JACKSON, Miss. - Kyle Palmer has been named the head baseball coach at Belhaven University, the Vice President and Director of Athletics, Scott Little announced.
"Among our talented pool of candidates, Kyle's broad experience in recruiting, student-athlete development, competitive excellence and program administration is the ideal blend for us as we move into active NCAA membership", said Little, "We are extremely happy to welcome Kyle and Meredith to the Belhaven family."
Palmer takes the helm of the Blazers program from service at California Baptist University in Riverside, Calif., where he has most recently worked as Director of Baseball Operations under head coach Gary Adcock. The Lancers are NCAA Division I members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
Prior to Cal Baptist, Palmer served as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at East Texas Baptist University from 2012-18, under Jared Hood. Palmer led recruiting efforts which produced five American Southwest Conference Championship qualifying teams, two 30-win seasons, 31 All-Conference players, four All-Americans, 62 Academic All-Conference players and one Major League Baseball (MLB) draft pick (Tyler Bates, Anaheim Angels). Two of those ETBU squads led NCAA Division III nationally in home runs (2016, 2017).
Palmer commented, "Meredith and I are extremely grateful for this exciting opportunity that the Lord has provided for us at Belhaven University. There are instances in life when God makes his sovereign plan for us exceptionally clear. The opportunity to lead a historic baseball program at a university that encourages students to excel athletically, academically, and spiritually is one of these God-directed occasions for me. It is an honor to build upon the great work of Coach [Hill] Denson and I look forward to seeing what God has in store for this program. We are thankful for Dr. Parrott, Scott Little and the Belhaven community for showing us such wonderful hospitality as we begin this transition. We can't wait to join this university and the amazing things God is doing in Jackson."
Palmer spent 2011-12 on the staff at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, where he assisted with pitchers and catchers and managed the recruiting database as part of his on and off campus recruiting responsibilities.
He served as a Graduate Assistant and Assistant Camp Director at Texas A&M University from 2009-2011, under head coach Rob Childress. His duties included on-campus recruiting, pitcher conditioning, operations assistance, supervision of undergraduate assistants and management of equipment. During that span the Aggies made a College World Series appearance, posted two 40+ win seasons, won two Big XII Tournament championships, hailed five All-Americans and had 13 student-athletes drafted. He earned his Master of Education degree in Educational Technology.
Originally from Bremond, Texas, Palmer is a 2009 graduate of Texas Lutheran University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science. His collegiate playing days were as a catcher and the Bulldogs won ASC Tournament championships in both 2006 and 2007, earning NCAA West Regional berths as a result.
Palmer is one of four current head coaches in the ASC to also play as a student-athlete in the league