Bob Babb has established Johns Hopkins baseball as one of the best programs in NCAA Div. III over his 41 years as head coach. Babb’s entire head coaching career has been with Johns Hopkins, which he has led to a 1,174-432-15 record since 1980, good for a .724 winning percentage.
Through the 2019 season, Babb ranks fourth among active NCAA Div. III coaches with 1,174 victories. Babb led the Blue Jays to the fourth best overall record in NCAA Div. III during the decade from 2000-09 at 335-96-2 (.774).
Babb's teams have made 22 NCAA Div. III Tournament appearances and advanced to the College World Series three times, including a runner-up finish in 2008. During Babb's tenure, the Blue Jays have captured 10 Middle Atlantic Conference Southeast League titles, 13 Centennial Conference championships and seven University Athletic Association titles.
The Jays experienced a historic season in 2019 as they reached the College World Series for the fourth time in school history. The team won 37 games in 2019, tied for sixth-best in school history. Babb's team matched the 1989 team by earning a third-place finish at the Division III World Series.
The Jays went 38-8 in 2017 and claimed their 14th Centennial Conference title. Hopkins earned the number one seed in the conference tournament with a 17-1 record. The Blue Jays made their 21st appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the Mid-Atlantic Regional where they went 2-2.
Babb ranks in the top five among active NCAA Div. III coaches in both winning percentage and total wins. He also ranks in the top 10 all-time in NCAA Div. III in both categories. Babb earned his milestone 1,000th victory in 2014, becoming just the ninth NCAA Div. III coach to accomplish the feat. His teams have never had a losing record.
Johns Hopkins has crested the 40-win mark three times under Babb's leadership – getting 40 wins in 2004, 42 in 2008 and a school-record 44 in 2010. Both the 2008 and 2010 teams reached the College World Series. The 2004 team opened the season with a then-NCAA record 33-game winning streak.
In 1989, the Blue Jays finished third at the NCAA Division III World Series, the program's first trip to the final eight.
Babb has coached 21 All-Americans, 12 Centennial Conference Players of the Year, nine Centennial Conference Pitchers of the Year and 75 first-team All-Conference selections.
Additionally, Babb's teams have performed well in the classroom. The Blue Jays have produced 22 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans during Babb's tenure, which ranks near the top among all NCAA collegiate baseball programs during that span.
Babb was inducted into the Johns Hopkins Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996. He played baseball for the Blue Jays from 1974-76 and participated in the inaugural NCAA Div. III Tournament in 1976.
In 2014, following the Blue Jays' field renovation, the school's baseball field was renamed Babb Field at Stromberg Stadium.
A 1977 graduate of Johns Hopkins, Babb served as an assistant baseball and football coach at Hopkins for two years before becoming head baseball coach. Babb continued to serve as assistant football coach until 1998.
Babb is an active member within the ABCA, serving on several committees. He is currently Chair of the Editorial Committee and serves on the Playing Rules Committee.
