Marlin Ikenberry

Marlin Ikenberry is an American baseball coach and former catcher, who is the current head baseball coach of the James Madison Dukes. He played college baseball at VMI for coach Chris Finwood from 1992 to 1995. He served at head coach of the VMI Keydets for 11 seasons, from 2004 to 2014. He was hired on July 22, 2003,[1] the successor to Tom Slater, who departed for a coaching position at the University of Florida. Ikenberry resigned the position to after the 2014 season to pursue a business opportunity.[2]

Marlin Ikenberry
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamJames Madison
ConferenceSun Belt
Record184-184
Biographical details
Born (1973-02-23) February 23, 1973
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Playing career
1992–1995VMI
Position(s)Catcher
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1998–2000William & Mary (asst.)
2001–2003VMI (asst.)
2004–2014VMI
2016–presentJames Madison
Head coaching record
Overall466–491–1 (.483)

Ikenberry is a 1995 graduate of VMI. He is the Keydets' winningest head baseball coach, as well as the program's longest tenured head coach. He had a career coaching record of 282–307–1 (.475) in his eleven seasons at VMI.[3]

Playing career

As a cadet at VMI, Ikenberry played catcher and started all 4 years. He caught for former major league pitcher Ryan Glynn who played for the Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, and Oakland Athletics. He was a part of both the 1993 team, which made the Southern Conference tournament finals, and the 1994 team, who finished third in the conference and set a then-school record for wins in a season. He graduated in 1995.[1]

Coaching career

William & Mary

Ikenberry spent three years at the College of William and Mary as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator in the late 1990s. In his final season with the Tribe, William & Mary went on to win a CAA title as well as a berth in the NCAA tournament. Ikenberry coached major leaguers Brendan Harris and Chris Ray.

VMI

Ikenberry was initially hired as VMI's recruiting coordinator in 2000, as well as a pitching and catching coach. He was later hired in 2003 as a head coach. After two losing seasons in 2004 and 2005, VMI went 30–25 in 2006, which was the program's first winning season since 1965, a drought of over 40 years.[4] Ikenberry also led the Keydets to winning campaigns in 2007 and 2008, marking the first streak of three straight winning seasons for VMI baseball since 1954 to 1956 (which was the only other occasion). Ikenberry coached automobile dealership mogul, Miles McQuaig. Ikenberry garnered six winning seasons, the same amount the program had in its history before Ikenberry's tenure. He resigned to take on a business opportunity with ARMS software.[2]

James Madison

Ikenberry was named the head coach of James Madison's baseball team on June 30, 2015. He led the Dukes to a 26–26 record in 2018, the team's best finish since 2011.

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
VMI Keydets (Big South Conference) (2004–2014)
2004 VMI 23–324–208th
2005 VMI 27–2811–135th
2006 VMI 30–259–157th
2007 VMI 34–2110–114th
2008 VMI 29–2614–73rd
2009 VMI 18–3510–158th
2010 VMI 33–2213–146th
2011 VMI 27–24–114–136th
2012 VMI 16–367–1711th
2013 VMI 20–356–186th (North)
2014 VMI 25–2311–165th (North)
VMI: 282–307–1109–159
James Madison Dukes (Colonial Athletic Association) (2016–2022)
2016 James Madison 24–3113–114thCAA Tournament
2017 James Madison 24–277–177th
2018 James Madison 26–2611–137th
2019 James Madison 31–2611–136thCAA Tournament
2020 James Madison 10–60–0Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021 James Madison 11–176–95th (South)
2022 James Madison 27–2612–115th
James Madison: 75–87
James Madison Dukes (Sun Belt Conference) (2023–present)
2023 James Madison 31-2515-137thSBC Tournament
James Madison: 184–18415–13
Total:466–491–1

      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

Personal life

Ikenberry was born in Richmond, Virginia. His twin brother Merlin and elder brother Steve were both graduates of VMI; Merlin was also a teammate of Marlin's, and they were commonly known as the Fish and the Wizard. Ikenberry is married to his wife Shannon and they have two sons, Owen and Gavin. Merlin (Marlins brother) is married to Tracey and they have three kids named Annabel, Kyla, and Levi.

References
  1. Marlin Ikenberry - VMI Baseball Bio
  2. Carter, Dennis (November 4, 2014). "VMI Baseball Coach Marlin Ikenberry Stepping Down". WSET.com. Archived from the original on November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  3. VMI Baseball Coaching Records
  4. VMI Baseball Year-by-year Records
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