New-Look Coaching Staff Primed To Make Impact on Radford Baseball

A man is only as good as the people he chooses to surround himself with, and that can be said of Radford baseball head coach Karl Kuhn just as much as anyone. Heading into his second season, Coach Kuhn made the decision to make several changes to his staff, setting the program on a new trajectory.

Utilizing the endless list of connections he has made over the course of his 30-year career in coaching, Kuhn selected three well-regarded baseball minds to help him lead the Highlanders to glory once again.

Damian Stambersky was brought on in June 2021 to be the pitching coach and co-recruiting coordinator at Radford. Logan Parker joined the fray a week later as the team's hitting coach and to serve as an additional co-recruiting coordinator. Finally, Dylan Stowell was tabbed as the team's Director of Baseball Operations & Player Development.

Josh Merrigan stayed on as an assistant coach as well, focusing his talents on data analytics.

The new trio has quickly formed a great dynamic with a clear vision for the program that lines up perfectly with Coach Kuhn and the precedent that he sets.

"Winning starts at the top," said Parker. "It starts with Coach Kuhn and everything he's done since he got to Radford. His attitude and hard work trickles down to the rest of the staff and then to all of the players. If we all believe in what he preaches and take his lessons to heart, we can achieve a lot together."

"I followed UVA baseball religiously when I was coming up and it was always clear how crucial Coach Kuhn was to their success," Stowell added. "You can't do much better than him in terms of what he stands for as a man. He's taught me a tremendous amount already and that makes me excited to come into work every day."

When it comes to winning, there's a lot to it beyond how many times you score more runs than the other team. Growing outside of the game of baseball is just as important, if not more so.

"What baseball gives you is exactly what life gives you," said Stambersky. "You have to be relentless and find ways to bounce back from adversity while finding joy in every situation. You never know who is watching you and we want each of our young men to model appropriate behavior every day."

"The game gets taken away from everyone at some point in their lives so we need to always be thinking about how we're teaching things like accountability, time management skills, work ethic, and things that can help you thrive in the real world too," Parker noted.

"It's a huge part of why I coach and why I do what I do," said Stowell to round out the group. "No matter where you come from or how good you are at baseball, you have to be an upstanding member of society. We want to lay a foundation of respect, integrity, and accountability for every single member of our program develop character in each young man that we can be proud of."

Smart, athletic, and tough. That's what each member of the coaching staff will tell you if you ask what they're looking for in their players. Each of those traits is imperative for building a culture of excellence and it's exactly what the new staff looks for in Highlanders.

"There are certain numbers you can look at, but in the end it's all subjective," Stambersky explained. "We work together to find the right people who fit into our team and into our culture and when we welcome knew guys into our family, we know we can be really excited about each of them."

In a recent example of that positive culture leading to quantifiable results, the Highlanders have been named to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Academic Team list two years in a row - a true point of pride for Coach Kuhn and company.

"The emphasis that our athletic department, our baseball program, and our academic support staff put on our student athletes excelling in the classroom is second to none," said Kuhn. "I am so proud of our players and the fact that they have chosen to put in the work in one of the most unprecedented times to be in higher education."

An impressive total of 31 players earned grade point averages of 3.0 or better while 17 reached at least a 3.5 GPA and two achieved a perfect 4.0. For the year, Radford earned a 3.4 team GPA.

"The model that Student-Athlete Support Services here at Radford has in place is clearly working and we have seen over and over the positive impact it has on our young men in the classroom," Stambersky noted when asked about the team's academic success. "It's not easy to get good grades, but it's easy to put a plan in place to succeed because of the support system we have here."

"Our professors at Radford have a great working relationship with the athletics staff and our student-athletes and understand what they're going through," said Parker in addition. "Alix Guynn and Allison McCoy do an amazing job with our guys as well."

A crucial ingredient to sustain that growth and success in all facets will be the returning student-athletes within the program.

"We have over 20 guys that are new to this program but the returners bring leadership and will always be there as a shoulder to lean on for them," said Stowell. "The younger guys don't know yet what it's like to balance everything that it takes to be a college athlete but our returning players can be an example and show how to do things the right way."

"Our returning players are invaluable to the program," Stambersky agreed. "Each of them has lived through some tough times and some uncertainty. Not just with coaches changes but with the protocols that were a result of the pandemic and had to find ways to succeed despite that. Those guys uphold are culture and everyone on our coaching staff believes in their ability to do that."

In the end, coaches will always be judged by how many games they win and how many championships they compete for. Stambersky, Parker, and Stowell have confidence that their plans will lead to plenty of that.

"People in this program know what it means to work and know what it means to win," Stambersky said through a smile. "The exciting part to me is doing that work all offseason and then seeing the results when we compete on the field. It's all about the quality of kids we have here and their desire to be great."

"One of the coolest feelings a player can have in college baseball is the dogpile," Parker concluded. "That moment when you're celebrating the success that came from all of your hard work. We want to put our guys in a position to make that dream a reality. That's the ultimate goal."

New-Look Coaching Staff Primed To Make Impact on Radford Baseball

Related News

Related Videos

Footer