OKLAHOMA CITY – On Wednesday, Mid-America Christian University Athletic Director Marcus Moeller announced that Kyle Barrett will be joining the MACU baseball program as the team's new Assistant Coach.
Barrett comes to MACU after serving as the Associate Head Coach of the University of Antelope Valley for the past year, an NAIA institution located in Lancaster, Calif. Barrett will move into the Assistant Coach role after Brett Stanton was promoted to the Interim Head Coach position after the conclusion of the 2020 season.
"I am really excited about the opportunity to coach at Mid America-Christian," said Barrett. "Coach Stanton and MACU have been awesome in this whole process and really made my wife and I feel at home. I am looking forward to helping these student-athletes become better baseball players and even better young men."
In his lone season as the UAV's Associate Head Coach, Barrett guided the Pioneers to a 16-13 record and a 7-2 record in the California Pacific Conference. Before being promoted, Barrett served as the Pitching Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for the Pioneers since 2016, building upon a program that won four straight CalPac Conference Championships from 2016 through 2019.
Barrett mentored the 2018 UAV team to an appearance in the NAIA World Series, as the Pioneers closed out the year with a 46-14 record. It was the winningest season for the program since becoming an NAIA institution in 2014. In his five seasons at Antelope Valley, the Pioneers accumulated a 172-78 (.688) overall record.
"We are very excited for Kyle to be joining the program," said Stanton. "Kyle is an experienced coach who will be an amazing assistant to the MACU family.
Prior to coaching Antelope Valley, Barrett served as the Assistant Pitching Coach for the NAIA and NCCAA Division II affiliated Fresno Pacific University Sunbirds from 2012 to 2015. Barrett guided a pair of NCCAA World Series Championship teams in 2014 and 2015 while coaching two PacWest All-Americans, including the West Region Pitcher of the Year.
FPU won the NCCAA World Series in his final season, accumulating a record of 39-18-1, repeating its championship win in 2014 after completing a 39-19 season.
Barrett competed for the Sunbirds in 2012, tossing four innings and recording a save before becoming an Undergraduate Coach in 2013. Barrett also competed for two seasons at Modesto Community College before transferring to Fresno Pacific to close out his collegiate pitching career.
Barrett will be looking to continue to build upon a MACU baseball program that is coming off its most successful season in the NAIA era, as the Evangels closed out the campaign with its first winning season in the NAIA era with a 21-10 record before the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly ended the season.
The Evangels set program records for most runs scored per game (7.4) as well as fewest runs allowed per game (3.5). MACU was particularly effective on the mound and in the field, setting the NAIA era records for lowest earned run average (3.53) while defensively recording the program's best defensive fielding percentage (.960).
Also due to seniors being granted an extra year of eligibility by the NAIA, the Evangels will be bringing back nearly its entire roster from the 2020 season.
