Pat Murphy’s coaching tree and MLB dominance highlight an extensive championship legacy from DIII to the Big Leagues.

MILWAUKEE, WIS. — As the Milwaukee Brewers solidify their modern dominance in Major League Baseball, manager Pat Murphy continues to add to one of the most storied resumes in baseball history. Fresh off leading the small-market Brewers to historic regular-season success, Murphy’s masterful leadership has earned him back-to-back National League Manager of the Year honors (2024 & 2025), serving as a testament to a foundational culture built over four decades of coaching excellence.

Long before he was steering major league rosters past high-budget division rivals, Murphy’s legendary climb began at the grassroots level of college baseball. He laid his coaching foundation at NCAA Division III Maryville (Tenn.) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) before skyrocketing to national prominence by restoring Notre Dame to the elite tier of college sports, engineering the Fighting Irish’s first trip to the NCAA Division I College World Series in generations.

From South Bend, Murphy landed at Arizona State, widely regarded as the mecca of college baseball. Over 15 historic seasons (1995–2009) in Tempe, “Murph” led the Sun Devils to a staggering 629–284–1 record, yielding an elite .689 winning percentage.
His program was defined by relentless discipline and daily practices strictly modeled after professional big-league clubhouses—an intentional environment that prepared everyone under his wing for executive and professional longevity.

Besides coaching outstanding players like Dustin Pedroia and Andre Eithier at ASU, perhaps the most enduring facet of Murphy’s legacy is his highly prosperous coaching tree. Under his direct guidance, a generation of former assistants and staff members have risen to the highest ranks of sports leadership. Andy Stankiewicz (USC), Josh Holliday (Oklahoma State); Travis Jewett (Tulane, USC, and Vanderbilt); Ben Greenspan (Northwestern), Willie Bloomquist (current Arizona State coach) and Graham Rossini, perhaps the crown jewel of Murphy’s developmental tree.

Rossini began his career path under Murphy as ASU’s Director of Baseball Operations. He later climbed to a high-ranking executive position with the Arizona Diamondbacks before returning home to Tempe. Today, Rossini serves as the Athletic Director for Arizona State, engineering the Sun Devils’ athletic programs into a new era of championship success.

From the dirt fields of Division III to the pinnacle of Major League Baseball dugout management, Pat Murphy’s standard of excellence continues to dictate the landscape of modern sports leadership.

Baseball Icons on the Pat Murphy Standard
“Playing for Murph at ASU completely shaped who I became. He demanded a professional standard before we ever signed a contract. I grew up as a person under him, and when I struggled early in my big league career, he was the guy at the top of the list I relied on to pull me through.”
— Dustin Pedroia, 2008 AL MVP & Arizona State Legend

“What Pat does with a roster isn’t an accident. He has spent 40 years instilling a relentless, fearless culture into his players, whether they are college freshmen or Major League veterans. His impact on my career and my approach to athletic leadership is foundational.”
— Graham Rossini, Athletics Director, Arizona State

“Murph doesn’t manage down to a small-market budget—he forces his guys to play bigger than the name on their jersey. I’ve watched his climb from college to the big leagues, and the grit he instills in his clubhouses is exactly what championship baseball requires.”
— Barry Bonds, 7-Time MLB MVP & Arizona State Alumnus

“Having coached alongside him, I saw firsthand how he built the blueprint for a modern winning culture. He challenged his staff and his players daily to execute under pressure, and that’s exactly why his coaching tree continues to thrive across the country.”
— Andy Stankiewicz, Head Baseball Coach, USC

“Pat Murphy understands the psychology of winning. He knows how to filter out the noise, command respect, and get a locker room to thrive on being the underdog. Seeing him win Manager of the Year back-to-back shows that his old-school discipline translates perfectly to the modern game.”
— Reggie Jackson, Baseball Hall of Famer & Arizona State Alumnus