Hall of Fame

John Manganaro

  • Class
  • Induction
    2016
  • Sport(s)


John Manganaro served 20 seasons as a coach with the Wayne State College baseball program, including 17 as head coach.  As head coach from 1993 to 2009, Manganaro built Wayne State into one of the top programs in NCAA Division II, winning six NSIC regular season titles while guiding the Wildcats to six straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2004 to 2009.  WSC also made seven trips to the NCAA Tournament over a nine-year span.  Manganaro accumulated a 506-309-1 record (.620) and was 198-54 (.785) in NSIC games.  Wayne State was the 12th winningest team of the 2000’s in NCAA Division II baseball under Manganaro, going 368-157-1 (.701).

Manganaro was a four-time NSIC Coach of the Year Award recipient (2001, 2006, 2007, 2009) and led the Wildcats to five NSIC Tournament titles (2001, co-2003, 2004, 2005, 2006).  He coached the Wildcats to a pair of NCAA Regional championship games.  Wayne State produced All-Americans in six of the last seven seasons under Manganaro and two players were selected in the Major League Baseball draft.  The Wildcats also excelled in the classroom as 12 different players were named Academic All-District under Manganaro with Dustin Jones named Academic All-American in 2006 and 2007.

Manganaro also helped develop one of the finest baseball facilities in the Midwest, the Pete Chapman Baseball Complex. Thanks to fund-raising and donations and hundreds of hours of work by players and coaching staff, the Pete Chapman Baseball Complex is one of the finest fields in the Midwest for college baseball.

Following his retirement from WSC in 2009, Manganaro moved to Omaha, Nebraska where he served as director of the Ultimate Baseball Academy indoor complex from 2009 to 2013, but remains active as an instructor/consultant there.  He has also served as the Dean of Coaches for the Pacesetter, Gladiator and Bandit youth baseball organizations since 2012.  John and his wife Janice have five sons, Tony, Nick, Ross, Marc, Kyle and a daughter Carly.  They also have eight grandchildren.