Pedro Swann enters his first season as the head baseball coach at Delaware State University in 2025. Swann joined the Hornets on Sept. 3, 2024.
Swann earned his first win at Delaware State on Saturday, Feb. 22. The Hornets won 13-5 in eight innings over Lincoln (Pa.).
Swann comes to Delaware State University after being the head baseball coach at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore from 2013-15. In his first year, UMES earned non-conference victories against teams from the Big South Conference, the Patriot League, and the Atlantic-10 Conference. Two players during Swann's first year, Joshua James and Brandon Schott, earned All-MEAC honors while Tre-von Johnson earned a place on the MEAC All-Tournament Team.
Swann played in the professional ranks for 17 years from 1991 to 2007, including three years playing in the MLB. Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 26th round in 1991, he made his major league debut for the team on Sept. 9, 2000. He also made major league appearances for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2002 and the Baltimore Orioles in 2003. In his final year in the majors, he hit a home run off Roger Clemens at Orioles Park at Camden Yards. He also played with the Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, and Philadelphia Phillies organizations.
He earned numerous awards in his playing time, including being named the Most Valuable Player for the Louisville Bats in 2005, the AAA-affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, the Ottawa Lynx in 2003, the former AAA-affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and the Greenville Braves in 1997, the former AA-affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.
Swann graduated from Delaware State in 1995 with a degree in Business Administration. He played for the Hornets from 1989-91, earning All-Conference honors all three years in Dover. He finished with a .421 batting average in three seasons. Currently, he is the career leader in that category at DSU, with 26 home runs and 131 runs batted in.
In 1989, he hit .449, the fourth-highest single-season mark in DSU history, with five home runs in his freshman year, helping the Hornets win their lone MEAC title that season. He was elected into the Delaware State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001, and his No. 1 jersey was retired in 2004. He was also a strong student, making the Dean's List in the fall and spring semesters of 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1994.
Swann founded and was the president of the Pro Swing Sports Academy in Middletown, Delaware 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 Riversharks in Camden, NJ of the Atlantic League during the 2015 season, St. Andrews High School from 2009 to 2011, and at Avon Grove High School in 2008.
Swann also has appeared on the big screen, playing the role of Juan Vasquez in the 1998 baseball movie "For Love of the Game," starring Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston.
In 2024, Swann was inducted into his High-School Alma Mater, Saint Marks' Athletic Hall of Fame as well as the Delaware Baseball Hall of Fame.
Swann was previously employed with New York Life Insurance Company as a full-service agent for the past nine years.
Swann is married to Talayia Swann, and the couple have 3 children: Xavier, Adriana, and Adonis.
