Swann returning to Delaware State as baseball coach

DOVER — Former Delaware State baseball standout Pedro Swann is returning to the Hornets as the program’s next head coach.

DSU made the announcement today. Swann replaces J.P. Blandin, who was the Hornets’ head coach for the past 24 seasons.

A Middletown native, Swann played professionally for 17 years (1991-2007), including three stints in the Major Leagues. A 26th-round draft pick of the Braves in 91, he appeared with the Braves in 200o, with the Blue Jays in 2002 and with the Orioles in 2003.

In his final year in the majors, Swann hit a home run off Roger Clemens at Orioles Park at Camden Yards. He also played with the Tigers, the Reds, and Phillies organizations.

Swann has been a head coach in the MEAC, coaching Maryland Eastern Shore in both 2013 and ‘14. His teams finished with a record of 21-80.

A 1995 DSU grad, Swann played for the Hornets from 1989 to 1991. He earned all-MEAC conference honors all three years, finishing with a .school-record 421 batting average.

He also hit 26 home runs and had 131 runs batted in.

Swann was elected into the Delaware State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001 and his No. 1 jersey was retired in 2004.

Among the awards that Swann won as a pro were Most Valuable Player for the Louisville Bats in 2005, the Ottawa Lynx in 2003 and the Greenville Braves in 199.

Swann founded the Pro Swing Sports Academy in Middletown in 2007. He served as a hitting instructor as well as head coach of three youth travel baseball teams.

He also worked as a hitting coach for the Camden (N.J.) Riversharks, the Atlantic League during the 2015 season, at St. Andrews High School from 2009 to 2011 and at Avon Grove High School in 2008.

In 1998, Swann had a role in the baseball movie “For Love of the Game,” starring Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston.

Swann was inducted into both the Saint Marks’ Athletic Hall of Fame and the Delaware Baseball Hall of Fame.