Bio
Coach McKnight’s Lessons and Speaking engagements
Coach McKnight has been involved in helping players pursue their goals in baseball for the last 35 years. Leading collegiate championship teams to playing ball on the White house lawn Chris has a lifetime of experiences he can share.
He is currently the Vice President of Tuckahoe Sports Inc./Mid Atlantic Orioles based in Henrico, VA.
Chris has helped hundreds of players in the game and is excited to help your son reach his goals!
Chris began his coaching career at LaSalle Military Academy, (1989) where in one season as the Head Varsity coach, he led the program to one of their best finishes in 15 years-He then accepted the Head Coach position at the State University of New York-Old Westbury where he began the program. The following year he was offered the Asst. Baseball coach job at his alma mater-Dowling College, a division two school on Long Island. He took over as Head Coach after 5 seasons and led the Golden Lions to the ECAC Championship in 1998.
He moved to Frostburg State University in 2000 and led FSU to its first NCAA Regional Championship win in the history of the University and set another school record with back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances. During a 4-year span from 2004 to 2007- McKnight’s players set 29 Top Ten Single season offensive records, 16 Top Ten single-season pitching records, 58 Top Ten Career offensive records, and 15 Top Ten Career Pitching records.
McKnight was the fastest coach to reach 100 wins and led the Bobcats to 8 straight postseason appearances while compiling a 98-28 conference record and four conference championships. Over 115 of his players received all-conference honors, including the prestigious Rawlings Gold Glove Award and 17 of his former players signed professional contracts. Chris was also named Chairperson for the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee.
McKnight was the Head Coach of the Mid-West Philadelphia Phillies Scout Team, based out of Madison WI. 12 of his players signed with Division One schools and 3 players signed professional contracts, John Rave (Kansas City Royals Organization), Ian Koch (Cincinnati Reds Organization), and TJ Sikkema (New York Yankees Organization). McKnight was an Associate Scout for the Baltimore Orioles organization from 2015-2018 and for the Philadelphia Phillies organization from 2008-2015
.He served as a coach for USA Baseball Great Lakes National Team Identification Series. During 2008-09seasons, he was the Field Manager/Director of Baseball Operations for the Texarkana Gunslingers Pro Baseball Club. During the 2009 season, McKnight led the Gunslingers to the Championship series and his team led the league in batting average and on-base percentage. Chris was named coach of the All-Star team where 9 of his players were selected to participate in the event.
Chris is a 29-year member of the American Baseball Coaches Association and serves on the Research committee and The Virginia Baseball Coaches Association where he serves on the Advisory Board. He is also a board member of Kids on First, a nonprofit dedicated to providing minority youth opportunities in baseball. McKnight has also authored numerous articles that have appeared in “Scholastic Coach” “Coach and Athletic Director” and the American Baseball Coaches Association publication “Coaching Digest”. Recently he was named the Mid Atlantic Director for the Irish American Baseball Society Youth Green Sox program.
A former Volunteer with the Clarysville Fire Department, Chris was part of the Search and rescue unit with his two dogs Nitro and Raven.