MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee Baseball head coach Jerry Meyers has had the interim tag removed from his title and has been hired as head coach of the Blue Raider program, Director of Athletics Chris Massaro announced Tuesday.
Meyers is the 23rd baseball coach in Middle Tennessee history. He served as the interim head coach for the 2023 season, after holding the title of pitching coach and associate head coach in 2022.
“When you look at his total resume, it’s very impressive,” Massaro said. “I want our fans to know the success he has enjoyed as a pitching coach, the multiple trips to Omaha and the national championship ring he has earned.
“I think we have a bright future. You learn a great deal from a coach in the way he fights through adversity. I liked how he handled his team and the way he developed his players.”
MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee echoed Massaro’s praises of Meyers. “Our Conference USA tournament run this year was very good, and it says a lot when you are playing your best at postseason time,” he said. “Coach Meyers and his staff deserve a lot of credit.”
In last week’s C-USA Tournament, the Blue Raiders went on a run to the semifinals after winning their opening two games. The 2-0 start was the first time since 2006 MTSU had that start at a conference tournament, and for the first time ever as members of Conference USA. A No. 7 seed, MTSU was the lowest tournament seed to reach the C-USA semifinals since Rice in 2019.
“First off, I would like to thank everyone for this opportunity,” said Meyers. “I want to thank Massaro, Dr. Sidney McPhee, Chairman of the Board Stephen B. Smith, everyone that has played for this program, the coaches that have been here prior to this point and have built a great tradition, and I want to especially thank this year’s team that did everything we asked them to do.
“The program moving forward will be built on guys with strong character that do things the right way, that want to win and compete for championships every year. We didn’t do things the easy way this year, but we did things that are special, and we played our most competitive baseball at the end of the year, which is a testament to the group that we had this season.”
Meyers led a team in 2023 which took five of six games from rival WKU, earned C-USA series sweeps over WKU and FIU and a quintet of series wins in conference play.
Dating back to at least 1974, MTSU’s series sweep over WKU April 6-8 represented the first three-game sweep over WKU in Bowling Green.
MTSU defeated a ranked team on the road for the first time since 2015, taking down No. 16 Dallas Baptist May 6.
The Blue Raiders raised its team batting average 14 points between 2022 and 2023, from .275 a season ago to .289 this year. This was despite not returning three of its top four hitters from last year.
Under the tutelage of Meyers, members of the Blue Raider roster excelled and earned high accolades.
RHP Jaden Hamm earned Tennessee Sports Writers Association Pitcher of the Week honors twice, and was named to the C-USA All-Conference First Team in a season for him which included a complete-game, one hit shutout on March 10.
RHP Eriq Swan also stood out as a member of the pitching rotation, earning TSWA Pitcher of the Week on May 16 and claiming a spot on the C-USA All-Tournament Team.
RHP James Sells finished the season as MTSU’s leader in both wins and saves, claiming a save in each of the Blue Raiders’ wins at WKU April 6-8 and earning C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors in the process.
SS Brett Coker was one of four hitters with a batting average above .300 and secured a spot on the C-USA All-Conference First-Team alongside Hamm. C/DH Jeremiah Boyd hit .306 on the year and had a team-high 13 runs as a graduate transfer from Presbyterian College. And MTSU had a conference-high three players named to the league’s All-Freshman team in RHPs Ollie Akens, Patrick Johnson and C/UTL Jared Vetetoe.
The Blue Raiders were also strong academically, with Boyd being named to the C-USA All-Academic team, and Hamm, Boyd, Eston Snider and DJ Wright all earning a spot on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District roster.
Before arriving at MTSU, Meyers served two stints as pitching coach at South Carolina, from 1997-2004 and from 2011-2017. While at South Carolina, he helped lead the Gamecocks to five College World Series appearances, a national championship in 2011 and two national runner-up finishes in 2002 and 2012. He also developed 17 All-American pitchers during his time in Columbia.
Meyers also served as head coach at Old Dominion from 2005-2010. And in 2008, Meyers served as pitching coach of the Team USA Collegiate National Team, helping lead the squad to the gold medal at the World Championships in the Czech Republic.
Born in Harvey, Illinois, in 1965, Meyers was a four-year letterwinner at Iowa State, where he graduated in 1987 before completing his master’s at South Alabama as a baseball graduate assistant in 1989.
Meyers lives in Murfreesboro with his wife, Chris. He is the father of two daughters, Audrey and Riley.
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