021, and again in the United East Conference while coaching at Penn State Abington last year. Miller has produced 15 all-conference players during his tenure and continuously produced winning seasons for these schools.

“I’ve never been more excited to start a job in my life than I am to get going here today,” Miller said.

Miller spoke on his commitment to turning Manhattan baseball into a championship team and a “destination program” for college potentials. His goals include winning MAAC championships, regionals, and hopefully lead Manhattan to see a college World Series.

“I want my team to know what it means to love practice,” Miller said. “All of our work gets done in practice. I’m not talking about the past anymore but we took an 8-win team at La Salle to a 32-win team in three years. Manhattan is right there.”

Miller shared that after spending four years coaching at a Lasallian institution, the values of Manhattan College are what drew him to the school.

“I’m a firm believer that God puts you where he wants you,” Miller said. “My little round about way to get to Manhattan is just what I needed to get the juices flowing again, and to get super excited about building a championship team.”