Amassing a 1,089-749-9(.590) record over 37 years at the collegiate level, longtime Rutgers baseball head coach Fred Hill, who passed away in 2019, was a legend in the coaching circles. The veteran mentor retired after the 2013 season at Rutgers, where his teams went 941-658-7 (.588) in 30 seasons.
Hill began at Rutgers in 1984 and built the team into a northeast baseball power. Rutgers won eight straight Atlantic 10 regular-season titles starting in 1986 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament five times in that stretch. Hill garnered back-to-back-to-back A-10 Coach of the Year honors.
When Rutgers joined the Big East, Hill continued that success and became the second-winningest coach in conference history, with 267 victories over 19 seasons.
Rutgers won both the regular season and tournament titles in 1998 as Hill was named Big East Coach of the Year. That started a stretch of five NCAA berths in six years that included hosting an NCAA Regional in 2000, a rarity for a northeast school.
In 2007, Hill's squad matched the Rutgers school record with 42 wins en route to winning both the Big East regular season and tournament titles. Hill earned ABCA East Region Coach of the Year honors as the Scarlet Knights earned the No. 2 seed in the Charlottesville Regional. A school-record six players were selected in the MLB Draft in June of that year.
Hill became the 45th coach in NCAA Div. I history to eclipse the 1,000-win mark for his career in 2010. During his tenure with the Scarlet Knights, Hill earned 11 NCAA Regional appearances, 12 regular-season conference championships and eight conference tournament titles. He retired as the winningest coach in Rutgers athletics history. Last season, Hill was honored as his No. 24 jersey was retired by the Scarlet Knights.
Prior to taking over at Rutgers, Hill spent seven seasons as head coach at Montclair State. Then known as the Indians, Hill transitioned to leading the team after a successful career as a high school coach in New Jersey, including 11 years at his alma mater, Clifford Scott High School (five as an assistant and another six as head coach of the Scotties). During his time as head coach, Hill guided the Scotties to a 94-58 mark with two state sectional championships.
At Montclair State, Hill led the baseball team to a 148-91-2 record from 1977-83, including two New Jersey Athletic Conference titles, three NCAA Tournament appearances and the school's first berth in the Div. III World Series in 1983. Hill earned the ABCA Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year honor for his team's 1983 run. Hill was also the football coach at Montclair State and went 55-13-4 in seven years, winning five NJAC titles. Hill's contributions and success during his seven-year tenure at Montclair State were recognized in 2010 as the athletic department retired his No. 24 jersey.
During his career, Hill sent 72 players to professional baseball and developed 20 All-Americans. Current Major Leaguers Todd Frazier of the Cincinnati Reds and David DeJesus of the Tampa Bay Rays played under Hill at Rutgers.
