Philly Leader

John Yurkow, the W. Joseph Blood Head Coach of Penn Baseball, is set to be inducted into Rowan University's Athletic Hall of Fame. The announcement was made by the university's athletic department on Tuesday afternoon.

Yurkow graduated from Rowan University in 2001 and will join five other individuals and two teams in the Class of 2025. He had a notable playing career with the Profs from 1996 to 1999, earning second-team All-America honors in 1999. That year, he led Rowan to a 36-8 overall record and secured the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) championship. Additionally, he was selected twice for the NCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region team in 1998 and 1999.

During his time at Rowan, Yurkow was a three-time All-NJAC selection at second base and left as the program's all-time leader in runs (179) and walks (175) over 150 games played. He also ranks among the top ten in career stolen bases with 55.

After completing his playing career, Yurkow began coaching at Rowan from 1999 to 2001 before moving on to serve as an assistant coach at Duke for five seasons. From there, he joined Penn as an assistant coach in 2006 and became head coach in 2014.

In his first decade as head coach at Penn, Yurkow achieved an overall record of 227-188-1, placing him third on the program's all-time wins list behind Bob Seddon and Walter Cariss. Under his leadership from 2022 to 2024, Penn enjoyed some of its most successful seasons with a combined total of 91 wins, two Ivy League regular-season titles, two Ivy League Tournament championships, and back-to-back NCAA regional appearances.

The induction ceremony will take place during Rowan's Homecoming weekend on Sunday, October 19th with a brunch event. Further details regarding registration will be available later this spring on RowanAthletics.com.

For updates on Penn baseball activities, fans can follow @PennBaseball on X (formerly Twitter), @Penn_Baseball on Instagram or visit PennAthletics.com.