GEORGETOWN, Texas - Southwestern Associate Vice President/Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Glada Munt announced J.C. Bunch as the Pirates' head baseball coach on Monday.

Bunch arrives in Georgetown following 11 seasons as assistant coach at Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) rival Trinity. Since 2015, he also served as the recruiting coordinator for the Tigers, who won the 2016 NCAA Division III National Championship.

"We are excited to enter into this new era of Southwestern baseball as we welcome Coach Bunch and his family to Southwestern," said Dr. Munt. "Coach Bunch has an exceptional knowledge of baseball and combined with his strong ties in Texas we are confident he will usher SU back to prominence within the conference and nationally."

"I am humbled to be asked to lead the Southwestern program and am going to do everything I can to honor the program that Coach (Jim) Mallon built and make him proud of the product that we put on the field," Bunch said. "I competed against Southwestern when they were the class of the SCAC. I have the upmost respect for Coach Mallon and what he was able to accomplish."

Bunch helped Trinity to seven SCAC championships during his tenure in San Antonio. While managing the offensive side of the program, he mentored 64 All-SCAC selections, including 54 first-teamers and three SCAC Players of the Year.

During the championship run in 2016, the Tigers posted a 44-7 record, setting a program record for victories. Trinity also logged a perfect 12-0 mark in the postseason, including a 5-0 record at the NCAA Championship in Appleton, Wisconsin.

A four-year letter winner at Trinity (1998-2001), Bunch earned All-SCAC honors four times and twice was named all-region. He hit .400 with 30 home runs while in the Alamo City. The .475 batting average posted during his freshman campaign ranks as the second-best in program annals. He also was named to the SCAC 15th Anniversary Baseball Team in 2006.

Following his collegiate career, Bunch played two seasons in the Texas Rangers' organization. He led the Gulf Coast League Rangers with a .333 batting average in 2001.

Bunch earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Trinity in 2001. He also received a master's degree in administration from the University of the Incarnate Word in 2010.