Longtime Head Baseball Coach David Foster Retires
Prince George's Community College baseball will have a new look when they return next spring, and it won't be that it's the first full year on the new turf field or a renewed sense of normalcy surrounding campus activities. Rather, the difference will be a new face representing the baseball program.
Veteran head baseball coach David "Buddy" Foster has decided to retire after ten years at the helm of the Owls program. Foster initially came to the college in 2009 as an assistant coach, being brought in by current assistant coach Jimmy Williams to mainly focus on pitching before being elevated to head coach in 2012. Foster kept Williams as an assistant coach, a position he has held since Foster's promotion. Foster states that coach Williams has been equally vital to all the success the program has enjoyed over the past ten years.
Over the past decade as head coach, Foster has completely revived the Owls baseball program on his way to 154 total career wins. Foster's coaching attitude and techniques began a culture change within the program, one that he has prided himself on since 2012. It quickly worked as the Owls finished as the region runner-up in 2013 before making an improbable run to the World Series in 2014. The culture continued to grow as Foster collected four NJCAA Division III Region XX titles across his career, with the first coming in 2014 before rattling off three in a row from 2017-2019.
His 2014 and 2017 squads both went on to win the District D Championship to earn a trip to the Division III World Series in Tyler, Texas (2014) and Greenville, Tennessee (2017). Foster picked up his 100th career win during the 2017 season with a 12-9 victory over Surry Community College in the District D Tournament. The accomplishments of both his World Series seasons didn't go unnoticed as he would earn his first American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Diamond National Junior College Athletic Association Division III District D Regional Coach of The Year Award in 2014 before picking up his second in 2017.
The ABCA, founded in 1945, is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its over 8,200 members represent all 50 states and 23 countries. Since its initial meeting of 27 college baseball coaches in June 1945, the association's annual awards program has grown to include nine divisions: NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA Division I, II, III, Pacific Association Division and High School.
Although Foster would be the first to admit he doesn't much care to boast about his awards, he has coached dozens of student athletes over the past thirteen years who picked up their own hardware for their play under the guidance of their head coach. Numerous players earned honors for Region XX First, Second and Third Team as well as All-Academic honors, Maryland JUCO All-Conference Teams, and a handful of national awards, including All-American status. Dozens more have gone on to earn the chance to play at 4-year schools after their time at Prince George's and a handful have gone on to play professionally.
Reflecting on Foster's time at the college, Athletics Director Jo Ann Rogers Todaro said, "Coach Foster has impacted many young men's lives and built a program which has been a Region 20 contender year after year."
Foster consistently proved to be a threat to other programs in the region, specifically the Owls divisional opponents as he won the Region XX Championship four out of a possible eight years while he was at the helm. (No Division III Region XX Champion was crowned in 2020 due to COVID-19 while the 2021 winner was unofficial since only two teams competed).
Foster was also instrumental in the oversight of the new turf field which was completed in the fall of 2019. He attributes the field to the successes of all the teams that came before, citing their hard work and determination on the field which garnered attention to Prince George's as a national contender, something that wasn't the case before he took over in 2012.
Rogers Todaro later said of coach Foster, "He will be greatly missed. We wish him and his family well as they move into the next chapter of their lives."
The next head coach will aim to replicate the kind of success Buddy was able to produce during his time at the college, and will have him to thank when stepping foot on the turf for the first time.
The search for the next leader of Prince George's Community College Baseball will begin immediately while assistant coach Jimmy Williams serves as the Interim Head Coach. Interested parties should submit a resume and letter of interest to Athletics Director Jo Ann Rogers Todaro at todarojx@pgcc.edu.
