Drew Bailey
Concord University has selected former Bluefield State head coach Drew Bailey as the next CU head baseball coach, co-athletic directors Luke Duffy and Tesla Southcott announced Thursday.
Bailey, a former standout on the mound for the Mountain Lions, succeeds his college coach Kevin Garrett in the dugout at Anderson Field.
In four seasons at Bluefield State, Bailey compiled a record of 95-79, highlighted by the most successful season in program history as BSU went 33-15 this spring and won its second HBCU World Series last week in Montgomery, Alabama—the second such title in the last four seasons. Under Bailey’s guidance, Bluefield State steadily improved from 15 wins in his first season to the program-record 33 wins.
“I would like to thank President Boggess, co-athletic directors Luke Duffy and Tesla Southcott and the hiring committee for giving me the opportunity to be the next head baseball coach at Concord University,” Bailey said. “I am very fortunate to be presented with the opportunity to return to my alma mater and lead a group of young men at a place that helped mold me into the person I am today.
“I’d also like to thank my wife for all of her support and always being by my side. Bluefield State gave me an opportunity to become a head coach again and for that I am forever thankful and will always cherish my four seasons there,” Bailey concluded.
While Bluefield State was Bailey’s most recent head coaching stop, the Christiansburg native brings nine years of coaching experience to Athens. From 2014-17, Bailey was an assistant coach at Bluefield University where he helped the Rams to a 32-21 record in his final season. The first head coaching opportunity Bailey received was for the 2018 season at Division III Averett University in Danville, Virginia.
Beginning in 2018, Bailey was the head softball coach at Bluefield University. After his stint as the head softball coach in Bluefield, Virginia, Bailey was a volunteer assistant coach for Concord during the fall of 2020 before being hired away by Bluefield State in January 2021.
“I’m excited for Coach Bailey to return to his alma mater, a place where he succeeded as a player,” Southcott said. “His playing and coaching experience speaks for itself and is only magnified by the 30-win season that Bluefield State had this year. He will only heighten the expectations of a program that has seen a great deal of success over the last 25 years.
“Coach Bailey is a great recruiter off the field and he will find great young men that are not only good players, but guys that fit the culture of Concord University.”
On Bailey’s watch, the Big Blues set program records for pitcher strikeouts and stolen bases in 2023. He also coached BSU’s first two all-region players in program history (Tahir Meulens and Jordan Varela-Payne) last spring.
“I am excited to get to work and continue to build on what Kevin Garrett has built here in Athens for so many years,” Bailey said. “I won’t take this opportunity for granted and will see to it that we produce the best product on the field possible, but more importantly our guys graduate and are prepared for the real world when they leave Concord.”
As a player for Concord from 2008-10, Bailey was named All-WVIAC Second Team twice and was the program leader in saves until the 2022 season. Additionally, Bailey was inducted into the Concord Hall of Fame in 2017. He helped the Mountain Lions to a national ranking in 2008 and capped his career by being drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 35th round of the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft.
Bailey spent parts of two seasons in the Athletics’ farm system, making it to low-A ball in 2011. With the Vermont Lake Monsters, he posted a 5-0 record with a 2.34 ERA in 42.1 innings in 2011. From 2012-13, the newest CU head coach pitched in two different independent leagues, the American Association and Frontier League.
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