Kent State University at East Liverpool Baseball

Updated October 2025 Jeff Duncan became the Golden Flashes’ 17th head coach in the summer of 2013 and continued the winning traditions for the Flashes, becoming the program’s all-time winningest coach in 2025. Under Duncan’s leadership, Kent State boasts the following achievements: 386-242 overall record for a winning percentage of .615 214-108 MAC record for a conference winning percentage of .665 2 NCAA Regional Appearances 2 MAC Tournament Championships 5 MAC Regular Season Championships Four-time MAC Coach of the Year (2016, 2017, 2018,2023) 2018 Collegiate Baseball Chuck Tanner Coach of the Year 90 Academic All-MAC 56 All-MAC Selections 23 MLB Draft Picks 18 All-American Selections 15 All-Region Selections 8 MAC All-Defensive Teams 4 MAC Pitcher of the Year 2 MAC Freshman of the Year 1 MAC Player of the Year 1 Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year 1 National Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher of the Year Have Swept 29 MAC Series (40 sweeps in total) Duncan’s teams have beaten 15 Power-4 schools, including Arizona, Arkansas, Baylor, Mississippi State, and Ohio State, to keep Kent State a national threat. In 2021, Duncan led the Golden Flashes to a 9-5 victory over then #2 Mississippi State. It was the highest-ranked team Kent State has defeated since toppling #1 Florida in the 2012 College World Series. The Flashes went 4-0 versus Big Ten opponents in 2019. The Flashes went 3-1 against ACC competition in 2018 and took two out of three from ACC opponents in 2019. In 2021, Dunc

BaseballSkip AdBertolini, DanBennett, NickBertolini, DanBirkbeck, MikeCariaco, PeytonDuncan, JeffMacDonald, LancePinkham, Zeke

BaseballSkip AdMacDonald, LanceBennett, NickBertolini, DanBirkbeck, MikeCariaco, PeytonDuncan, JeffMacDonald, LancePinkham, Zeke

Considered by many as the best pitching coach in the country, Mike Birkbeck, a former major league pitcher, has been the associate head coach at Kent State since July 2004. Prior to coming to Kent State, Birkbeck spent 14 years playing professionally. His last 10 seasons were spent at the AAA or major league level. He also spent parts of two seasons playing in the Japanese major leagues with the Yokohama Baystars in Yokohama, Japan. The Golden Flashes have now won ten MAC regular season titles, ten MAC tournament crowns and have appeared in ten NCAA Regional Tournaments during Birkbeck’s tenure, including 17 championships in the last 22 seasons. In Birkbeck's 25 seasons, KSU has won 869 games, an average of 35 wins per year including a stretch where the Flashes won at least 30 games in 22 consecutive full seasons. The top five team strikeout totals for a single season ever at KSU have all come under Birkbeck’s watch (2012, 2018, 2011, 2009 and 2017). His staffs have also set two of the lowest season ERAs in school history. Birkbeck has worked with 53 student-athletes who have been drafted or signed into professional baseball, including 2011 First Round Draftee Andrew Chafin and 2016 fellow first rounder and National Player and Pitcher of the Year Eric Lauer. Lauer also set the season's lowest ERA in the nation that season at 0.69, the lowest in over 30 years across Division I baseball. Eight of his former hurlers, Matt Guerrier ’99 (Twins), John VanBenschoten ‘01 (Pirates), D

Nick Bennett joined the Kent State University baseball program as pitching coach in January 2026, bringing nearly a decade of professional playing experience...

BaseballSkip AdCariaco, PeytonBennett, NickBertolini, DanBirkbeck, MikeCariaco, PeytonDuncan, JeffMacDonald, LancePinkham, Zeke

In July 2024, Zeke Pinkham was named an Assistant Coach for the Golden Flashes program, bringing a wealth of experience from his four-year tenure at Georgia Tech. Pinkham, who will primarily work with the team’s hitters and catchers, is also the team’s recruiting coordinator. During his time at Georgia Tech, Pinkham played a pivotal role in the Yellow Jackets’ success. In his 4 years, Georgia Tech made three NCAA Tournament appearances, including a strong showing in 2021 when the team won the ACC Coastal Division title. A key element of Pinkham’s success was his ability to develop and mentor elite players, with 18 draft picks and five free-agent signings emerging during his four-year stint. Among the most notable of his protégés is Kevin Parada, a 2022 Buster Posey Award winner, Johnny Bench Award winner, and a 1st Team All-American. Parada was drafted 11th overall in the 2022 MLB Draft by the New York Mets, marking Parada as one of the many draftees under Pinkham. Of the 18 players drafted under his watch, 15 were selected in the top 10 rounds, and two—Justyn Henry-Malloy and Brant Hurter—have already made their Major League Baseball debuts. Before his time in Atlanta, Pinkham worked as the graduate assistant at his alma mater, the University of Louisville. Working with the catchers and assisting with the hitters, he mentored standout players such as Henry Davis, the 2021 MLB Draft’s No. 1 overall pick, and Dalton Rushing, a second-round pick and a top prospect within the Lo