Matt Myers, who joined the staff in July of 2019, enters his fourth season with the Seahawk program as its pitching coach in 2021-22.
The Seahawk pitching staff helped the program reach its sixth straight Colonial Athletic Association championship game behind the rotation of Landen Roupp, Adam Smith and Luke Gesell. UNCW finished the season ranked 31st nationally with a 3.93 earned run average. Smith and Roupp led that charge, ranking second and third, respectively in the CAA with ERA's of 2.49 and 2.58.
UNCW also ranked 32nd in hits allowed per nine innings at 8.06 and opponents hit just .241. Hunter Hodges, who made a staff-leading 24 appearances, limited opposing bats to a .162 average overall and just .073 in conference play.
Both Roupp and Smith were selected in the 2021 MLB draft by the Giants and Padres, respectively. Both were also All-CAA selections along with Hodges.
The Seahawks rode a dominant pitching staff to an 11-5 record in a Covid 19-shortened 2020 season. Zarion Sharpe and Landen Roupp were named Pitchers of the Week by the Colonial Athletic Association as UNCW opened 6-2.
The duo of Sharpe and Roupp helped UNCW sweep a road series at Kentucky, both fueling shutouts in the first two games. Sharpe's shutout in the series opener halted the nation's third-longest active scoring streak at 127 games. Luke Gesell closed out the weekend sweep with a five-inning stint before turning the ball over to the bullpen.
While the Seahawks boasted one of the top rotations nationally, the bullpen was anchored by Adam Smith and Blake Deatherage. Both righthanders posted three saves while Deatherage also picked up two wins.
In his first season, the Seahawks broke the program strikeout record for a second straight season, fanning 558 batters and limiting opponents to a .228 batting average. UNCW ranked 16th nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (7.69).
The Seahawks advanced to the Colonial Athletic Association for a 34th consecutive time and captured their sixth tournament title and played in the Chapel Hill Regional.
Both Zarion Sharpe (19th round) and Justin Crump (30th round) were selected in the Major League Baseball draft in June. Sharpe and Landen Roupp both pitched in the Cape Cod League for Chatham and Wareham, respectively, in the summer of 2019.
Myers returned to the college game following three seasons (2016-18) as the head coach at Bowling Green High School, in Bowling Green, Ky. He previously served as the head coach at Western Kentucky for four seasons and helped the Hilltoppers transition from the Sun Belt Conference to Conference USA.
Myers began his coaching career as an assistant coach at UNC Asheville before being elevated to head coach of the Bulldogs. He was named Big South Conference Coach-of-the-Year in 2003, his third season with the program.
Myers accepted a position as pitching coach at Auburn in 2005 and headed up the Tigers’ staff for three seasons. He helped the program to the NCAA Regionals in his first season and AU posted an earned run average of 3.89 and featured four pitchers selected in the Major League Baseball draft that June. Myers also had another hurler selected in 2006 and two more in 2007.
Myers moved to Bowling Green in 2008, joining Chris Finwood’s staff at WKU. The Hilltoppers won the Sun Belt Conference tournament that season and in 2009, WKU earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Regionals and battled host Ole Miss in the finals of the Oxford Regional.
In 2012, Myers was named head coach at WKU and directed the program for three campaigns. Myers had 18 players drafted, including seven pitchers. The Hilltoppers featured Kes Carter, a two-way player, who was picked by the Tampa Bay Rays in the first round, the highest ever for the Hilltopper program.
Myers pitched two years for Tennessee and Head Coach Rod Delmonico in 1996 and 1997 before embarking on his coaching career in 1999 as a graduate assistant for the Vols.
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