Head Coach | Greg Beals

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – On January 5, 2023, Marshall University introduced Gregory Beals as the 29th head baseball coach in Marshall baseball history.

“We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome Coach Beals to Marshall University,” Smith said. “He brings a wealth of experience and a stellar skill set to our university’s baseball program.  Marshall is committed to building our baseball program, from the bricks and mortar of our new stadium to a dedicated, championship coach who is uniquely qualified and committed to moving our program forward. We are passionate and poised for the next chapter in our storied baseball history.”

Beals comes to Huntington with a winning pedigree, ranking No. 10 in the NCAA in wins among head coaches with 20 or fewer seasons of experience. His career record is 589-490-1.

Before coming to Huntington, Beals was hired as head coach at the University of Akron this past July after spending 12 seasons at the helm of the Ohio State University Buckeyes.

During his time in Columbus, Beals took Ohio State to the NCAA Tournament three times (2016, 2018 and 2019) and won two Big Ten Championships in 2016 and 2019.

In addition to accumulating a 346-288-1 record with the Buckeyes, Beals coached 48 all-Big Ten performers, 32 student-athletes to pro contracts, 21 academic all-Big Ten student-athletes and seven All-America honorees and had a team GPA of 3.09.

Prior to his stint in Columbus, Beals served as head coach at Ball State University for eight seasons, compiling a 243-202 record from 2003-10 and leading the Cardinals to a 2006 Mid-American Conference Tournament title and subsequent NCAA Tournament berth.

Beals’ success at Ball State was just as strong in the classroom. In addition to having 21 players sign pro contracts and 18 Cardinals earn all-MAC honors, four players were named Academic All-Americans and 14 were named academic all-MAC honorees while the team had a combined GPA of 3.05.

Beals got his coaching start at as assistant coach at Kent State University in 1995, where he spent eight years as the hitting and catching instructor along with being the recruiting coordinator. During his time with the Golden Flashes, he helped the program reach the NCAA Regionals three times (1994, 2001 and 2002), two MAC regular-season titles (1996 and 2000) and a pair of MAC Tournament titles (2001 and 2002). On the field, he coached 36 student-athletes to all-MAC honors, saw 21 players sign professional contracts and 17 earn academic all-MAC awards.

Beals is a three-time Hall of Fame Inductee, having been inducted into the Clark County (Ohio) Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003, the Stark County (Ohio) Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Greater Akron Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. He spent four years in the New York Mets organization after being drafted in the 21st round of the 1991 MLB draft.

Beals graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in human movement studies in 1995 from Kent State, later earning his Master of Arts in sports management there. He and his wife, Kathy, have three daughters: Kayla, Amber and Morgan.