Paul Knight
Head Baseball CoachAlma Mater: Methodist, 1994
E-mail: paul.knight@lr.edu
Office Phone: (828) 328-7136
Paul Knight is beginning his fifth year as Lenoir-Rhyne University Head Baseball Coach in 2011.
Knight has an overall record of 81-113 as Bear mentor.
Last season, Brian Dice garnered all-conference accolades for the second straight year and signed a free agent contract with the Florida Marlins over the summer.
In 2010, three players earned all-league honors including Dice (a first-team All-SAC and all-region honoree).
The 2009 season was highlighted with six players earning All South Atlantic Conference honors and winning both the conference batting average title (.339) and on-base percentage title (.414). In addition, L-R was nationally ranked as high as eighth in the country and was in the national polls four consecutive weeks.
In his first season (2008), the Bears finished with a 23-32 record. Knight also coached Daniel Ford to honorable mention All-American honors that same year. Ford was named the National Ringor Player Of The Week and earned First-Team All-SAC and All-Region accolades.
Knight has also been instrumental in upgrading Lenoir-Rhyne's Baseball facility. The improvements continue with the recent installation of brand new Musco field lighting, a new outfield wall, renovated backstop and a new irrigation system. Improvements underway include new indoor hitting nets and enclosing the outdoor hitting facility with 3 new tunnel nets for a top of the line hitting facility. Near future plans include the addition of a 3 story athletic complex adjacent to the baseball field containing a new baseball clubhouse, concession, and office space.
Knight came to Lenoir-Rhyne after spending five years (2003-07) as the Head Baseball Coach at Florida Tech in Melbourne, Fla. As Panthers mentor, Knight fashioned a 139-128 record (.521) and led the squad to 36 team records. Knight, with the team in a rebuilding stage, accomplished this while competing in what is arguably the nation’s strongest NCAA Division II Baseball Conference, The Sunshine State.
Knight’s 2007 team was his best at Florida Tech as the Panthers finished with a 30-21 mark and was ranked as high as No. 20 in NCAA Division II. Under Knight’s helm, Florida Tech has produced nine all-conference players, four all-region players and an All-American in Jon Baksh.
All told, Knight has compiled a 220-241 mark as a collegiate head coach.
Prior to Florida Tech, Knight was an assistant coach for Wingate University from 1996 to 2002. With the Bulldogs, Knight put together a highly-successful pitching staff that helped Wingate win the 1998 Food Lion SAC Tournament Title and 2000 South Atlantic Conference Regular Season Championship and land a berth in the 2001 NCAA Division II Playoffs.
Knight started his coaching career as a Graduate Assistant Coach for the University of Richmond in 1994 where the helped the team to a 43-17 mark and berth in the NCAA Division I Playoffs in 1995.
Knight graduated from Methodist College in 1994 with a bachelor of science degree in computer science before earning his masters in sports management from Richmond in 1996.
As a player for Methodist, Knight was part of two NCAA Division III World Series Teams.
Knight was born in Huntington, Long Island, New York, and raised in Montvale, New Jersey, and his family includes his wife, Kirsten, his son, Tyler (who was born in August of 2007) and dog, Skyler.
