Two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year Ed Kahovec, who guided the Holy Cross baseball team to regular season and tournament championships in 2025, has signed a three-year contract extension, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Kit Hughes announced on Wednesday, June 25. 

With the deal, Kahovec will remain as the head coach of the Crusaders through the 2028 season.

"I am excited to announce this contract extension for Coach Kahovec as he continues to set a new standard of excellence for our baseball program at Holy Cross," Hughes said. "Throughout his tenure, he has shown a strong commitment to developing talented student-athletes and guiding well-respected leaders in our campus community — and his devotion to creating a strong team culture has brought a championship standard back to our storied program. I look forward to supporting Ed and his staff in their continued efforts to establish Crusader Baseball as the premier program in the Northeast. The best is yet to come!"

The Crusaders finished with a 31-27 record during the 2025 season, the fourth 30-win season in program history and the second-most wins in program history. Holy Cross posted a 17-8 mark in league action — the most Patriot League wins in program history — earning its first regular-season title since 2013 and first conference tournament championship since 2017. This also marks the first time in program history that Holy Cross has won both the regular-season and tournament crowns in the same season.

"Thank you to Kit Hughes, President Vincent Rougeau and the rest of our administration — I am grateful for the opportunity to continue serving as the baseball coach at Holy Cross," Kahovec said. "This would not be possible without the great work of our student-athletes and assistant coaches who believed in our vision and made it a reality with a 2025 Patriot League Championship. Now, a new standard of excellence has been set, and I am thrilled to continue our work in taking this program to even greater heights."

Holy Cross' eight All-Patriot League selections in 2025 were its most ever, highlighted by Patriot League Player of the Year CJ Egrie and Pitcher of the Year Jaden Wywoda. Kahovec earned Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive season after guiding the Crusaders to the top seed in the conference; he previously earned the award in 2024 after helping Holy Cross elevate its league win total by eight games from the previous season and secure a third-place finish in the conference standings.

In 2025, Kahovec also helped lead Holy Cross to an upset of then-No. 22 Auburn on Feb. 22; the Crusaders have upset ranked opponents in back-to-back seasons, with a victory over No. 24 Kansas State during the 2024 season. 

This year, the Crusaders also set team records for games played (58), runs scored (419), doubles (123), RBI (365), walks (311), stolen bases (123) and strikeouts (428). 

Kahovec joined the Crusader staff ahead of the 2017 season as an assistant coach, helping guide Holy Cross to the first Patriot League title in program history that year. He was named the permanent head coach of the program in May 2020 after serving as interim head coach during the 2020 season. In addition to the on-field success in that time, Kahovec's programs have seen tremendous academic success throughout his tenure, with the team earning the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)'s Team Academic Excellence Award in every season since 2018.

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