EASTON, Pa. - A.J. Miller '11, a former Patriot League Player of the Year with the Leopards, has been named head coach of the Lafayette baseball team.
"After an extremely competitive search, we are excited to welcome A.J. home to become the next head coach of our baseball program," said Lafayette Director of Athletics Sherryta Freeman. "Throughout the process, he was able to demonstrate his readiness to lead and his passion for Lafayette College."
Miller recently spent seven years on the baseball staff at Lehigh University, holding titles of assistant coach, recruiting coordinator and associate head coach during his tenure.
He was promoted to associate head coach in June 2021 while serving as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator from 2018-21. In the 2021 campaign, he helped guide the Mountain Hawks to one of their best seasons in program history with a 24-19 mark and a 17-10 clip in conference play that resulted in a Patriot League regular-season title.
"My family and I are extremely excited to come back home to Lafayette College! It is a true honor to be named Lafayette baseball's next head coach, and I would like to thank Sherryta Freeman, Andrew Foster, Mike Chamberlain, and the rest of the search committee for this incredible opportunity," Miller said. "My time on the hill as a player certainly played a role in the coach and person I am today, and I am excited to share those experiences with the team."
From 2017-18, Miller was the director of college advisement and director of the futures program at the All Star Baseball Academy in West Chester, Pa., where he oversaw 19 program teams and showcases on the East Coast.
His stint at the All Star Baseball Academy followed two seasons (2016-17) as an assistant coach at Lehigh under current coach Sean Leary.
Senior Associate Athletic Director Andrew Foster, who is in his eighth year at the College, headed the search for the Leopards' new coach.
"We are extremely excited to welcome A.J. and his family back to College Hill," Foster said. "He was an exceptional student-athlete with a storied career and will be an excellent leader and role model for our student-athletes. Thank you to all the members of our Leopard family who assisted us throughout the interview process."
In his time with the Leopards' rival, Miller coached eight major League Baseball draft picks, three Patriot League Players of the Year, one Patriot League Pitcher of the Year, a Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year, one All-American and 26 all-conference honorees.
A three-year starting catcher for the Leopards, Miller was the Patriot League Player of the year in 2011 and earned Lafayette's esteemed Charles L. Albert '08 Award as the top senior male student-athlete. He also accumulated CollegeBaseballInsider.com Honorable Mention All-America status and a spot on the Johnny Bench Award Watch List. In his final campaign he hit for a .385 average with 52 RBI and a .705 slugging percentage. Miller was a .313 career hitter and remains tied for the program record with 22 career home runs while ranking 10th in career games played with 155.
After his Lafayette career, Miller went on to play professional baseball for the Normal Cornbelters of the Frontier League and Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.
A native of Manasquan, N.J, Miller earned a B.A. in economics and business from Lafayette in 2011 and added a master's of education degree in educational leadership from Lehigh in 2021. Miller is married to his wife, Jaclyn, a 2013 Lafayette graduate, and the couple has a daughter, Charlotte.
Miller replaces Tim Reilly who spent two seasons as head coach for the Leopards.
