UNCW Athletic Hall of Fame
Mark Scalf is the all-time winningest baseball coach at UNCW and in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA).
Scalf arrived in Wilmington following a terrific high school playing career at Cary (N.C.) High School. During his collegiate playing career with the Seahawks, he was a four-time letter winner at second base.
Scalf’s coaching career began in 1981 when he was a graduate assistant at UNC Chapel Hill. The following season, Scalf was added to the coaching staff on a full-time basis. He left Chapel Hill to become an assistant coach at UNCW in 1984, and remained in that position before succeeding Bobby Guthrie as head coach in 1992.
Scalf coached the Seahawks for 28 seasons, compiling a record of 941-707-1, before retiring at the conclusion of the 2019 season. Under his guidance, UNCW won nine CAA regular season titles and six tournament championships. The Seahawks qualified for 10 NCAA Tournaments.
The 2008 team went on a school-record 21-game winning streak and set a program record with 44 victories. Two of Scalf’s players – pitcher Brad Holt and shortstop Greg Jones – were selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft. Holt was selected No. 33 by the New York Mets in 2008, while Jones went to the Tampa Bay Rays with the 22nd pick in 2019. A total of 83 of Scalf’s former players have played professionally.
Scalf was selected CAA Coach-of-the-Year seven times and American Baseball Coaches Association Regional Coach-of-the-Year on five occasions.
He was also inducted into the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame in 2023 and the UNCW College of Health and Human Services in 2026.
