Coach Mike McGuire was officially introduced as the new Spartans baseball coach on the 27th of June 2019. Those in attendance at the press conference got to hear from Athletic Director Daniel Feig as well as McGuire. AD Feig started off by talking about the process in searching for a new baseball coach. He thanked those that helped him conduct interviews during this time and mentioned that he had asked the team, Dr. Meredith Brunen and Dr. Brendan Kelly what they wanted in a coach. The consensus was that they wanted someone that builds relationships with the students on the field and off the field; someone that is humble and kind but is also very competitive. He stated, “Coach McGuire embodies all of the characteristics we were searching for.” He introduced the fourth coach in school history for the baseball program Coach Mike McGuire as well as his family to the University of South Carolina Upstate.
McGuire started his speech by saying, “I am really excited and honored to be the new baseball coach here at USC Upstate.” He continued by saying, “. . . I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity and what the future holds, not just for the baseball program but also for the area and the institution. I would like to thank Dr. Brendan Kelly and Daniel Feig for entrusting me to lead this program.” He added, “I think a good coach has to alter his style a little bit based upon the strengths and weaknesses of the team. Ultimately it should be an aggressive fun style of baseball. Ultimately, I am a competitor and I love to compete . . . we want competition in practice every day, I can promise you that USC Upstate players will compete on a daily basis.”
McGuire joins USC Upstate after spending the last seven seasons as head coach of the NCAA Division I baseball program at Morehead State University in Kentucky. During his tenure there the team compiled an overall record of 228-117 to go along with a conference record of 118-91. Over the past five seasons he has averaged 37 wins a season. He led the Morehead State Eagles to 183 victories over the last five years, which ranks in the top-40 nationally. The team defeated 10 nationally ranked opponents and were the champions of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and NCAA Regional Participants in 2015 and 2018.
In closing, McGuire said. “I’m big attention to detail guy, I believe in taking care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves. I just wanted to say that I am very excited about the opportunity to build a great program, I am looking forward to it and I am very excited to be a Spartan.”
Photos by Malcolm Vanhannegeyn
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