PEORIA, Ill. -- First-year Bradley Baseball coach Elvis Dominguez made the first addition to his staff Tuesday with the announcement his former Eastern Kentucky aide, John Corbin, has agreed to join the Braves for the 2009 season.
Corbin is reunited with Dominguez after working as the top assistant the previous six years at Eastern Kentucky, where he served as both the recruiting coordinator and pitching coach. Among his responsibilities with the Colonels, Corbin oversaw the identification and evaluation of baseball prospects, managed the scholarship budget and maintained relationships with high school and junior college coaches, as well as professional scouts. He also managed the development of the EKU pitching staff, prepared opponent scouting reports, coordinated the placement of players in collegiate summer leagues and assisted the management of baseball camps. Corbin is expected to serve many of the same roles at Bradley.
“John and I have developed a tremendous working relationship the last six years and I expect that relationship to now pay dividends for Bradley Baseball,” said Dominguez. “John not only has the ability to indentify and recruit talented student-athletes, but he also has the ability to develop outstanding young men, on and off the field. He relates real well to the student-athletes and is able to translate his knowledge of both professional and college baseball to the players.”
Among the accomplishments of his players at Eastern Kentucky, Corbin helped recruit and develop nine All-Americans, including three pitchers, as well as seven eventual Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft selections. Of most recent note, All-American pitcher Christian Friedrich was the 25th overall selection in the 2008 draft by the Colorado Rockies. During Corbin's six years with the Colonels, three EKU players were named Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and 20 Colonels collected either first- or second-team All-OVC honors. Corbin also inherited a pitching staff that produced an 8.37 earned run average during the 2002 season and he gradually worked that number down to 4.73 in 2008. Corbin's final EKU staff also limited the opposition to a .262 batting average and averaged 7.8 strikeouts per nine innings, both the best numbers during his six years with the Colonels, while the 4.73 staff ERA was the fourth-best in the history of Eastern Kentucky baseball.
“Obviously it is a great honor to be reunited with Elvis Dominguez at Bradley University,” said Corbin. “This is a great opportunity for me to coach at a tremendous university in a great league (Missouri Valley Conference) with so many well-respected coaches.
“And now the most important thing is to hit the road and recruit the best student-athletes we can,” added Corbin. “Our goal is to bring in young men who will represent Bradley University in a first-class manner in the classroom, on the field and in the community.”
A 2000 graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor's degree in business administration (marketing), Corbin was a four-year lettermen for the Fighting Irish. Corbin set the school single-season and career saves records while helping the Irish to Big East Conference regular-season championships in 1997 and 1999 and NCAA Regional appearances in 1999 and 2000. He ended his collegiate career with a 13-7 record, 4.64 ERA and 20 career saves. The Hollywood, Fla., native led the Big East in saves and appearances during both the 1999 and 2000 seasons and his combined saves total in 1999 and 2000 ranked third nationally during the two-year period.
Following his college career, Corbin spent three years in the Chicago Cubs organization, advancing to the Double A level. He totalled an 8-1 record with six saves and a 4.08 ERA in his three pro seasons.
Corbin is married to the former Jill Witkowski and the couple is now in the process of moving to the Peoria area.
The John Corbin File
Education
University of Notre Dame ?00
B.A. -- Business Administration (Marketing)
Coaching Experience
Eastern Kentucky (2003-08)
? Recruiting coordinator and pitching coach
? Nine overall All-America selections, including three pitchers
? Three Ohio Valley Conference Players of the Year
? 20 All-OVC first- and second-team selections
? Seven Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft picks
? Lowered staff ERA from 8.37 in 2002 to 4.73 in 2008, the fourth-best mark in program history
Pro Playing Experience
Chicago Cubs (2000-02)
? Advanced to the Double A level in the Chicago Cubs organization
? Three-year totals: 8-1, 4.08 ERA and six saves
College Playing Experience
Notre Dame (1996-2000)
? Set the school single-season (11) saves record in 2000 and still holds the school career (20) saves mark
? Led the Big East Conference in saves and appearances in 1999 and 2000
? Ranked third nationally for total saves during the 1999 and 2000 seasons
? Helped Notre Dame to Big East Conference regular-season titles in 1997 and 1999, as well as NCAA Regional appearances in 1999 and 2000
