A newcomer to the Villanova coaching staff in 2018 is Rob Delaney, who joins the Wildcats as an assistant coach. Delaney will be involved in all aspects of the program and will be the Villanova pitching coach. He is a former major league pitcher for the Minnesota Twins and the Tampa Bay Rays who had eight years of pitching experience in the professional ranks.
Delaney comes to Villanova from Stevens Institute of Technology, where he was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator during the 2017 season. He worked with a Ducks team that won 19 games and advanced to the Empire 8 conference tournament after going 9-9 in league play during the year.
A former BIG EAST pitcher, Delaney was a four-year member of the St. John's pitching staff and graduated in 2006 with a degree in Sports Management. He was a team captain as a senior in 2006, when he was one of the top BIG EAST pitchers in conference play. Delaney finished second in the league in 2006 with a 2.42 ERA and also had 51 strikeouts while allowing three earned runs or less in eight of his nine BIG EAST starts.
He signed a free agent contract with the Minnesota Twins after the 2006 collegiate season and went on to appear in more than 300 games over eight seasons as a professional pitcher. Delaney reached the major leagues with the Twins in 2010 and the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011, while picking up several accolades along the way. He was named the MLB Class-A Relief Pitcher of the Year in 2007 after going 3-0 with a 1.03 ERA, 35 saves and 83 strikeouts while pitching for Beloit of the Midwest League and Fort Myers of the Florida State League. He made his major league debut for the Twins on September 4, 2010 against the Texas Rangers.
Delaney was named the Triple-A Durham Bulls Pitcher of the Year in 2011 after his first year in the Rays organization. He was 4-2 with a 1.86 ERA with the Bulls, and also made four major league appearances for the Rays during the 2011 season. Delaney also pitched in the minor league systems of the Miami Marlins, the Baltimore Orioles and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim during his pro career.
Following his retirement in 2013, Delaney began his coaching career as the pitching coach for the Sag Harbor Whalers of the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League. Delaney also spent time as an assistant coach for Wayne Hills (N.J.) High School, where he used his playing and coaching experience to implement throwing and conditioning programs.
