Chris Blum, the all-time winningest baseball coach in KU history, completed his 16th season leading the Golden Bears in 2018.
Blum has amassed a 497-308 (.617) overall record in his career, including a 207-172 (.546) mark in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). He has led KU to four PSAC Championships, three (North) Atlantic Regional titles, and 10 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. KU won PSAC titles in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2014, and won regional titles in 2004, 2007 and 2010.
A three-time PSAC Coach of the Year, Blum has guided three PSAC Athlete of the Year honorees, two Pitchers of the Year, three Freshmen of the Year and 59 All-PSAC selections.
On the regional stage, Blum was recognized twice as the ABCA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. He coached the regional Player of the Year in 2010, had three regional Pitchers of the Year and 66 All-Atlantic Region selections (22 ABCA, 17 Daktronics, 27 NCBWA).
Nationally, Blum's players have earned nine All-America honors (two ABCA, four Daktronics, three NCBWA).
Blum was crowned the "King of Baseballtown" by the Reading Fightin' Phils on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016, for his contributions, support and progression of local baseball.
On March 20, 2014, Blum won his 400th career game with a no-hitter against Virginia State. Blum was the ninth coach in PSAC history to win 400 career games and the second-quickest PSAC coach to 400 wins.
From 2000-09, Kutztown was the winningest team in the PSAC and 18th in Division II. Kutztown held a record of 359-180 for a winning percentage of .666 during the 10-year period.
In 2014, KU fought for its playoff life for the final two weeks of the regular season to earn the final spot in the PSAC Tournament. It won all three games of the tournament to win the PSAC Championship for the seventh time in school history. It also won two games at the Atlantic Regional Tournament in West Lawn, Pa.
Blum became the winningest baseball coach at KU on March 24, 2010, surpassing mentor Matt Royer's 270 career victories. He was the fastest Pennsylvania college baseball coach to reach 200 wins.
Under Blum's direction, the Golden Bears finished 2010 with a 42-15 record, the seventh-straight season of 30 or more wins. The Golden Bears won the NCAA Atlantic Region title with a sweep over West Chester in the championship. The Golden Bears picked up their first win since 2002 at the NCAA Championships, with a 12-inning, 2-1 win over Franklin Pierce.
In the 2009 season, Blum coached the PSAC East Pitcher of the Year (Darin Gorski) and the PSAC East Rookie of the Year (Shayne Houck).
In 2007, Blum guided KU to a school-record 49 wins. The Golden Bears spent the week of April 30 as the top-ranked team in Division II, a first for a KU sports team and for a ball club from the North Atlantic Region. The Golden Bears won the PSAC East regular-season title and the NCAA Division II North Atlantic Regional, finishing seventh in the nation. KU was 49-7 overall, 19-1 in the PSAC East, and Blum was named the PSAC East and Regional Coach of the Year.
In 2006, KU set a then-school record with a 44-14 overall, 15-5 PSAC East mark. KU won the PSAC title for the program’s first-ever back-to-back conference crowns. Blum was named PSAC East Coach of the Year. In 2004, Blum garnered his first PSAC East and Regional Coach of the Year awards.
Prior to taking over as head coach, Blum served as assistant coach at KU for eight seasons.
In college, Blum played at Elizabethtown College, winning multiple division titles, a MAC Championship, and qualifying for two NCAA Division III regional tournaments. He graduated in 1993 with a bachelor of science in communications.
Blum is a graduate of Muhlenberg High School and
began his coaching career at Muhlenberg Legion. He was an assistant for four years. Prior to coming to Kutztown as an assistant, Blum had been head coach of the Berkshire Red Sox of the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League. Improving from a 13-17 record its first season, Blum guided his team to the championship game in 2002, finishing with a record of 25-12.
| CHRIS BLUM YEAR-BY-YEAR COACHING RECORD |
|
Overall |
Conference |
|
| Year |
School |
Wins |
Losses |
Pct. |
Wins |
Losses |
Pct. |
Postseason & Honors |
| 2003 |
Kutztown |
25 |
15 |
.625 |
17 |
7 |
.708 |
|
| 2004 |
Kutztown |
37 |
16 |
.698 |
14 |
6 |
.700 |
NCAA North Atlantic Region Champions |
| 2005 |
Kutztown |
39 |
18 |
.684 |
10 |
8 |
.556 |
PSAC Champions |
| 2006 |
Kutztown |
44 |
14 |
.759 |
15 |
5 |
.750 |
PSAC Champions |
| 2007 |
Kutztown |
49 |
7 |
.875 |
19 |
1 |
.950 |
NCAA North Atlantic Region Champions |
| 2008 |
Kutztown |
31 |
26 |
.544 |
11 |
9 |
.550 |
PSAC Champions |
| 2009 |
Kutztown |
34 |
17 |
.667 |
16 |
8 |
.667 |
|
| 2010 |
Kutztown |
42 |
15 |
.737 |
16 |
8 |
.667 |
NCAA Atlantic Region Champions |
| 2011 |
Kutztown |
21 |
18 |
.538 |
11 |
13 |
.458 |
|
| 2012 |
Kutztown |
37 |
19 |
.661 |
14 |
10 |
.583 |
|
| 2013 |
Kutztown |
32 |
16 |
.667 |
15 |
9 |
.625 |
|
| 2014 |
Kutztown |
32 |
21 |
.604 |
14 |
14 |
.500 |
PSAC Champions |
| 2015 |
Kutztown |
19 |
22 |
.463 |
9 |
19 |
.321 |
|
| 2016 |
Kutztown |
20 |
31 |
.392 |
9 |
19 |
.321 |
|
| 2017 |
Kutztown |
16 |
31 |
.340 |
5 |
21 |
.192 |
|
| 2018 |
Kutztown |
19 |
22 |
.463 |
12 |
15 |
.444 |
|
| Coaching Totals |
| 16 Seasons |
Kutztown |
497 |
308 |
.617 |
207 |
172 |
.546 |
|
| 16 Seasons |
|
504 |
338 |
.617 |
207 |
172 |
.546 |
|
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