Former Seahawk standout Kelly Secrest was named pitching coach on Sept. 29, 2021, following two seasons as the program’s volunteer assistant coach.
Secrest concluded his fourth season at the lead of the pitching staff in 2025, a season that saw the staff ranked among the nation's elite.
Led by CAA Pitcher of the Year Zane Taylor and CAA Rookie of the Year Cam Bagwell, the Seahawks ranked among the top 20 in earned run average (3.93), hits per nine innings (7.45), WHIP (1.20) and walks per nine (3.36).
Taylor became the fifth Seahawk to be honored as the league's Pitcher of the Year following a senior season with a record of 11-2 and an ERA of 1.98. He was a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Award and was on the College Baseball Foundation's Pitcher of the Year watch list. Taylor, who was a first-team All-CAA honoree, paced the national with a WHIP of 0.76 and was third in walks per nine at 1.03. Opponents hit a meager .181 against him.
Bagwell, a second-team all-conference selection, became the program's first Rookie of the Year award winner after tying the program's freshman wins mark with a 9-2 record. Bagwell was in the top 50 in ERA (3.07), WHIP (1.05) and walks per nine (1.80). The righthander tossed UNCW's first perfect game since 1968, when he blanked Campbell, 12-0.
Rounding the rotation was Connor Marshburn, who crafted a 4-3 mark and a 3.51 ERA. He limited opposing lineups to a .198 batting average and a .256 slugging average.
UNCW saw three pitchers drafted in 2024, led by closer Luke Craig in the seventh round by Arizona. RJ Sales went in the 10th round followed by Jacob Shafer in the 17th. Five Seahawks have been drafted during Secrest’s three-year tenure as pitching coach.
The Seahawks posted a 4.49 ERA during 2024, ranking 23rd nationally, and held opponents to just 8.17 hits per nine innings, ranking 20th.
Sales and Craig were named first-team All-CAA while Zane Taylor earned All-CAA honors for the second consecutive season. Sales led the league with 11 wins and innings pitched with 95 innings pitched. Craig was tied for third with a career-high seven saves. Taylor was 4-0 in conference play and raised his record in league play to 12-1 over three seasons.
In 2023, the pitching staff posted a 3.77 ERA in conference play, ranking second in the league, and allowed a league-low 19 home runs.
Zane Taylor, a first-team All-CAA starting pitcher, paced the league with a 2.25 ERA in conference play and posted a 6-0 record, tying for the conference lead in victories.
Jacob Shafer was a second-team All-CAA honoree and finished conference play with a 5-3 record.
Brett Banks and Ethan Chenault were selected in the 11th and 18th rounds, respectively, by the Mets and Phillies.
Secrest returned to the program following a five-year career in the New York Mets organization. After serving as a student assistant, Secrest was elevated to the volunteer coach position in 2020.
Â
In his first season as pitching coach, Secrest oversaw the development of freshman All-America RJ Sales, who was also a first-team and all-rookie honoree in the CAA. Sales went 6-1 and moved to the front end of the rotation early in 2022. He went 4-0 in conference play and posted a 2.83 ERA.
Â
Injuries forced the Seahawks to go with a freshman staff for the final 11 weeks of the 2022 season with Cyle Phelan, an All-Rookie honoree, and Zane Taylor joining Sales in the weekend rotation. Phelan made 15 appearances with 11 being starts. Taylor, meanwhile, made 11 starts and 13 appearances overall.
Â
In his second season on the staff in 2021, Secrest helped UNCW pitchers post a 3.93 ERA, ranking 31st nationally. The Seahawks crafted a 2.59 ERA in league play and opponents hit just .229.
Â
In 2020, UNCW boasted one of the top rotations in the nation featuring Zarion Sharpe, Landen Roupp and Luke Gesell. The bullpen was up to the task too as Adam Smith and Blake Deatherage both posted three saves and Deatherage earned a pair of wins. The bullpen of Nick Bruno, Breydan Gorham, Smith and Deatherage combined to strikeout 9.32 batters per nine, fashioned an ERA of 1.94 and held opponents to a .183 batting average.
Â
Secrest reached Triple A with the Mets before retiring in the fall of 2018. Prior to being drafted in the 10th round of the 2014 MLB Draft, Secrest pitched four seasons for the Seahawks and concluded his career as the program’s all-time leader in appearances with 114 and was second with 17 saves. He helped the Seahawks to NCAA tournament appearances in 2012 and 2013 and was a first-team All-CAA selection his junior season. As a senior, he earned second-team ABCA All-East honors.
