Konnick_Justin HS 2020

Justin Konnick

Justin Konnick will enter his ninth year as the head baseball coach in the 2021 season. He was named the NEAC Coach of the Year for the first time in the 2018 season.

After eight seasons, Konnick is the all-time winningest coach in program-history with an overall record of 152-130-1 (.539 winning percentage) and is 77-35 (.688 winning percentage) in NEAC contests. The Nittany Lions have reached the postseason in each of his seven full seasons (2020 cut short due to COVID-19) and were the NEAC Champions in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018. Under his guidance, the Nittany Lions have had 16 All-NEAC First Team selections and ten named to the second team. Konnick also coached two NEAC Pitcher of the Year recipients (Sean Pavlik, 2016; Tyler Comport, 2018) and NEAC Rookie of the Year (Toby Welk, 2016) and the NEAC Player of the Year (Welk, 2017-19). The team has had four D3Baseball.com All-Region recipients from 2017-19, the D3Baseball.com All-Region Player of the Year (Welk, 2018-19), and a D3Baseball.com All-America First Team honoree (Welk, 2018-19), and the D3baseball.com National Player of the Year (Welk, 2019). In addition, Konnick had the first player ever drafted by a professional sport in school history when Toby Welk was drafted in the 21st round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles.

In an abbreviated season cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 squad went 4-6 overall.

The 2019 team tied the 2018 squad for wins in a season after finishing 25-14 overall (.641 winning percentage) and going 13-5 in the conference. This marked the fifth straight season that the Nittany Lions surpassed the 20-win plateau. Berks won a NEAC Play-In game and then dropped the first game of the four-team double elimination tournament. After a pair of thrilling wins staved off elimination, the Nittany Lions had their season end when the championship game was canceled due to weather. The team enjoyed a 10-game winning streak in the heart of their conference schedule. They closed out the season winning six of the final seven games. Senior standout Toby Welk became the first-player in school history and just the third member of the NEAC to be drafted by a major professional sports team when he was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 21st round of the draft. Welk was named the D3baseball.com National Player of the Year, which was a first for Berks and the entire NEAC. In addition, Welk was an All-American, Mid-Atlantic Player of the Year, Mid-Atlantic First Team selection, and NEAC Player of the Year. Welk, Mason Pennypacker, and Dalton Hughes were All-NEAC First Team recipients.

The 2018 squad set the program record for wins, surpassing the 2016 team, after finishing the season 25-12 overall (.676 winning percentage) and 17-1 in conference play. This was the fourth consecutive season that the baseball team has recorded 20 or more wins in a season. The team went 3-0 in the conference tournament to win the NEAC Title for the third straight season and fourth time in five years. Berks made is fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, where they fell to No. 5-ranked UMass-Boston and Western New England University. The team had three All-NEAC First Team and one NEAC Second Team recipients. They also had the NEAC Player of the Year (Toby Welk), Pitcher of the Year (Tyler Comport), and Coach of the Year (Konnick). Welk and Dante Salerno were named to the D3baseball.com All-Region. Welk also was named Mid-Atlantic Player of the Year and was an All-American First Team recipient, both coming from D3baseball.com.

The 2017 team finished the year 20-21 overall and went 10-6 in conference play to earn their tenth straight postseason appearance. This marked the third straight year that the team reached the 20-win plateau. The team won the NEAC title for the third time in four years and earned their fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. At the NCAA Regional, the Nittany Lions dropped a hard fought battle to UMass-Boston, 9-8, and later fell to Salve Regina 12-4. Berks had three members named to the All-NEAC First Team and one player on the second team, as well as the 2017 NEAC Player of the Year (Toby Welk).

