Florentino Burgos Named Head Baseball Coach at Savannah State University

Florentino Burgos, one of HBCU Baseball’s top small school head coaches, who took Florida Memorial University to historic heights over the last 8 years, has been named head coach at Savannah State University as announced by Director of Athletics Opio Mashariki on Tuesday, December 3, 2024.

Burgos is a 23-year coaching veteran named HBCU Baseball Small School Coach of the Year in 2019 and led his team to a Black College World Series title in 2023, the baseball program’s first-ever national title. He becomes the first Tiger head baseball coach since 2006 when former head coach Carlton Hardy was at the helm.

Savannah State became an attractive opening after former SSU head coach Carlton Hardy left the program and accepted the head coaching position at Alcorn State University this past August.

Athletic Director Opio Mashariki interviewed many good candidates, including former Xavier University (LA) head coach Adrian Holloway.

Ultimately, Savannah State University made a great hire. Burgos is a great leader and excellent coach to head up this proud Tiger baseball program.

Burgos inherits the entire roster that finished last season with a 31-17 overall record, 21-12 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), including an appearance in the NCAA Division II South Regional baseball tournament.

Savannah State concluded last season as one of three teams in the SIAC listed in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association’s (NCBWS) NCAA Division II Final South Region Top 10 Poll. The Tigers and Edward Waters University received votes, and Albany State University received a Top 10 ranking.

The Tigers were also impressive for their performance at the plate and on the mound when the NCAA announced statistical champions for the 2024 season. In the DII statistical ranking categories, Savannah State finished second in on-base percentage (.456) and stolen bases per game (3.75), third in stolen bases (180) and sacrifice flies (43), seventh in batting average (.339), tied for seventh in triples (24), fourteenth in scoring (443), thirty-sixth in runs (443), and fourth-fifth in won/lost percentage (.646).

Burgos will bring the Tiger baseball program to new heights as he develops young men into future leaders. He always has the players’ best interests at heart and will work tirelessly to develop his guys on all levels of play and in life, moving forward in his new role.

In a statement, Coach Burgos said, “It is an incredible honor to be named the head coach at Savannah State University. This program has a rich tradition of excellence, and I am excited to build on that legacy. I look forward to helping our student-athletes succeed on the field, in the classroom, and in life representing Savannah State with passion and pride. I’m excited to get to work. My journey as an SSU Tiger starts now, and I’m thrilled to lead this team into a bright future.”

During his 8-year tenure as head coach at FMU (2016 – 2024), “Tino” Burgos led his teams to the SUN Conference tournament, considered the toughest baseball conference in the NAIA and four straight Black College World Series (BCWS) appearances. That includes three trips to BCWS NAIA bracket championships in three of the last four with the Lions.

His four BCWS appearances are tied for most of any HBCU coach with Edward Waters University’s Reginald Johnson and former Bluefield State University coach Drew Bailey.

Burgos’s Florida Memorial baseball program reached historic levels in short order.

Under his helm, FMU has been ranked as one of the top 10 among Historically Black Colleges and Universities baseball teams. In 2023, Florida Memorial won the Black College Worlds Series championship, defeating the NCAA Division II champion Albany State 5-4. Many FMU players were selected for the All-Conference Team and All-Academic Team honors each year.

In 2019, Major League Baseball Miami Marlins honored Coach Burgos with a pregame on-field presentation after FMU achieved a No. 1 ranking in the Black College Nines National HBCU Baseball Poll for the first time in history and was named HBCU Coach of the Year by Black College Nines.

The Marlins also rolled out a red-carpet salute to Florida Memorial to honor its 2023 Black College World Series title.

Tino Burgos, a native of Miami, Florida attended high school and played baseball at Miami-Dade Christian School, where he was a three-time all-conference player, then started his collegiate career at junior college baseball powerhouse, Seminole State College in Oklahoma, and Miami Dade College.

Burgos completed his last two years of college at Florida International University (FIU) making two NCAA Division I regional and one super regional trip as a Panther player where he was an All-Tournament team selection in the Coral Gables Regional that included an upset of No. 1 Notre Dame in the South Bend, IA regional.

Coach Burgos played professionally in the Frontier League and was selected to the league’s all-star team. After his playing days, Tino Burgos took an opportunity to begin teaching and decided to coach baseball. As a high school coach, he received Coach of the Year honors, three district titles, and two regional selections.

*AS HEAD COACH

2005 – 2007 North Miami Beach Senior High School

2007 – 2015 Hialeah Gardens Senior High School

2016 – 2024 Florida Memorial University

*POSTSEASON APPEARANCES:

2018 – 2019 SUN Conference Tournament

2021 – 2024 Black College World Series

*COACHING HONORS

2008 High School Coach of the Year honors

2018 HBCU Baseball Coach Black College Nines Coach of the Year