WASHINGTON – Director of Track & Field / Cross Country Julie Culley announced today that Mitchell Baker will be joining the staff as an assistant coach for the men's and women's track & field and cross country teams. The announcement comes just days after the women's squad was tabbed No. 25 and the men were ranked No. 30 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) preseason poll.

"We are honored and excited to announce the newest member of our coaching staff, Mitchell Baker," Director of Track & Field / Cross Country Julie Culley said. "Mitchell brings a wealth of experience and success coaching men's and women's middle distance and distance as well as jumps.  Baker has experience coaching on every level from high school to DIII, DI and apprenticing several world renowned coaches giving him the knowledge and expertise to connect with our program on multiple levels.  We feel so grateful and excited for him to join our team and help continue the tradition of excellence that is Georgetown track & field."

Baker most recently served as the head coach of women's cross country and assistant coach of track and field at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He has been in charge of women's middle distance and long distance events since 2011. He also held a large responsibility in terms of recruiting. In 2017, Baker's efforts earned the Bears a No. 7 recruit class ranking from FloTrack. He was also responsible for recruiting Brown's first-ever Footlocker Finalists and Nike National Qualifiers, and the second-fastest 1,600-meter runner in Minnesota history. During his seven-year coaching stint, Brown broke 15 school records, had one All-American, one USA Junior National Team selection, two NCAA Championship qualifiers, one USA Championship qualifier, eight NCAA first round qualifiers, and 20 All-Academic individuals directly under his guidance.

Prior to his time at Brown, Baker spent four years as an assistant cross country and primary events coach at Williams College in Massachusetts. He assisted both the men's and women's teams that garnered seven finishes in the NCAA top 10, 11 Division III New England Regional Championships, and 11 New England Small College Athletic Conference titles. As the day-to-day coach of the middle-distance events, 10 student-athletes earned a total of 22 All-America awards. Of those, 10 came by virtue of top-three NCAA finishes, including the men's outdoor 5,000-meter champion in 2010, later named USTFCCCA Outdoor Track Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Another of his student-athletes raced to runner-up NCAA Outdoor 1,500-meter finishes in consecutive years, was named New England Regional Athlete of the Year and qualified for the 2009 USATF Senior Championships in Eugene, Oregon, with the eighth-fastest time in Division III history. In addition to the All-American performances, student-athletes from his group competed at the NCAA Championships 11 additional times, and 15 more performances made the NCAA provisional or automatic cut. Baker began his coaching career in the Catholic League of New York City.

"My wife and I are thrilled to join the Georgetown University track & field family," Baker said. "I want to thank Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Julie Culley, Associate Athletics Director Shannon Soares, and Director of Athletics Lee Reed, for this incredible opportunity to come to the Hilltop. Coach Culley, her staff and teams are writing an exciting new chapter for a program rich in history and I am thrilled to contribute to that process. I am forever grateful to Director of Track & Field Tim Springfield, Deputy Director of Athletics Colin Sullivan, and Director of Athletics Jack Hayes at Brown for their years of support, as well as the efforts put forth by the athletes, support staff and alumni during my tenure with the Bears."
 
In addition to his extensive coaching career, Baker has served several apprenticeships. In 2003, he worked with the Nike Farm Team in California under the direction of USATF Hall of Famer and Georgetown legend Frank Gagliano. Baker also spent a year in Kenya serving as an apprentice with the Qatar Training Camp along side world-renowned Italian coach Renato Canova.

The Macomb, Illinois native competed in cross country and indoor and outdoor track for Williams from 2000-04, graduating from Williams in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in art studio.