Don Maines
Head Coach

Phone: (718) 488-1538
Email: donald.maines@liu.edu

Don Maines returns for his fourth season as head coach at Long Island University. Maines guided the Blackbirds to 16 wins last season, matching the previous season’s total which was the most for the program since 2003, when Long Island also won 16 games. The last time the Blackbirds won more than 16 games was during the 18-win campaign of 2001. Now in his fourth year at the helm, Maines has his squad primed to improve on its eighth-place finish in the Northeast Conference last season.

Maines came to Long Island from Drexel, taking over for Frank Giannone, the Blackbirds’ all-time winningest coach. Maines guided the Dragons’ program for 14 seasons, registering 270 victories en route to having the Philadelphia school’s all-time highest winning percentage. Drexel had posted just two winning seasons prior to his arrival, but Maines quickly turned the Dragons into contenders. He led Drexel to the America East championship game three times: in 1993, 1995 and 1996. Maines also guided the Dragons to a school-record 32 wins during the 1995 season.

During his time at Drexel, Maines coached three freshman All-Americans, four All-Americans and five professional baseball players. He left Drexel when the school discontinued baseball as a varsity sport following the 2003 season.

Maines began his coaching career in 1987 as an assistant at his alma mater, East Stroudsburg. He also served as an assistant coach at Princeton for the 1989 season, supervising its recruiting efforts.

Last season, Maines captured his 300th career win with an 11-7 victory at Temple on March 15. At season’s end, he saw three of his players garner All-NEC First Team honors: Frank DiMasi, Danny Etkin, and James Jones. It was the first time three Blackbirds earned first team honors since 1998.

The North Plainfield, N.J., native graduated from East Stroudsburg in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science degree in health and physical education. Maines earned a master’s in education from East Stroudsburg in 1988.

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