web Charlotte

July 14, 2009

Charlotte, N.C. - Charlotte head baseball coach Loren Hibbs has announced that assistant coach Brandon Hall has been named Associate Head Coach, while continuing his duties as Pitching Coach and Recruiting Coordinator.

Hall, a Raleigh native, is entering his eighth season with the 49ers coaching staff, and is in his fifth season as the team's recruiting coordinator. His main on-field responsibility is handling the pitching staff.

"Over the past seven years, Brandon has developed into one of the top assistant coaches in this region," said Hibbs. "He has displayed a tremendous work ethic, an incredible desire to improve and a loyalty to our program and this institution that is unmatched. He fits with our overall program philosophy and has been a major factor in our success in recent years. Brandon `gets it' and I am really looking forward to continuing to work alongside him in the future."

In his eleven seasons as an assistant at two different schools, Hall has been on a coaching staff of teams that have won five regular-season championships and six of the pitching staffs have been ranked nationally in ERA, including the top spot in the nation in 2007 (with a team 2.64 ERA).

"I want to thank Coach Hibbs and the Charlotte 49ers for this promotion," said Hall. "I have really enjoyed coming to work each day for the past seven years at Charlotte. We have accomplished a lot on and off the field as a program in that time, but we also understand there is still more to do. I am excited about what the future holds as we continue to grow as a program and University."

In 2007, Charlotte finished second in winning percentage. Two pitchers (Mills & Steedley) were ranked in the top 100 in strikeouts. He has coached ten all-conference pitchers, four all-Freshman pitchers, two pitchers of the year, three freshman All-Americans and one consensus All-American, Adam Mills. Mills was the ace of the 2007 staff. He led the country in wins (14) and ERA (1.01). For his accomplishments, Mills was also a Finalist for the Roger Clemens Award, A-10 Pitcher of the Year, Semi-Finalist for the Dick Howser Award and Semi-Finalist for the Golden Spikes Award. Nine of the 11 pitching staffs he has worked with have improved their earned run average or runs per game allowed from the previous season. He has coached 20 pitchers that went on to sign professional contracts.

In the past seven years with Charlotte, Hall has seen nine Niners move to the professional level. Of the nine, none were drafted prior to their stint with the 49ers. A reoccurring theme within these pitchers is their success at the next level. Erik Walker ('06) was named Baseball America's Short Season-A Relief Pitcher of the Year in 2006. Spencer Steedley and Derek McDaid were named Midwest League All-Stars in 2008. Steedley returned to All-Star form in the Florida State League the following summer of 2009. Adam Mills was named to the Boston Red Sox "Futures Game" and pitched in Fenway Park during the 2007 season. All three seniors from the 2007 staff were given the chance to move into professional baseball (Mills - Boston, Steedley - Minnesota, Matt Foard - New York Yankees).

The 2008 draft saw more success to the Niner pitching staff as junior Zach Rosenbaum was selected by the New York Mets. He signed and had a successful first season in the organization.

Also in the previous seven seasons, Hall has also worked with the Niner catchers. Zane Williams, Charlotte's 2009 backstop, was named an All-Atlantic 10 catcher in just his first year with the team. Chris Taylor was named 2008 Co-Conference Player of the Year. In 2007, four-year starter Kris Rochelle was named All A-10 and was drafted by Detroit in the 22nd round, improving on his selection out of high school. Both Rochelle and Taylor were named by Rivals.com as Top Five catchers in the country at the conclusion of their season behind the dish.

The Charlotte 49ers are one of just 17 teams in the country with a Top-75 winning percentage (.600 or greater) in each of the past four seasons. Charlotte is 160-70 in the past four seasons, a winning percentage of .695, which is ninth in the country in that span.