Maryville College Director of Athletics Kandis Schram has
announced that Cody Church has been named the head baseball coach
for the Fighting Scots. Church becomes the 25th head
coach in Maryville's 138 years of baseball, a program that boasts a
1,469-1,194 (.551) career collegiate record on Scotland Yard.
Church comes to Maryville after a pair of outstanding seasons as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Tennessee Tech University. Coach Church concentrated on directing the outfielders and hitters while recruiting for a program that tied an Ohio Valley Conference standard of back-to-back 40 win seasons by the Golden Eagles.
This past season TTU went 40-19 tying an OVC record of five players getting drafted in a single year along with signee Sam Williams, who went in the 8th round to the Phillies. Eight Tech standouts were named All-OVC performers and Brandon Thomasson and Daniel Miles were named to numerous All-American squads. The Collegiate Baseball pre-season #36 Eagles paced the OVC in walks (312), batting average (.309), fielding percentage (.979), hits (655), homeruns (83), homeruns per game (1.41), on base percentage (.409), runs (488), scoring per game (8.3), and slugging percentage (.495). They led the nation in NCAA Division I in hits (655), homeruns (83), homeruns per game (1.41), runs (488), and scoring per game (8.3).
The 2013 season, Church's first season in Cookeville, saw the Golden Eagles post a 40-17 mark. The OVC regular season champions improved 21 games from the previous year and set a league record for conference wins in a season after going 24-6 in league challenges. Tennessee Tech defeated five teams that earned regional appearances following the regular season. Vanderbilt, ETSU, Austin Peay, Illinois, and Bowling Green each fell to the OVC leader in doubles (121), fielding percentage (.979), hits (655), homeruns (54), on base percentage (.401), runs (404), and slugging percentage (.475). Coach Church directed a pair of All-Americans in David Hess and Daniel Miles while recruiting a #78 ranked high school recruiting class according to Perfect Game.
Church found his way to Cookeville after a year at NCAA Division I Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina. Cody directed the infielders and hitters while also recruiting for the Big South Conference affiliate. He helped the Blue Hose record their best record since becoming an NCAA Division I institution, going 24-31 while earning key program victories over Clemson, Duke, and #13 UCF. Presbyterian finished second in the Big South with 35 homeruns while setting a school record of .966 for fielding percentage.
Coach Church was a team captain for the Railsplitters at Lincoln Memorial University. This multi-talented standout spent time as and outfielder and hurler for LMU while graduating Cum Laude after majoring in Accounting.
Church attended Seymour High School in local Seymour, Tennessee, were he helped the Eagles to a school record 31 wins. After leading the state with a .546 batting average, he earned all-district, all-region, and all-state honors as a senior.
"I am beyond excited for the opportunity to be named Head Baseball Coach at Maryville College," stated Coach Church. "I am leaving a great program behind at Tennessee Tech, but I am ecstatic about the future at Maryville College. During the entire interview process is was apparent how special of a place Maryville truly is. Speaking to the administration and other coaches on campus, it quickly became evident that this was the place my wife and I were supposed to be. I want to thank everyone involved in the search process and thank Coach Schram for believing in the vision I have for Maryville College Baseball."
Coach Church continued, "I look forward to reaching out to all the current and incoming players to get them excited about their return to campus in August. Now that the rest of the coaching staff is taking shape, I want to finish up this year's recruiting class with some final touches. It is very important that we get the alumni and community engaged with our baseball program in the near future. It is definitely an exciting time to be a part of Maryville College Baseball!"
"I am confident that the team will thrive under the new leadership directed by Coach Cody Church," stated MC Athletics Director Kandis Schram. "He is the total package of teacher, mentor, motivator, and leader. He will make an immediate impact on our alumni, faculty, student-athletes, recruits, and staff members. He is committed to developing the young men of the Scots baseball program and taking the program to the next level."
Church replaces Paul Henry who led the Scots diamondmen for the past three seasons. Henry left the program after going 51-65 (.439) overall and 21-30 (.412) in a pair of seasons within the USA South Athletic Conference.