DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – Corey Kemp announced his resignation as Head St. Scholastica Baseball Coach on Tuesday, effective June 30, to pursue opportunities outside of college athletics.
Kemp has been part of the CSS baseball program for over 20 years first as player, then as an assistant coach and finally as head coach. Kemp took over for the late John Baggs in June 2009 after being an assistant for eight seasons.
"It has been a privilege to be the head baseball coach of this program for the last 10 years," said Kemp. "I am thankful for the student-athletes, coaches, staff and faculty that played an integral role in the success of Saints Baseball during my time here. This coming fall, I am excited to return to the classroom as an elementary school teacher and work with the youth in our community."
Kemp played for the Saints from 1998-2001 where he stamped his name all over the record books. He still holds the program record with 29 career victories, 233 innings pitched, 258 strikeouts, and is second with 51 appearances. He registered 11 wins during the 2000 season, which is tied for the most in a season in program history.
After his playing days, he went on to be an assistant under Coach Baggs where he helped develop one of the top pitching staffs in all of Division III baseball. The Saints led the country in earned run average in both 2005 and 2006 and finished fifth in 2009.
After the passing of Coach Baggs, Kemp took over the baseball program in 2009 and proceeded to guide the Saints to 10 consecutive Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season championships and eight straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2010-17. He coached six UMAC Players of the Year and five UMAC Pitchers of the Year. Kemp was named the UMAC Coach of the Year six times in his 10 seasons.
"For the past 22 years, Corey has been associated with our baseball program and his departure will be felt campus wide," said Director of Athletics Brian Jamros. "Corey is a great leader and teacher, but most importantly a great person. I have no doubt that he will have the same success in his next career chapter and we will forever be grateful for his service and dedication to CSS and our baseball program."
Kemp ends his tenure as the third-winningest active head coach in NCAA Division III with a .743 winning percentage. During the 2019 season, he became the sixth Head Coach in St. Scholastica Athletics history to record at least 300 career victories.
Kemp will remain as head coach through June 30, while Assistant Coach Brandon Swartz will assume additional responsibilities to help with the transition.