Baseball: Ohio State signs Justin Haire to a five-year deal to become new head coach

samuelcipriani
Fri, 21 Jun 2024 20:07:05 +0000
Baseball, Campus, News, Sports, Alonzo Paul Jr., Andrew Edrington, Andrew See, baseball, Ben Schechterman, Bill Mosiello, Blaine Wynk, Buck Taylor, Buckeyes, Chase Herrell, Christian Pownall, CJ Richard, Clay Burdette, Colin Purcell, college baseball, Damon Lessler, Gavin Bruni, Gavin DeVooght, George Eisenhardt, Hank Thomas, Henry Kaczmar, Hunter Rosson, Hunter Shaw, Isaac Cadena, Isaiah Leeth, Jacob Morin, Jake Michalak, Jaylen Jones [and 31 more]

Justin Haire has been named as Ohio State’s newest baseball coach following Bill Mosiello’s June 14 resignation. Prior to being hired at Ohio State, Haire coached at Campbell University for 17 seasons. Credit: Courtesy of Campbell University Athletics.

The Buckeyes’ baseball team has found its new head coach just a week after former head coach Bill Mosiello’s departure.?

Friday morning, the Ohio State Department of Athletics announced it would be signing Justin Haire to a five-year contract to become the 13th head coach in Ohio State baseball’s history.?

“I am incredibly honored and excited to be named the head baseball coach at The Ohio State University,” Haire said in the athletic department’s Friday press release. “As an Ohio native, this opportunity is especially meaningful to me. We look forward to building a championship-level program at Ohio State, where the commitment to excellence in both athletics and academics is unparalleled.”

Haire has coached at Campbell University for 17 seasons, occupying the head coach role for the past 10. Haire worked his way up the coaching ladder in his first seven years with the Fighting Camels, serving as the program’s recruiting coordinator, assistant coach and associate head coach before being named the head coach in 2015, according to Friday’s press release.?

In his 10 seasons as the Fighting Camels’ head coach, Haire led Campbell to a 317–212 record, averaging over 30 wins per season.?

According to the Friday press release, Haire was named Big South Coach of the Year four times at Campbell, coaching three Big South Pitchers of the Year and three Big South Players of the Year. He has also had 13 of his players selected in the MLB Draft.?

Since 2018, Campbell’s program has notably flourished under Haire. The Fighting Camels won the Big South Conference regular season title in five out of the final six years Campbell was a member of the conference, winning the conference tournament four of those five times.?

Haire began his coaching career at Sterling College — where he spent one season as the pitching coach — prior to spending four seasons as an assistant coach for Ouachita Baptist University.?

A Hamilton, Ohio native, Haire graduated from Badin High School and played two seasons of college baseball as a catcher for Bowling Green before transferring to the University of Indianapolis to finish his collegiate baseball career, according to Friday’s press release.

Ohio State baseball is excited to welcome Haire and see him take control of the program, Senior Advisor for Intercollegiate Athletics Ross Bjork said in Friday’s press release.?

“We had a tremendous amount of interest in this position from successful coaches around the country, so it was exciting to see this search unfold,” Bjork said in the press release. “Coach Haire’s successful career as a head coach and track record of winning games in the NCAA Tournament made us stand up and take notice, and his deep Ohio roots are an added bonus. We believe Ohio State baseball can be a Big Ten contender and make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament under Justin’s leadership, and we are fired up for him to start here in Columbus.”