Durham Lords announce Darryl Reid as new baseball head coach

Darryl Reid will take over as the new coach of the Durham Lords baseball team. Photo: Durham Lords

January 16, 2020

Official Press Release from Durham Lords website

OSHAWA, Ont. – The Durham College athletic department is excited to announce the hiring of Darryl Reid as the new head coach of the Durham Lords baseball program.

Reid, a DC baseball alum, becomes just the second head coach in program history following the retirement of long-time manager Sam Dempster this past fall.

"It was a very challenging task in finding a replacement for the only head coach our baseball program has ever known in Sam, and it was a very difficult decision following the search and interview process," noted Durham College athletic director Ken Babcock. "We had some truly outstanding candidates, but at the end of the search I am extremely pleased to know one of our very own baseball alumni is going to be the next head coach of our program."

The Lords new coach brings with him a plethora of experience. Reid comes to the Lords from the Toronto Mets where he has served as a general manager and head coach with their elite programs since 2013. The Mets are recognized as one of the top elite baseball programs in the country, in particular in the 15U and 18U divisions. Reid will continue in his capacities with the Mets, which should provide a benefit to the Lords program.

Prior to his time with the elite program, Reid served as an assistant under coach Dempster for three years after graduation from Durham College. This included the 2011 season where the Lords captured their first national baseball championship.

Reid has also been part of coaching staffs for Baseball Ontario youth and elite teams, as well as coaching in the Intercounty Baseball League (IBL). In addition, he brings international experience coaching with the Great Britain national team for four years, including the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifying tournament in Israel.

Reid was a standout player at Durham College. He dawned the green and gold for three seasons (1997, 1999, 2000), being named the team MVP and Durham College male athlete of the year following the Lords 2000-01 campaign where he was honoured as a CIBA top hitter and the team captured the regular season title.

"With his experience, knowledge of the game, connection to players in the province and the fact he is one of our own, we felt Darryl was the absolute right fit for leading our program's next chapter," said Babcock.

Coach Reid will be welcomed to the college next week and begin preparing immediately for the fall 2020 season.