SEWANEE, Tenn. - Announced on Tuesday by Director of Athletics John Shackelford, Nate Burns has been promoted to head baseball coach at the University of the South.
After spending the last three seasons as an assistant, Burns becomes the 29th head coach of the oldest sport in the athletic department's history, dating back to 1875.
"We are excited to promote Coach Nate Burns to our Head Baseball Coach position. He is an energetic and dynamic leader that wholly invests himself into the success of our team and of each student athlete in our program. As a recruiter, he builds strong relationships with our prospective student-athletes and their families. Nate has a clear vision of what success looks like for Sewanee baseball and has traveled the path to reach those lofty goals. His strong values, integrity, and competitive hunger all add up to a great coach for Sewanee athletics," said Shackelford.
During his time as pitching coach, Burns has seen his staff set new records on the mound. In the last two seasons, the Tigers bullpen has punched out 574 batters in almost 677 innings, a rate of 7.6 punch outs per nine innings.
His first game in the Sewanee dugout was a memorable one in the midst of a global pandemic. On March 19, 2021, he saw Jake Pendergraft and Logan Martin toss a combined no-hitter to defeat Covenant College, 2-0.
"The opportunity to continue developing relationships with our past, current and future baseball players here at Sewanee is of the utmost importance to me. I am both honored and humbled to be trusted and believed in by Coach Shack and Carrie Austin to be the leader of the program. I will give my all to this University and its community," said Burns.
He arrives on the Domain after working as the pitching coach at Swarthmore College for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. While with the Garnet, he was responsible for recruiting efforts, developed a year-round throwing program for pitchers and gathered data for team scouting reports.
During the 2019 season, he followed the analytics that the professionals were using on the mound, and that is using an opener for games instead of a traditional starter. The program saw the earned run average fall from 4.53 in the 32 games to 1.80 in the team's final eight games that year. Continuing that setup in the shortened 2020 season, in eight games, the pitching staff recorded a 1.90 ERA, allowing seven extra-base hits in 413 at-bats.
Along the way, Burns has had coaching stops at Elizabethtown College and Davis and Elkins College.
Burns also tossed the ball around for Lancaster Bible as a hurler for the program. Playing in 44 career games and making 34 starts, he won 13 games and recorded a 5.38 ERA in 189 innings pitched, punching out 134.
However, during his senior year in 2017, he was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's Pitcher of the Year and was also named First Team All-Conference. In 11 starts, he recorded a 3.30 ERA, winning six decisions and posting four complete games. Additionally, he had hitters hitting .239 against him as he allowed 21 earned runs in 57.1 innings.
He is responsible for the first no-hitter in the program's history with a complete game shutout performance on March 30, 2015 versus Valley Forge, fanning 13 batters.
Away from the college game, he has served as a baseball coach and instructor at the Pro5 Baseball Academy in North Carolina and BC Athletics in Knoxville, Tenn.
Off the diamond, Burns has served our country in the Army National Guard as a combat engineer.
"Our expectations going forward will be to invest in, love, and develop the athletes that come through our program. With a long-standing history of the sport here at Sewanee, it is our motivation to field a team that is disciplined, full of energy, and works towards excellence daily. We have phenomenal young men in our program, and I could not be more excited to continue to watch them thrive for years to come," added Burns.
Burns graduated from Lancaster Bible College with two Bachelor of Science degrees, one in Sports Management and the other in Biblical Studies in 2018.
For the latest news on the Sewanee Tigers, follow @SewaneeTigers on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.
WHAT ARE THEY SAYING ABOUT NATE BURNS
"Nate Burns is a rising star in the college baseball coaching world. Sewanee got a great one. Nate has been a valued member of our Duke Baseball Camp coaching staff for the last five years. I have witnessed firsthand, he has an exceptional combination of baseball knowledge, recruiting instincts, and terrific people skills. I have no doubt he is going to build something really special at the University of the South."
Chris Pollard, Head Baseball Coach, Duke University
"Sewanee has just hired one of the best young coaches in our game. Nate has shown incredible maturity and perspective in his career that is well beyond his experience. He is as well intentioned as any coach in our game and he will be a tremendous leader for their players. Wofford looks forward to continuing our relationship with Nate as he makes this step in his coaching journey."
Todd Interdonato, Head Baseball Coach, Wofford College
"Nate is a coach who leads with his heart and puts his players first. He has a passion for mentorship and leading in a positive way. I think his players will find they always have an open door to their head coach and that he will be in their corner every step of the way. This is a great hire for Sewanee!"
Matt Midkiff, Head Baseball Coach, Swarthmore College