In 2016, the team went 24-13 and at the time set the school record for wins in a season, winning percentage (.649), and went the furthest into the NCAA Tournament in program history. The team won the NEAC Tournament for the second time in three years and made its third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In the span of three days at the regional tournament, the Nittany Lions knocked off the No. 24 team in the country/tournament host Misericordia University and later pulled of a thrilling 5-2, 12-inning walk-off win over No. 10 ranked Salisbury University. The team had six members earn All-NEAC honors (three first team, three second team), to go along with the NEAC Pitcher of the Year (Sean Pavlik) and NEAC Rookie of the Year (Toby Welk).

The 2015 baseball team finished the year 21-19-1 and had a .524 winning percentage. The Nittany Lions finished runner-up in the NEAC Championship, but appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. They earned a program-defining win, 5-4, against Kean in the first round of the regional tournament. The Nittany Lions earned quality non-conference wins over Gettysburg College (3-2), Ursinus College (11-8), Muhlenberg College (11-5), and York College (8-4). The baseball team had one All-NEAC First Team selection and three were named to the Second Team.

In 2014, Konnick led the baseball team to the second trip to the NCAA Tournament in program history. The Nittany Lions captured the NEAC Championship title after defeating SUNY Institute of Technology two times on the final day of the tournament. Berks then traveled to Ohio, where they were defeated by tournament host Marietta College in the opening round and were knocked out of postseason play with a loss to La Roche College. The Nittany Lions finished the season 19-21, which is the third highest win total in program history, and were 11-7 in the conference. The Nittany Lions had three student-athletes named to All-Conference teams and also had the NEAC Tournament MVP.

Konnick guided the 2013 squad to a 14-24 overall record and 7-7 in the North Eastern Athletic Conference. The Nittany Lions entered the NEAC Championship as the No. 4 seed after winning the tiebreak over SUNYIT. Once in the postseason, Berks got hot and knocked off top seed Gallaudet University, 5-3, in the opening round. After fell 4-3 to Penn State Harrisburg, but bounced back with a 4-3 win over No. 2 seed Penn State Abington in an elimination game. Berks, however, suffered a 4-3 setback to Harrisburg in the conference title game. The 2013 team had two players named to the All-NEAC First Team.

In the 2012 season, the Nittany Lions finished 16-24 overall and went 10-2 in the North Eastern Athletic Conference West Division to win the regular season title.The Nittany Lions went on to win the West Division Championship after defeating Gallaudet University 13-5 in the title game. Berks' bid for the NCAA Regional Tournament came up just short after dropping a pair of games to Castleton State College in the conference finals. Konnick saw his staff ace win the NEAC West Division Pitcher of the Year (Matt Emrick) and earn All-NEAC first team honors.

“I am very thankful to have the opportunity to coach at Penn State Berks,” said Konnick. “I hope to be as good of a coach as the ones that taught me, not just about sports, but the many life lessons that have gotten me to where I am today.”

Prior to Berks, Konnick was the pitching coach at Boyertown High School for 11 years. He also coached for the Boyertown Grizzlies for two seasons at the Junior Legion level.

Konnick, a former standout pitcher and catcher at the college level, played for Keystone College and West Chester University. At Keystone, he was a team captain and selected to the All-Region 19 team. While playing for West Chester, Konnick was a PSAC Pitcher of the Week recipient.

“I enjoy coaching and playing the game of baseball, especially the ability of passing down information and experiences to younger ball players and watching them succeed.

He remains active in the sport by playing in several adult leagues for the past 12-plus years. He has won numerous championship titles while playing for the Gabelsville Owls in the Tri-County Baseball League since 1999.

In addition to coaching baseball, Konnick has helped coach football at various levels for six years. He coached two years at St. Pius X High School (2002-03), two years at Boyertown (2006-07) and two years at Oley (2008-09).

Konnick resides in Boyertown with his two daughters (Madison and Marlee). He is a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association.
 
Overall NEAC
Year Wins Losses Ties Wins Losses
2013 14 24 7 7
2014 19 21 11 7
2015 21 19 1 9 5
2016 24 13 10 4
2017 20 21 10 6
2018 25 12 17 1
2019 25 14 13 5
2020 4 6
Total 152 130 1 77 35