Eagles Name Aoki Head Baseball Coach
June 08, 2006 | Baseball
June 8, 2006
Mikio Aoki, a Plymouth, Mass., native who served the past three seasons as an assistant coach for the Eagles, has been named head baseball coach, Director of Athletics Gene DeFilippo announced today. Aoki replaces Peter Hughes, who resigned to accept the head coaching position at Virginia Tech.
"We are very pleased to name Mik Aoki head coach," DeFilippo says. "He is hard-working, energetic and an outstanding recruiter. Our players respect him as a coach and leader, and this will enable us to move ahead without missing a beat."
"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to coach at BC," Aoki says. "I appreciate the confidence Gene DeFilippo and the entire administration have shown in me. I look forward to building upon the successful foundation Coach Hughes established for this program."
Prior to coming to BC in 2003, Aoki spent five years as head baseball coach at Columbia (N.Y.). In his five years as Columbia's head coach, Aoki led the Lions to an 87-140 mark. He led Columbia to 20 or more wins in each of his last three seasons. Prior to his arrival the Lions had not posted a 20-win season since 1987.
Before assuming his duties at Columbia, Aoki spent four years (1995-98) as assistant coach at Dartmouth (N.H.) College. In that position, he focused his efforts on the team's infielders and hitters, while also serving as the program's recruiting coordinator.
Aoki began his coaching career in 1992 as head coach at Manchester (Conn.) Community College. After one season, he became assistant coach at Ohio University. During his two years in Athens, Ohio, Aoki earned a master's degree in athletic administration.
Aoki and Hughes were four-year teammates and classmates at Davidson (N.C.) College. Both graduated in 1990. At Davidson, Aoki was a four-year letterman and three-year starter. He was a second baseman, third baseman and catcher. Aoki still ranks among the school's career leaders in slugging percentage (.547) and batting average (.335). In his senior season (1990), he finished with a team-leading .365 batting average. He stroked 20 doubles in his final season, tying the school's single-season record set that same year by Hughes (and subsequently tied by two other Davidson players).
Aoki played one year (summer 1990) of professional baseball in the Netherlands. He played for the HCAW Tigers of the Dutch Major League. He and his wife, Sue, have a one-year-old son, Kai. They reside in Framingham.
