| Grant Harding will take over
the coaching duties from Mark Fohl in 2013. Minn-Morris athletics photo |
Morris, Minn. – For the first time in 27 years, the University of Minnesota Morris will have a new head baseball coach, as veteran Mark Fohl announces his retirement following the 2012 season.
Fortunately for the Cougars, it should be an easy transition, as longtime assistant Grant Harding is set to assume head coaching duties, taking over after five years as an assistant.
Also the Minnesota Morris athletic director and head golf coach, Fohl will remain in those capacitates, while passing along his baseball duties.
The longest tenured coach of any sport in the history of Cougar Athletics, Fohl took the reins to Cougar Baseball in 1986 and has been a fixture on the bench ever since. His 286 career wins are a record, and he took over a program that had just five winning season’s in its then 23-year history, including none in the previous six years. In just his third season they won 16 games, and just a year later, in 1989, he led the Morris Nine to a 19-15 mark, the second highest win total in program history.
In back-to-back seasons in 1995 and 1996, he then set the Cougar Baseball wins standard posting a record 21 in each season.
He won his 100th game in the 1992 season finale, his 200th to open the 2002 campaign, and on Apr. 19, 2008 with a 6-0 shutout over Presentation posted the 250th victory in his tenure.
"I very much appreciate the support I have received over the years from assistant coaches, Don Goracke, Todd Hickman, Grant Harding and the hundreds of players who have played baseball at UMM,” Fohl said. “I know that the baseball program is in good hands."
Since the 2008 season, Fohl has coached 13 All-Conference players, including Nick Perrotte and Eric Terres this season. Heading into the 2012 campaign, he mentored 31 Academic All-UMAC players throughout his tenure in the conference, including a program-record eight, following the 2006 season.
Stepping into his first head coaching role, Harding has been a member of the Cougar baseball staff for the last five seasons, while also spending the fall as member of the Cougar football coaching staff.
Heading into the 2012 campaign, Harding helped the baseball team to within a single game of the conference tournament each of the two previous seasons, while posting eight conference wins in each year. The Cougar baseball team has been consistently more competitive during Harding’s tenure, regularly increasing their winning percentage in both all games, and conference games.
His impact was immediate, as in his first year he helped a pair of hitters finish above the .400 mark, while the Cougars had five regulars finish the season with batting averages over .300.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to take over for Coach Fohl,” Harding said. “I know he’ll be an asset to me, and I hope he stays close to the program. I’m excited to implement what I’ve learned from him and from my father, and to run my own team. I look forward to putting my own mark on the program, and want to see Cougar baseball take the next step.”
Harding is a 2001 graduate of Hamline University, where he was member of both the baseball and football teams. As a prep athlete, he starred at East Central High School, where he played for his father and was named Athlete of Year as a senior.