John Merkh

Title

Assistant Coach

Assistant Coach         John Merkh (2nd season)
College:                      Liberty University (2022)
High School:               Winslow Township (2007)
Major:                         Interdisciplinary Studies

John Merkh enters his second season with the Scarlet Raptors baseball program. Merkh primarily works with infielders and hitters, serves as the Scarlet Raptors’ third base coach, and is in charge of defensive alignments.

In the 2023 season, Merkh’s first year on staff, the Scarlet Raptors improved in EVERY offensive statistical category from their 2022 campaign. The Raptors broke the school record for most walks in a single season (212). Freshman Jake Watson also broke the single season stolen base record (33). The Raptors also improved defensively as they had less errors and posted a higher fielding percentage from the previous season.

Prior to joining the Scarlet Raptors, Merkh spent his past three years (2019-2022) at Immaculata University as the head assistant and recruiting coordinator. During his tenure there, Merkh helped the Mighty Macs program become a prominent program in the Mid-Atlantic region.

In 2022 the Mighty Macs broke their single-season record for wins with 29. The Mighty Macs also won the Atlantic East Conference for the first time in school history and hosted their first NCAA Regional. Immaculata also received votes in the D3 baseball poll for the first time in program history as the team broke various offensive school records.

Under Merkh’s tutelage in 2021, the Mighty Macs offense had fewer strikeouts than any team in the Atlantic East Conference during conference play. The Mighty Macs also had more walks than strikeouts during the 2021 campaign and were in the top three in almost every offensive statistical category in the Atlantic East. The Mighty Macs also averaged more extra-base hits per game and runs per game than any previous team in school history.

Prior to Immaculata, Merkh served as the pitching coach at fellow New Jersey Athletic Conference rival, Stockton University in 2019. Merkh helped the Ospreys get off to their best start in school history (10-0) and coached two-time NJAC Pitcher of the Week Ray Hughes.

Merkh started his coaching career in June of 2012 as the pitching coach at Camden County College in Blackwood, New Jersey. In his first season at Camden County, the Cougars went on to win the Garden State Athletic Conference and finished as the Region XIX runner-up with a 38-7 record. Merkh coached one of the top pitchers in the NJCAA that year, a now former Scarlet Raptor, Billy Jackson, who was a First Team NJCAA All-American.

After the 2013 season, Merkh was promoted to the head assistant position and recruiting coordinator position where he held that title until he was promoted to the head baseball coach of the Cougars in the fall of 2016. Merkh led the Cougars to back-to-back Region XIX Playoff appearances and the Cougars won 30 games in a single season for only the fourth time in school history.

Merkh graduated summa cum laude from Liberty University in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. He resides in Deptford, New Jersey, with his wife Brittany and his sons Jackson and Hunter.