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Scott Baker
Scott Baker enters his ninth season as Rowan’s head men’s soccer coach in 2023, and in eight years, has guided the Profs to six appearances in the NCAA Tournament and an NJAC Championship, while compiling an overall record of 109-44-14 and a 40-16-7 mark in conference
A member of Rowan’s 1990 national champion team, Baker’s squads have compiled a 40-16- 7 mark in conference contests, reaching the NJAC title game five times in the last seven years, and earning the championship trophy in 2022.
In 2022, Rowan went without a loss in the final eight matches to capture its first conference championship since 2003. After earning the league title with a win over #9 Montclair State, the Profs defeated Middlebury in the opening round of the NCAA Championship before tying Stevens in the second round but falling in the round of penalty kicks. Early in the year, Baker recorded his 100th win at Rowan with the 1-0 victory over Lycoming.
After the 2020 season was canceled due to Covid-19, the Profs returned to action in 2021 and was one of the top teams in the region, reaching the NJAC Championship match and earning an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.
His 2019 team reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship before falling to top-ranked and eventual national runner-up Amherst, to mark the furthest advancement for Rowan in the NCAA Championship since 2001. The Profs, who reached the NJAC Final, closed out the year ranked 15th in the United Soccer Coaches national poll.
This past season capped a four-year run which saw the Profs go 58-20-6 with three appearances in both the NCAA Tournament and the NJAC Final.
In 2018, Rowan went 12-7 and was the conference semifinalist while 2017 saw the Profs reach the NCAA Tournament and the NJAC final. That team went 17-4-1 and earned its third straight NCAA berth, which included the hosting of the first and second rounds for the second year in a row. Baker was named the NJAC Coach of the Year while standout Shane Doherty was named to the All-America Second Team by the United Soccer Coaches.
Baker’s 2016 team compiled a 17-3-1 record, reached the NJAC championship game and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, while hosting both postseason games. The Profs also led all divisions in the NCAA country in offense. Doherty and Will Sjaastad were named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-America Team with Sjaastad earning NJAC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Named only the third coach in Rowan soccer history in 2014, Baker’s first team went 10-9, but he quickly got the Profs into the NCAA Tournament, as the 2015 team earned an at-large berth for Rowan’s first appearance since 2003.
Baker is very active in youth soccer and is the co-director and co-owner of RUSA FC Soccer Academy, which trains and plays its games at Rowan’s West Campus. A member of the New Jersey Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program Committee, he was the director of club development for the Futbol Club Copa Academy and director of training for the Team Boca Soccer Club from 2003 to 2012. He served as the associate head coach/director of training for the club’s professional team, the Boca Blast, in 2012.
Baker’s collegiate coaching experience is extensive has he has headed the programs at Defiance College, Flagler College, Brookdale Community College and New Jersey City University. Baker led Brookdale to a conference and regional titles and an appearance in the national final. While at Flagler he guided the men’s and women’s programs to spots in the national Top 25 and the women’s team recorded its best season in the team’s history.
His career has also included stops at numerous high schools, among them Pope John Paul II High School, Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Florida and locally, Delsea Regional. At Stoneman Douglas, Baker led his team to a state championship and was voted Coach of the Year for all sports in Miami-Dade County by the Sun Sentinel and the Miami Herald.
Baker was a four-year starter at Rowan from 1990 to 1993 and played in all 90 matches of his career, totaling 46 points with 13 goals and 20 assists. He earned NJAC All-Conference first-team honors in 1990 and was selected to the second team the following year. He captained the 1992 team and led them to the NJAC Championship and the nation’s number-one ranking. Baker and the Profs reached the pinnacle in 1990 as they captured the NCAA Division III Championship, becoming the second Rowan men’s soccer team to do so. That squad was inducted into the Rowan University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.
He graduated from Rowan in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education and earned a master’s degree in education from the University of Phoenix. The native of Jackson, NJ, holds an NSCAA national license as well as a United States Soccer Federation license.
Baker and his wife, Krista, who is registered dietician and Penn State graduate, live in Ventnor, NJ, and have two daughters, Emily and Katie.
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