The 2021 season marked Dave Barnett’s 34th season as head coach at Flagler College in Florida, where he is the winningest coach in program history. Barnett’s career coaching record stands at 982-791 (.554). Through the 2021 season, he ranked seventh in wins among active NCAA Div. II coaches and tied for 22nd all-time in Div. II.
Barnett, who was inducted into the Flagler Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016, also the served as Flagler’s Athletics Director from 1994-2009. He played an instrumental role in the school’s transition to NCAA Div. II. During his 15 years as Athletics Director, Flagler added women’s golf, women’s soccer and fast-pitch softball to the athletics program. He oversaw the construction of the baseball stadium, softball stadium and major renovations to the soccer field and Flagler Gym. Under Barnett’s leadership, the program won two Florida Sun Conference Commissioner’s Cups and Barnett was named NAIA Region XIV Athletics Director of the Year in 2001.
As a member of the NAIA, Barnett’s teams qualified for conference tournament and regional play 16 out of 20 seasons before transitioning to NCAA Div. II status in 2009. Since joining the Peach Belt Conference in 2010, Flagler has made six conference tournament appearances and were crowned regular season co-champs in 2019.
Having coached at every level of the game, Barnett got his coaching start at Jacksonville’s Episcopal High School in 1983. After graduating with a bachelor’s from Flagler, Barnett served as an assistant at the University of Iowa (1984-86) while obtaining a master’s in educational administration. He then moved back to Florida to assist at Valencia Community College. He coached at the Boardwalk & Baseball facility in Haines City, Florida, before accepting the head coaching position at Flagler in 1987.
In the summer of 2002 and 2003, Barnett served as the manager of the Vermont Expos, a Class A affiliate of the Montreal Expos in the New York-Penn League. He also has international coaching experience in Holland and Italy.
As a collegiate player, Barnett’s career began at Seminole Community College in Sanford, Florida, before transferring to the University of North Carolina. He led the Tar Heels in batting average in 1978 and helped lead the team to the College World Series.
Following his successful collegiate career, Barnett signed a free agent contract with the Montreal Expos. After one season, he joined the world-famous four-man fast-pitch softball team “The King & His Court”, which featured the legendary Eddie Feigner. He barnstormed the world from 1980-83, and again in 1988, as the team’s shortstop.
A Lifetime ABCA Member, Barnett was inducted into the St. Augustine/St. Johns County Hall of Fame in 2008 and has been presented in coaching clinics all around the United States.
