Fred Batchelor

Fred Batchelor enters his 18th season as women's basketball head coach at Maryland Eastern Shore. Batchelor is the winningest coach in Maryland Eastern Shore women's basketball history. Under his leadership, the Hawks have compiled 191 wins while posting .500 or better in the conference 10 of the last 15 seasons. His ultimate goal is to lead Maryland Eastern Shore to the NCAA tournament by building a program that exemplifies high character, exceptional talent and a diligent work ethic.

Eastern Shore opted out of athletic competition during the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The Shore had simultaneously one of the best and worst postseason runs of Batchelor's career in 2019-20. After finding their stride late in the regular season, the Hawks topped Coppin State, 62-50, in their tourney opener only to then face No. 1-seed Bethune-Cookman.

Five years — to the day — after the University of Maryland Eastern Shore upset No. 1 seeded Hampton University in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament, Batchelor and the Hawks pulled off another heist. The Shore led wire-to-wire against the Wildcats on Wednesday (March 11) on the way to a 61-55 victory and a spot in Friday's semifinal against No. 5 North Carolina Central. But COVID-19 had other plans. The tournament was suspended before the Hawks could continue their late season run and the team faced the reality of ending their season on a five-game win streak rather than a loss.

The regular season had been an up and down affair with Eastern Shore struggling to find their way and finishing the regular season 10-21 overall (5-11 MEAC).

The Hawks matched a program-record with 17 wins during the 2018-19 season. The Hawks finished 12-4 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and advanced to the MEAC Tournament semifinals. They went on a seven-game winning streak during conference play. Batchelor won MEAC Coach of the Year honors for the firs time and senior Ciani Byrom was a First-Team All-MEAC selection.

The previous season started off with promise as Batchelor's prize recruiting class had reached junior status and the addition of a pair of graduate transfers from mid-major programs had The Shore thinking about titles. But the team had little time to develop chemistry with both Keyera Eaton and Ciani Byrom missing time due to injury. The team finished the season 11-19 and went 7-9 in MEAC play.

During the 2016-17 season, Batchelor's bunch finished 13-16 (6-10 MEAC) overall and placed eleventh in league play. Before the season, he saw Moengaroa Subritzky collect Preseason All-MEAC First Team honors. In December, Maryland Eastern Shore won the 2016 FAU Holiday Tournament by defeating Saint Francis (Pa.) and Florida Atlantic. Guards Ciani Byrom and Mariah McCoy were named to the All-Tournament Team. In March, the club upset in-state rival No. 6 Coppin State in the MEAC Tournament First Round.

Maryland Eastern Shore wrapped up its 2015-16 campaign with a 12-17 (10-6 MEAC) overall record and a sixth-place finish in the MEAC standings. The squad won double-digit victories in conference play for the first time in seven seasons. Furthermore, Coach Batchelor witnessed two student-athletes receive all-conference postseason honors. Moengaroa Subritzky earned All-MEAC First Team honors while freshman Ciani Byrom took a spot on the MEAC All-Rookie Team. Also, he coached the program's all-time shot block leader Alexis Udoji. The Massachusetts-native ended her career with 253 rejections.

In his 2014-15 season, the Hawks reached new heights. The squad finished 14-17 (8-8 MEAC) overall and made the MEAC Finals for the first time in the program's history. Along the way, Coach Batchelor saw three student-athletes earn conference postseason honors. Alexis Udoji received 2014-15 MEAC Defensive Player of the Year and All-MEAC recognition. Guard Jessica Long also made All-MEAC Team and Moengaroa Subritzky was selected to the All-MEAC Rookie Team. Furthermore, he coached the program's all-time leading three-pointer scorer Shawnee Sweeney. Sweeney ended her four-year career with 179 made three-pointers.

During the 2013-14 season, Maryland Eastern Shore finished 9-21 overall (4-12 MEAC), including an upset victory over No. 6 Norfolk State University in the MEAC Tournament First Round. Last season, the Hawks ranked among the nation's best in defending the three-point arc as opponents only shot 27-percent, which was 21st in the country.

