Aoki was born in Yokohama, Japan, and raised in Plymouth, Massachusetts. He attended Milton Academy prior to enrolling at Davidson College. Aoki earned four varsity letters while starting for three seasons for the Wildcats at catcher, second base, and third base. He was a prolific hitter and still ranks among career leaders in several offensive categories. Aoki hit two grand slams in 1988, one of just six Davidson players to hit two in one season.[1] He played one professional season for HCAW in the Netherlands in 1991.
Coaching career
Aoki began his coaching career as head coach at Manchester Community College in Manchester, Connecticut. After one season, he became an assistant at Ohio, where he stayed for two years and earned a master's degree. He then moved to Dartmouth for four seasons before landing his first Division I head coaching job at Ivy LeagueColumbia. In his five seasons, the Lions were 87–140, including twenty or more wins in each of Aoki's last three seasons. Columbia had not won twenty or more games in a season since 1987.[1][2][3]
Aoki left Columbia to become the pitching coach at Boston College for the 2004 season; he was promoted to head coach at the start of the 2007 season. In 2005, BC won a school record 37 games. In 2009, Aoki led the team to its first NCAA tournament since 1967.
Aoki became head coach at Notre Dame in 2011. On June 8, 2019, Notre Dame announced that they would not renew Aoki's contract for the 2020 season.[4]
National championPostseason invitational champion Conference regular season championConference regular season and conference tournament champion
Division regular season champion
Division regular season and conference tournament champion
Conference tournament champion
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