This summer, Southwestern welcomed J.C. Bunch as its new head baseball coach. Bunch arrived in Georgetown following 11 seasons as assistant coach at Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) rival Trinity University. Since 2015, he also served as the recruiting coordinator for the Tigers, who won the 2016 NCAA Division III National Championship.

Bunch brings his expertise, passion, and desire to win to Southwestern. “I am humbled to be asked to lead the Southwestern program and am going to do everything I can to honor the program that Coach (Jim) Mallon built and make him proud of the product that we put on the field,” Bunch said. “I competed against Southwestern when they were the class of the SCAC. I have the utmost respect for Coach Mallon and what he was able to accomplish.”

Like any new coach, Bunch anticipates challenges. There will be overall shifting of expectations, identifying goals and determining what defines success for our team. “We should be going to regionals and qualifying for the national tournament.”

Bunch knows what it feels like to win a championship. He helped the Trinity Tigers to their 2016 National Championship over Keystone College. He keeps his championship ring on this desk, not as a reminder of the past, but to serve as motivation for the future. “Our players—both our current athletes and our alumni players—deserve to be a part of a championship team.”

In addition to the National Championship in 2016, Bunch helped Trinity to seven SCAC championships during his tenure in San Antonio. While managing the offensive side of the program, he mentored 64 all-SCAC selections, including 54 first-teamers and three SCAC Players of the Year.

As a player for Trinity from 1998–2001, Bunch was a four-year letter-winner, earned all-SCAC honors four times and was twice named all-region. He batted .400 with 30 home runs during his college career, and the .475 batting average he posted during his freshman campaign ranks as the second-best in program annals. He also was named to the SCAC 15th Anniversary Baseball Team in 2006.

Following his collegiate career, Bunch played two seasons in the Texas Rangers’ organization. He led the Gulf Coast League Rangers with a .333 batting average in 2001. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Trinity in 2001, and received a master’s degree in administration from the University of the Incarnate Word in 2010.

Bunch is thrilled to be at Southwestern, and is enjoying exploring Georgetown with his wife Sheridan, a pediatric dentist, and their three boys, ages 5, 3, and 1. “Southwestern is a special place, and I’m looking forward to a great season.”

2018 Pirate Baseball Schedule