— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall Athletic Director Christian Spears pledged to hire a new baseball coach by New Year’s Day of 2023 after former coach Jeff Waggoner was fired in October.
It appears Spears has all but met his deadline with reports surfacing that longtime Ohio State baseball coach Greg Beals will be Marshall’s next baseball coach.
The news was first reported Monday by Kendall Rogers of D1baseball.com.
Marshall University’s Board of Governors has a special virtual meeting scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday for the purpose of hiring a new baseball coach.
Marshall officials say a new coach will be introduced to the public at a 4 p.m event on Friday in the Big Green Room at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
Beals was hired as head coach at Akron last summer, but has apparently resigned that position before coaching a game for the Zips. His name has been removed from Akron’s athletic website and staff directory.
Beals was fired as Ohio State’s head baseball coach after the 2022 season. During his 12 seasons in Columbus, Beals compiled a 346-288-1 record and 141-139 mark in Big Ten Conference play.
Beals led OSU to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2016, 2018 and 2019, along with Big Ten titles in 2016 and 2019.
Prior to coaching at Ohio State, Beals led Ball State’s program for eight seasons and guided the Cardinals to three Mid-American Conference Western Division titles.
Marshall’s 29th head baseball coach will inherit a program scheduled to play in a new facility on the eastern edge of campus in spring 2024.
The Thundering Herd is also playing its first season in the Sun Belt Conference this spring.