Rutgers-Camden Athletics

Brian Wolverton (7th season)
Softball Head Coach


College: Trenton State College (1995)
Major: Math Education
 
Brian Wolverton contributed to the glory days of the Rutgers-Camden softball program in the mid-2000’s as an assistant coach and now he’s working tirelessly as the Scarlet Raptors’ head coach to return the team as a major force in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.

Wolverton, who is entering his seventh season as the head coach, posted a 21-19 record with the Scarlet Raptors last season, leading the team to its fourth berth in the ECAC Metro tournament in the past five years. This season the Raptors are hoping to return to the NJAC playoffs for the first time since they won the conference crown in 2007.

In addition to the Raptors’ ECAC berth in 2013, Wolverton reached a personal milestone when he became only the second coach in program history to win 100 games. His 100th victory came against a Division II program on March 22 when the Scarlet Raptors defeated Mansfield University, 3-1.

During Wolverton’s first six seasons, the Scarlet Raptors have posted an overall 110-117-1 record, with many of those losses coming during a major rebuilding year in his first season of 2008, when the team went 8-28-1. Since then, Rutgers-Camden has posted a 102-89 mark.

Wolverton’s Raptors bounced back from that tough 2008 season quickly as he led Rutgers-Camden to the ECAC Metro tournament for two consecutive seasons in 2009 and 2010. The Raptors won the 2009 ECAC Metro championship and they completed their second straight winning season under Wolverton in 2010 when they posted a 22-16 record.



During the 2010 season, the Raptors compiled a .969 fielding percentage to finish 11th nationally among all NCAA Division III teams. They also finished 54th in Division III with 0.32 double plays per game.

Rutgers-Camden made a major comeback during Wolverton’s second season as the Lady Raptors’ coach in 2009. The team bounced back from the most losses in program history to post a 26-19 record, capping its campaign by winning the ECAC Division III Metro Softball Championship. It was the second season-ending title for the Raptors in four seasons, including the 2006 NCAA Division III Championship.

Wolverton played a role in both titles. He was a first-year assistant coach when the Raptors shocked the softball world with their national title in 2006. That season the Rutgers-Camden staff earned honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association as the Speedline/NFCA Division III National Coaching Staff of the Year.
Wolverton helped lead Rutgers-Camden back to the NCAA tournament in 2007, when the Lady Raptors captured their second consecutive New Jersey Athletic Conference title.

Wolverton stepped into the Raptors’ head job vacated when long-time Head Coach Carl Taylor resigned in early August, 2007. He inherited a team depleted by graduation, as most of the members who led the Raptors to a run of four straight NCAA tournament appearances were gone. The result was reflected in the club’s record as Rutgers-Camden posted an 8-28-1 mark in 2008 to set a program record for the most defeats in one season. It was the program’s first losing campaign since 1999 (7-10).

Wolverton immediately set out to recruit new talent and upgrade the Raptors’ fortunes. The hard work paid off as the 2009 Lady Raptors improved their victory total by 18, remained in the hunt for the NJAC playoffs until the final game of the season, and then rode their momentum to the ECAC Metro title. They defeated NJAC rival Montclair State in the championship game.

Wolverton is no stranger to coaching success. He was the head coach of the Northern Burlington High School girls’ varsity team from 1997-2007, compiling a 193-71 record, including Burlington County League Liberty Division titles in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2005. His team won both the South Jersey and state Group 2 titles in 2002, and captured the Central Jersey Group 3 sectional title in 2005. During both of those seasons he received honors as the area’s Softball Coach of the Year, being cited in 2002 by the Trentonian, the Burlington County Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer, and earning the honor from the Trenton Times in 2005.

Wolverton placed over 30 players in college programs, including nine at Division I schools, and coached numerous All-County, All-Area and All-South Jersey players. Eleven of his players were named to various All-State teams.

From 2005-07, Wolverton served as the head coach of the Burlington County team in the Carpenter Cup, the annual tournament sponsored by the Philadelphia Phillies. He coached the South Jersey Senior All-Star team in 2002, 2005 and 2007.

Wolverton, who also has coached field hockey, football, basketball and track over the years, combines with Mike Medrick to run the annual “Play Like a Champ” softball camp at Cherokee and Northern Burlington High Schools. The camp has been serving South Jersey youth softball players for over 20 years. In 2008, Medrick joined Wolverton’s first coaching staff at Rutgers-Camden.

Wolverton was a Math Education major who graduated from Trenton State College (now known as The College of New Jersey) in 1995. In addition to coaching at Northern Burlington, he is a teacher of Mathematics and Computer Programming at the school. He was named Northern Burlington’s Teacher of the Year in both 2002 and 2004, and has served as the Department Chairperson for the Business, Practical Arts and Mathematics Departments since 2000.