In the 132 years that baseball has been played at Mansfield University, no head coach has won as many games in as short amount of time as Harry Hillson. Since 1992, Hillson has directed his Mountaineers to eight Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East titles, five PSAC Championships, three North Atlantic Regional Championships and three trips to the NCAA Division II World Series. During the 1990s, the Mountaineers were the eighth-winningest program in Division II, winning 69.5% of their games, and rank eighth in wins with 354. In 1997, the Mountaineers earned a PSAC record eighth crown in their history by capturing their fifth PSAC title in six seasons and advancing to the North Atlantic Regional for the fifth time in Hillson's tenure. His teams had won 30 or more games for a PSAC record six straight seasons, and finished just shy in 1998 with a 29-18 mark. Under Hillson's direction, the Mounties have been ranked in both the Division II National preseason and post-season polls in all but two seasons since 1992. In 1995, Hillson directed the Mountaineers to a record fourth-straight PSAC title along with a fourth-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II National Championship tournament. Hillson's explosive offense not only helped to post a 41-16 record and a 15th-place finish in the final national poll, but led the nation with a school-record 97 home runs. The 1995 finish marked the fourth-straight year that MU finished in the top 20 and the fifth time in Hillson's first nine seasons. Mansfield was the first school north of the Mason-Dixon line to earn No. 1 status when they were voted the top team in the 1995 NCAA Division II preseason baseball poll. Voted the 1994 NCAA Division II North Atlantic Regional Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season, Hillson directed the Mounties to a school record 44-10 mark and back-to-back-to-back PSAC and North Atlantic Regional Championships to earn a third-straight trip to the Division II World Series. A fifth-place finish at the World Series earned the Mountaineers a No. 4 ranking in the final Division II poll. Hillson's record of 436-222-1 over the last 13 seasons ranks him among the coaching elite of Division II. His .662 winning percentage is tops for current PSAC coaches and is the 17th-best among active Division II coaches. Hillson has the top six single-season marks in MU history and is the only coach to win more than 30 games in a season, a feat he has accomplished 10 times, including a school record 44-win season in 1994. In 1992, Hillson guided the Mounties to their then-best record in school history with a 39-12 mark and came within one swing of the bat for a national championship in an 11-8 setback to the University of Tampa in the Division II World Series championship game. The Mountaineers were the first Pennsylvania team ever to advance to the final game of the Division II World Series and led the nation in fielding percentage while finishing second in batting average. Now in his 14th season at the Mounties' helm, Hillson recorded his 200th, 300th, 350th, 400th and 500th victories faster than any other Division II coach in Pennsylvania history. In his 13 seasons, Hillson's teams have made 10 trips to the PSAC Championship Tournament. Eight times under his direction, the Mountaineers have been PSAC East Champions while advancing to Division II regional play seven times. Hillson has posted an 14-13 mark in national championship play. Prior to his arrival at Mansfield, Hillson attended Cortland State where he was named to the All-SUNYAC team for three consecutive years. As a first baseman and outfielder, he recorded a career batting average of .400, topped by a .469 average his junior season. In 1983 Hillson was a candidate for the Pan American games representing the Northeast Region. Upon graduation, he signed a professional contract with the New York Yankees and played one season of minor league ball. In the fall of 1983, Hillson was named assistant coach at Mansfield and served in that position until promoted to the head coaching job in 1987. Hillson has served as the president of the PSAC Baseball Coaches Committee and chairman of the Baseball Coaches Association State Clinic. Hillson also was a member of the NCAA Division II Regional Selections Committee from 1987-88 and currently sits on the Coaching and Teaching Committee of the American Baseball Coaches Association. He is currently the North Atlantic Regional representative for the American Baseball Coaches Association. A nationally recognized authority on hitting, only one of Hillson's teams have finished with less than a .324 batting average with six of his teams being ranked among the top five hitting teams in Division II season-ending statistics. The Mountaineers won the Division II batting title in 1994 with a .371 team average. Hillson was requested by the NCAA to act as a hitting expert at the NCAA Youth Education Through Sports clinic held in conjunction with the 1990-92 NCAA Division II World Series. Since arriving at Mansfield, Hillson has coached 16 post-season All-Americans, 50 All-Region players and a host of All-PSAC selections. In addition, 14 of his players have entered the professional ranks. Hillson and his wife, Erin Marie, reside in Mansfield with their twins Jacqualyne and Taylor along with younger daughter Alison and son Kipp.
1987- 22-24 PSAC East Champion
1988- 37-18 PSAC Championship Tournament, Northeast Regional Tournament
1989- 23-24
1990- 38-15 PSAC East Champion
1991- 27-14
1992- 39-12 PSAC East Champion, PSAC Champion, North Atlantic Regional Champion, Division II National Runner up
1993- 38-15 PSAC East Champion, PSAC Champion, North Atlantic Regional Champion, Division II World Series 5th place
1994- 44-10 PSAC East Champion, PSAC Champion, North Atlantic Regional Champion, Division II World Series 5th place
1995- 41-16 PSAC East Champion, PSAC Champion, North Atlantic Regional Runner up
1996- 36-14 PSAC East Champion
1997- 35-23-1 PSAC Champion, North Atlantic Regional Tournament
1998- 28-19
1999- 32-18
2000- 25-22
2001- 29-17
2002- 41-14 PSAC East Champion, North Atlantic Regional Tournament
2003-
2004-
Sixteen Seasons 534-267-1
Matt Mills
Dan Kochenderfer
