Lyon College Athletic Director Kevin Jenkins announced on Wednesday that Justin Cunningham (pictured) will be the new Scots baseball head coach.
Cunningham comes to Lyon College from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway where he had been the associate head baseball coach (this past season) and recruiting coordinator since 2017.
At UCA, Cunningham was in charge of running the offense, defense and administrative side of the Bears baseball program. During his tenure, UCA set a school record for conference wins in 2019 and was the 2019 Southland Conference runners’ up.
He had five Major League Baseball draft picks during his time with the Bears. The team’s grade point average was 3.4 in 2020 and it was in the top 25 in NCAA Division I in fielding percentage.
Before UCA, Cunningham was a in the post-grad program at TCS in Melissa, Texas for three years and served as head baseball coach for Central Christian College in McPherson, Kansas from 2012 to 2014 where his team were 17 game winners in back-to-back seasons.
Cunningham was the assistant baseball coach and recruiting coordinator for Oklahoma Wesleyan University in Bartlesville where he coached teams to 40-plus wins and a 2011 NCCAA National Championship.
He was a graduate assistant baseball coach from 2009 to 2010 at Ouachita Baptist University, where assisted with hitters, outfielders, base running, was a base coach, responsible for field maintenance, recruiting, preparation of scouting reports, merchandise and equipment, academics, weight room and travel coordinator.
Cunningham has organized baseball camps for six years in Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, San Diego, and the Redlands. He was a summer baseball organization assistant coach for the El Dorado Broncos.
Cunningham has a Masters of Science in sports administration from Henderson State University and a Bachelor of Science in business management and economics from Lyon College in 2009.
Cunningham returns to Batesville with his wife Whitney and two sons Conner, 16, and Brendan, 11.
Image provided by Lyon College
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