Baseball head coach Scott Laverty earns his 200th at Chapman, 500th in career

Scott Laverty notched his 200th career win as Chapman baseball’s head coach April 24 against California Lutheran University. JACK CLENDENING, Staff Photographer

In July of 2013, Scott Laverty stepped into a Chapman baseball program that was seeing inconsistent success. They had finished 19-20 the previous season and 20-20 in the year before, an afterthought in the NCAA’s Division III. 

In 2014, with Laverty at the helm, the Panthers underwent a stunning reversal in finishing 30-13. Five years later, they won the Division III national championship, and with a strong start to this 2021 season the Panthers have become a powerhouse in the NCAA under Laverty’s steady hand. 

“I know I can talk with him and feel that both of us respect each other and we respect our own opinions,” said sophomore pitcher Grant Manning. “Because we can have that sort of communication, it gives us a lot more team chemistry and a lot more of a bond; we are able to trust each other and able to trust each other’s calls.”

Laverty earned his 200th career win as Chapman’s head coach April 24, a 9-4 victory over California Lutheran University. Then eight days later, he won his 500th of his career May 2 in a 9-3 victory over University of La Verne. Despite the individual accomplishment, Laverty’s ultimately just glad to be along for the ride. 

“Our satisfaction comes from seeing our guys succeed and play well and do things well. Hopefully, if they're doing that, the wins come, but they succeed in losses too,” Laverty said. “Chapman baseball is known as a traditionally great program and to continue that is an honor.” 

Senior Mack Cheli has spent four successful years under Laverty in Chapman’s program. 

“I’m just super appreciative of the opportunity to be able to play under him,” Cheli said. “To experience something as great as winning a World Series or winning the (Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference), or just the league in general, (is amazing).”

When looking back at his Chapman career, that 2019 season stands out to Laverty. In that championship run, according to him, the Panthers had more than 20 come-from-behind wins. 

One of the best of those, he said, came in a five-game series against Whitman College. In the final game in the bottom of the ninth inning, a Chapman sacrifice bunt and Whitman error won the game and series for the Panthers 3-2.

“Just the guys themselves, their work ethic, those are the neat things that we’ll remember long after,” Laverty said. “When we get decades down the road, as we have fun reunions and all that fun stuff, we will remember the hard work that everybody put into to get us to that point.”

Before coaching the Panthers, Laverty spent 14 years at the University of Redlands, earning 298 career wins. However, he held particular praise for Chapman as an institution, feeling it gratifying to watch his players grow as people. 

“Chapman has really taken off over the last decade with everything,” Laverty said. “People want to come to Chapman, they want to play baseball, but they also want to go to the business program, film program ... I just feel really fortunate to have had the opportunity to have my head coaching career be (at Redlands) and here.”

Moving forward, it’s business as usual for Laverty. After the success of his 2019 team, he wants another chance to make similar memories. 

“We have a team that can compete at the highest level again,” Laverty said. “There’s a lot of good teams out there, but I really like our club, with a lot of World Series experience coming back. We feel that we could put ourselves in a position to do that again.”