James Herbert Sherman (born January 26, 1960) is an American baseball coach and former outfielder and third baseman. He played college baseball at Delaware for coach Bob Hannah from 1979 to 1982 and played in the Houston Astros organization for 6 seasons from 1982 to 1987. He then served as the head coach of the Wilmington Wildcats (1988–1994) and the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (2001–2022).

Amateur career

Sherman attended William Penn High School in New Castle, Delaware. Sherman played for the school's varsity baseball and football teams. Sherman then enrolled at the University of Delaware, to play college baseball for the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens baseball team.

As a freshman at the University of Delaware in 1979, Sherman had a .367 batting average, a .419 on-base percentage (OBP) and a .623 SLG. He was named to the first team All-East Coast Conference (ECC). As a sophomore in 1980, Sherman batted .328 with a .661 SLG, 13 home runs, and 56 RBIs. In the 1981 season as a junior, Sherman hit 10 home runs and 12 doubles, and was then selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 20th round of the 1981 Major League Baseball draft, but returned for his senior year at Delaware. Sherman had his best season as a senior in 1982, leading the team in doubles (13), home runs (15), RBIs (68), batting average (.394) and slugging (.794). He was named First Team All-ECC.

In 1980 and 1981 following his sophomore and junior seasons at Delaware, Sherman played collegiate summer baseball for the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL). Batting .339 and .335, he was named a league all-star in both seasons, and was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2012.

Professional career

Sherman was drafted in the 14th round of the 1982 Major League Baseball draft by the Houston Astros.

Coaching career

Sherman was hired as the head coach of the Wilmington University Wildcats baseball program in 1988. He led the Wildcats to the NAIA World Series in 1992 and 1994. In the summer of 1994, Sherman was named an assistant coach at the University of Delaware. Sherman was elevated to head coach in 2000, following Bob Hannah's retirement. In May 2017, Sherman won his 500th career game at Delaware.

Head coaching record

Record table
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Wilmington Wildcats (Independent) (1988–1994)
1988Wilmington29–13
1989Wilmington29–17
1990Wilmington26–18
1991Wilmington23–24
1992Wilmington42–19NAIA World Series
1993Wilmington36–13
1994Wilmington33–24NAIA World Series
Wilmington:218–128
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (America East Conference) (2001)
2001Delaware45–1522–61stNCAA Regional
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (Colonial Athletic Association) (2002–2022)
2002Delaware35–2212–74thCAA tournament
2003Delaware21–327–134th
2004Delaware33–2412–116thCAA tournament
2005Delaware27–3113–115thCAA tournament
2006Delaware30–2412–187th
2007Delaware32–2318–111stCAA tournament
2008Delaware22–3111–179th
2009Delaware28–2011–106thCAA tournament
2010Delaware27–249–1510th
2011Delaware27–2616–145th
2012Delaware31–2717–133rdCAA tournament
2013Delaware33–2215–123rdCAA tournament
2014Delaware26–2710–104thCAA tournament
2015Delaware26–2411–135thCAA tournament
2016Delaware32–2210–147th
2017Delaware34–2315–84thNCAA Regional
2018Delaware29–2512–115thCAA tournament
2019Delaware21–339–158th
2020Delaware8–70–0Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021Delaware12–228–16T-3rd (North)
2022Delaware25–268-158th
Delaware:604–530258–250
Total:822–658
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

External links

  • Career statistics from