OKLAHOMA CITY – Coming off an NCCAA World Series championship run, the MACU baseball team didn't need to go far to find its new hitting coach for the 2023-24 season as the Evangels bring in Austin Orth.
A former hitting and catcher's coach at NCAA Division II Oklahoma Christian and currently the assistant coach at Bishop McGuinness High School in Oklahoma City, Orth brings in a wellspring of knowledge and experience of the college game to the Evangels.
Becoming the hitting and catching coach at Oklahoma Christian in August 2019, the Fort Collins, Colorado native helped guide the Eagles through their transition toward joining NCAA Division II baseball powerhouse conference the Lone Star Conference in 2020, OC put together a remarkable season in just their second year in the LSC.
During the 2021 season, the potent Eagles lineup ended the season with a .309 team batting average while slugging 70 homers in just 40 games to close out with a 24-16 record to finish fifth in the league standings.
In his four seasons at OC, Orth mentored five All-LSC sluggers, three All-Region hitters, an LSC Freshman of the Year and two NCAA D-II Preseason All-Americans.
Joining Fighting Irish's staff in August 2022, Orth's presence immediately improved the success of Bishop McGuinness during the 2023 season as the program put together its first winning season (excluding COVID-19 impacted 2020 year) since 2015 after helping lead the team to a 20-18 record.
Orth began his coaching career in 2016 while still competing as a student-athlete with Oklahoma Christian. Playing on the OC baseball team from 2015-16, Orth appeared in 73 games and made 60 starts for the Eagles while slashing for a .283 batting average and provided a ton of plate discipline by striking in just 19-percent of his 212 at-bats. In 2015, Orth earned NCCAA World Series All-Tournament Team honors in 2015.
Orth earned his Bachelor's of Arts degree in General Business/Childhood Education from Oklahoma Christian in May 2016 as well as a Bachelor's of Science degree in Organizational Management from Colorado Christian University in December 2017.