With a team of primarily underclassmen, the Hawks finished 8-20 overall and 4-12 in conference play. Freshmen Ashleigh Claybrooks and Alexis Udoji earned a place on the All-MEAC Rookie Team, combining to earn four MEAC Rookie of the Week honors. The Lady Hawks proved themselves one of the best teams in the state of Maryland by defeating Towson, UMBC and, Morgan State at the Hytche Athletic Center.

The Hawks matched their win total and MEAC record from the previous year during the 2011-12 season by going 12-18 overall with an 8-8 conference standing, finishing in 6th place in the MEAC with one of the strongest defenses in the country. Led by Adobi Agbasi, who averaged 3.7 blocks a game to finish third in all of Division I women's basketball, Maryland Eastern Shore allowed just 53.9 points per game and allowed opponents to shoot just 33.7%, the latter being the sixth best in the NCAA. Maryland Eastern Shore defeated Savannah State 51-28 in the first round of the MEAC Tournament, earning the strongest defensive performance ever in the MEAC Tournament. The Hawks were just short of an upset of 3-seed Florida A&M in the second round.

In the 2010-11 season, the Hawks saw Casey Morton become the eighth player in Maryland Eastern Shore women's basketball history to score 1,000 points, earning it on January 5th, 2011 against Savannah State. She finished her career with 1,230 points. The team went 12-19 and went 8-8 in MEAC, marking the fourth straight season the Hawks have gone .500 or better in conference play. Maryland Eastern Shore once again took the seventh seed in the MEAC Tournament, repeating last year's result with a victory over 10-seed Delaware State before a close loss to 2-seed Morgan State in the following round.

The 2009-10 season saw Maryland Eastern Shore finish with a 12-16 overall record (8-8 in conference). The Hawks earned the seventh seed in the MEAC Tournament, defeating No. 10 Delaware State in the opening round before falling to eventual tournament champion Hampton in the quarterfinal round.

In 2008-09, the Hawks posted their fourth winning conference record and advanced to the MEAC tournament semifinals. It was also the first time in over 18 years that Maryland Eastern Shore women's basketball had back-to-back winning seasons. The 2008-09 season also saw April McBride receive First Team All-MEAC recognition for the second of three straight years. McBride exhausted her eligibility following 2009-10 as arguably one of the best players in Maryland Eastern Shore women's basketball history. She scored 1,698 career points, second all-time at the school and was a three-time First Team All-MEAC selection.

Batchelor’s staff has recruited and developed seven student-athletes who finished their freshman season on the MEAC All-Rookie Team, including local standout Casey Morton (now an assistant coach), who was 2007-08 Rookie of the Year and Bairesha Gill-Miles who won the award in 2017-18. He also coached Kristi Veltkamp, the MEAC’s inaugural Defensive Player of the Year in 2006. In the 2005-06 season, Toni Kennedy led the nation in three-pointers made per game (3.4).

Batchelor has over 20 years of coaching experience at a variety of levels. Having coached men's basketball for half of his career, he has served as head coach of Villa Maria Junior College where he took that program from zero to double-digit wins in just one season.

He also served as a men's assistant at the University at Buffalo. He returned to his alma mater, Buffalo State College, to serve as the interim men's head coach. At the conclusion of that year, he was named the women's basketball head coach at Buffalo State, where he has experienced his most success as a collegiate head coach.

He led his team to a school-record 25 wins and was the first African-American coach in both men's and women's basketball to win the State University of New York Athletic Conference championship in its 60-plus-year existence. As a result, he was voted SUNYAC Coach of the Year. He also guided the Bengals to an NCAA Division III tournament appearance.

Before coming to Maryland Eastern Shore, he also served as women's head coach at Elizabeth City State where he lead the Vikings to a third-place finish along with a semifinal CIAA tournament appearance.

Batchelor received his Bachelor's degree from Valley Forge Christian College where he was a two-time National Christian College All-American point guard recording over 1,600 points and over 800 assists. He was recently inducted into VFCC's Athletic Hall of Fame.

He also earned his master's degree in Multi-disciplinary Studies (with a concentration in Educational Leadership) from Buffalo State.

Batchelor resides in Princess Anne, Maryland and has two children, Trey and Tiara.