Former Youngstown State baseball standout Collin Floyd has joined the program as an assistant coach, Head Coach Dan Bertolini announced on Thursday.
"Collin Floyd has been a staple of the Youngstown State baseball program, and we couldn't be more excited to add him to our coaching staff," Bertolini said. "As a player, he embodied what the Penguin Way is all about and I know he will do a great job on our staff."
Floyd, a native of Akron, Ohio, was a standout member of the YSU baseball team from 2016-21. He became YSU's all-time strikeout leader on April 2, 2021, with the 266th strikeout of his career, breaking Aaron Swenson's previous record of 265, which had stood since 2010. Floyd finished his career with 323 strikeouts, which ranks second in Horizon League history. He became YSU's all-time leader in games started with the 50th start of his career on April 9, 2021, surpassing Blake Aquadro's previous mark of 49 starts, which had stood since 2013. Floyd finished his career with 57 games started, and he ranks third in YSU history with 318.2 innings pitched. He became just the third player in program history and the first since Swenson (2007-10) to reach 300 career innings pitched.
As a sixth-year senior in 2021, Floyd enjoyed one of the greatest seasons by a pitcher in YSU history. He was named Horizon League Pitcher of the Year and First-Team All-Horizon League after posting a 9-4 record, a 2.58 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 101.1 innings pitched over 15 starts. He became just the fourth player in school history, and the first since Aaron Swenson in 2008, to earn conference Pitcher of the Year honors. Floyd tied the single-season school record of nine wins that was set by Joe Herubin in 1989 while his 2.58 ERA ranks as the seventh-lowest mark in school history and the lowest since Dave Dravecky had a 2.21 ERA over 61 innings in 1977. Floyd's 108 strikeouts rank as the second most in a season in school history, and they were the most by a YSU pitcher since Brad Hennessey set the single-season school record with 126 in 2001. He became just the third player in program history to record 100 strikeouts in a season. Floyd set a new single-season school record with 101.1 innings pitched, surpassing the previous mark of 99.2 innings that was set by Swenson in 2010. He was also named to the ABCA/Rawlings East All-Region First Team following the 2021 campaign. In addition, Floyd was named the Joseph F. Malmisur YSU Male Student-Athlete of the Year for 2020-21.
After missing the 2019 season due to an injury, Floyd finished with a 2-1 record, a 2.74 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 23 innings pitched during the shortened 2020 campaign. He was named Second-Team All-Horizon League as a junior in 2018 after posting a 3-8 record, a 4.41 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 69.1 innings pitched over 12 starts. As a sophomore in 2017, Floyd finished with a 1-7 record, a 6.72 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 65.2 innings over 18 appearances and 13 starts. As a freshman in 2016, he posted a 2-7 record, a 6.52 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 59.1 innings over 14 appearances and 13 starts. Floyd had the most strikeouts by a YSU freshman since Justin Thomas struck out 80 batters in 2003.
Floyd was a two-time member of the Horizon League All-Academic Team during his career. He graduated from Youngstown State in 2020 with a bachelor's degree in marketing management, and he earned his Master of Business Administration in digital marketing from YSU in 2021.
