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Ohio University adds Two Assistant Coaches

by Brian Foley
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FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
ATHENS, Ohio – Ohio University baseball head coach Rob Smith announced the addition of assistant coaches Craig Moore and Chris Berry to his coaching staff. Between Moore and Berry, the two have combine for 25 years of coaching experience.

Moore spent the past two seasons with Smith at Creighton while Berry spent the past year, serving as Co-Director of the Baylor Baseball Academy – prior to that he had spent four years as the pitching coach at Sam Houston State University and eight seasons at Baylor.

“I’m very excited to add both Craig Moore and Chris Berry to my staff,” Smith said. “Both are great coaches, who know how to develop players. They both have a tremendous amount of experience and have a track record of success at the college level”

In their new positions with the Bobcat baseball program, Moore will serve as the Recruiting Coordinator and Hitting Coach, while Berry will work directly with the catchers and assist with the pitchers and hitters.

Moore comes to Athens after helping Creighton to its second consecutive NCAA Regional appearance and its second straight Missouri Valley Conference championship. During his two years in Omaha, Moore primarily worked with the catchers and hitters. In 2012, the Blue Jays outscored their opponents by 30 runs.

In 2011, Moore also helped ignite some offensive power, as the Jays hit 38 long balls, led by All-American Trever Adams’ 14 home runs. The Bluejays finished first in the conference in home runs and total bases (797), and fourth in the league with a .399 slugging percentage. He also helped tutor freshman All American Mike Gerber, who hit seven home runs.

A native of Fremont, Neb., Moore came to Creighton following a four-year stint as head coach at Western Texas College in Snyder, Texas. Prior to his stint at WTC, he spent three seasons as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator at Tennessee Tech University. Moore got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio.

Berry joins Smith staff after a decorated career as an assistant coach at Baylor and Sam Houston State where his teams made a combine eight appearances in the NCAA Regionals since the 2000 season. In 2003 and 2005, he served on the Baylor coaching staff and helped the Bears to the Super Regional. The 2005 squad would advance to play in the Men’s College World Series.

Graduating from Bluefield College in 1997, Berry went on to serve as an Assistant Coach at Rockford College and Young Harris College. From 1999-2004, he served as an assistant pitching coach at Baylor before earning the head pitching coach position for the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

Berry moved on to Arkansas State for the start of the 2007 campaign, but not before he coached 25 pitchers, who were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, including two First Round Picks at Baylor.

During his time at Arkansas State as the Recruiting Coordinator/Pitching Coach, Berry signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the Sun Belt Conference and the No. 45 class overall according to Collegiate Baseball. He also coached T.J. Brewer, who would go on to lead the Sun Belt in ERA during his one season with ASU.

In July of 2007, he was named the pitching coach at Sam Houston State where he went on to serve for four seasons, helping the Bearkats to back-to-back Southland Conference Tournament titles and the NCAA Regionals. During his four years at SMSU, Berry coached three players, who were selected in the MLB Draft.

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