A.J. Miller ‘11, a former Patriot League Player of the Year with the Leopards, begins his fourth season as the program's head coach.
In 2025, coach Miller mentored five All-Patriot League selections, including Michael Zarrillo, who broke the Lafayette career home run record, hitting 24 home runs.
In his first year at the helm of the Leopards program, Miller led the Maroon and White to the Patriot League Tournament, with Pete Ciuffreda, Michael Zarrillo and Alex Walsh all being selected to the All-Patriot League First Team. Also in 2023, Pete Ciuffreda broke Lafayette's single-season home run record, blasting 13 home runs.
In his second season, Miller helped Ethan Swidler and Blaze Fadio garner All-Patriot League honors.
Prior to returning to College Hill, Miller spent seven seasons on the coaching staff at Lehigh University, holding titles of assistant coach, recruiting coordinator and associate head coach, during his tenure in Bethlehem.
In 2022, under Miller’s tutelage, Casey Rother became the first back-to-back Patriot League Player of the Year since Navy’s Marcus Lee in 1993-94. In addition, five players were named All-Patriot League selections, including sluggers Rother, Adam Retzbach, Joe Gorla and Tyler Young. Miller played an integral role in the development of Adam Retzbach, helping him claim the Patriot league home run title and be selected in the 13th round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Baltimore Orioles. Miller’s Lehigh offense once again paced the Patriot League in home runs with 47, along with 102 doubles, a .449 slugging percentage and a second place finish with 486 hits and 307 RBIs.
Miller helped guide the Mountain Hawks to one of their best seasons in program history in 2021, earning the program's third Patriot League Regular Season Title, claiming the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. Lehigh finished the year 24-19 with a winning record for the first time since 2014, and had the most Patriot League wins in program history, with 17. With Miller's help, Mason Black became the program's first Patriot League Pitcher of the Year selection since 2002 and Casey Rother was named Patriot League Player of the Year. Eight Mountain Hawks earned All-Patriot League selections, a program record. In addition, two pitchers, Mason Black and Matt Svanson, were selected in the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft.
Miller returned to Lehigh in 2019 after spending 2017 and 2018 as 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. In his first season back at Lehigh, Miller guided the Mountain Hawks' offense back to the top of the Patriot League, smashing 38 home runs and were ranked second in slugging percentage. His offensive-minded coaching style helped garner First Team All-Patriot League selections for both Tony Gallo and Ryan Malloy, as well as a Second Team selection for Jeff Shanfeldt.
In his second season with the Mountain Hawks, Miller's offense led the Patriot League in home runs with 53. Coming in second was Navy and Lafayette, who both hit 35 homers that season.
During his first season at Lehigh, Miller coached the Mountain Hawk bats to a .285 batting average that ranked second best in the Patriot League and a league-leading .424 slugging percentage. Four position players earned All-Patriot League laurels, including Patriot League Player of the Year Mike Garzillo, who was selected by the Miami Marlins in the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft.
A three-year starting catcher for the Leopards, Miller was the Patriot League Player of the year in 2011. 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 RBIs 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 the 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 two daughters, Charlotte and Lucy.
Updated 6/25
