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092921-Secrest-announcement

Baseball Tom Riordan

Secrest Takes Over Seahawk Pitching Staff

WILMINGTON, N.C. – UNCW head baseball coach Randy Hood has announced the promotion of Kelly Secrest to pitching coach for the Seahawks beginning with the 2021-22 season.

Secrest, a former UNCW standout pitcher, served on the coaching staff for the past three seasons, including two as the volunteer coach. He joined the staff as a student-assistant in 2019 and moved into the volunteer role in 2020.

"Any time you can hire from within your staff it's a positive for the program," said Hood, who enters his third season as head coach of the program. "Kelly brought enthusiasm and energy as a player and he continued to do that when he joined the staff as a student-assistant. He's a strong competitor with a work ethic to match.

"In my opinion, he's one of the top young pitching coaches in the country and I know he's ready to take this next step and be the leader of our pitching staff."

Secrest pitched for the Seahawks from 2011-14, helping the Seahawks to NCAA regionals in both 2012 and 2013. UNCW won the Colonial Athletic Association regular season titles in both seasons and the conference tournament in 2013.

Secrest earned All-CAA honors in 2013 honors and in 2014, he was named second-team ABCA All-Region.

Secrest concluded his career as the all-time leader in appearances (114) and tied for second with 17 saves.

"I'd like to thank Coach Hood and the UNCW athletic administration for this opportunity to work for a program that means a lot to me," said Secrest. "From my time as a student-athlete to joining the staff, I've taken pride in everything the program represents. I'm looking forward to building upon the strong foundation my predecessors set in place."

The New York Mets selected Secrest in the 10th round of the 2014 draft and he reached the Triple A level before retiring and returning to UNCW to complete his degree in 2019.
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