By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
When Bill Krumpelbeck was inducted into the Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1999, some of his best years as Covington Catholic’s head coach were still ahead of him.
CovCath won its first state championship in 2002 and then continued a run of 20-win seasons that carried Krumpelbeck to second place on Kentucky’s list of career coaching victories and made him one of the most successful active coaches in the nation.
On Friday, the high school announced that Krumpelbeck was stepping down as head coach of the Colonels after 48 years. His teams compiled a 1,149-485 record for a 70.3 winning percentage.
“For nearly five decades, he has modeled what it means to be committed — not just to a sport, but to a school, its mission and young men,” CovCath athletic director Tony Bacigalupo said in a media release. “His loyalty, humility, and compassion have left a lasting mark on this community that will be felt for generations to come.”
Coach Krumps, as he was known by his players and friends, won 22 district and nine region titles during his career. The 2002 state championship team finished with a 40-3 record, the most wins by a high school team in the nation that year.
Going into the 2025 season, there were 14 active high school baseball coaches in the United States who had passed the 1,000 mark in career wins. Krumpelbeck was No. 7 on the list at that time, according to MaxPreps.com.
When he was closing in on second-place in the state career victories list earlier this month, Krumplebeck downplayed his impressive coaching numbers in a NKyTribune article written by Dan Weber.
“When you’re a Catholic school teacher your whole life, you’re not thinking about numbers, you’re trying to get them better – from the beginning of the season to the end,” he said.
Krumpelbeck taught biology at CovCath for 46 years before retiring from teaching. He continued coaching baseball and his last two teams posted records of 21-12 and 31-6.
“We are forever grateful for the legacy he leaves behind and for the generations of young men who are better because they were coached, mentored, or simply known by him,” said CovCath principal Bob Rowe.
Krumpelbeck is the second local coach with an impressive career victory total to retire this spring. Dave Faust, who holds the 9th Region boys basketball record for most career wins with 482, stepped down as St. Henry’s head coach in April.