Billy Godwin (born November 19, 1964) is an American college baseball coach and former pitcher. He is the former head baseball coach at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Godwin played college baseball at Atlantic Christian College in 1986. He was the head baseball coach of East Carolina from 2006 to 2014. In 2015, Godwin was listed as an area scout, based in Emerald Isle, North Carolina, for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball.[1]
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 19, 1964 Rocky Mount, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1986 | Atlantic Christian College |
| Position(s) | Pitcher |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1999–2005 | Louisburg College |
| 2006–2014 | East Carolina |
| 2020–2023 | UNC Greensboro |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 411–308–1 (NCAA) 262–85 (NJCAA) |
| Tournaments | NCAA: 10–11 C-USA: 12–16 SoCon: 9–3 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| |
| Awards | |
| |
Early years
editGodwin was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and attended Northern Nash High School. He then earned an athletic scholarship as a pitcher in 1982 to attend Atlantic Christian College, now Barton College. He was named team captain in 1986 and Kiwanis Award for the Most Outstanding Male Student-Athlete. He graduated in 1986 in Business Administration. His first coaching job came at North Carolina Wesleyan College in 1989 and 1990. He was the assistant coach to current UNC head coach Mike Fox. The two guided NCWC to the NCAA Division 3 baseball championship in 1989 and a third-place finish a year later.
Head coach
editGodwin's first head coaching stint came at Enfield Academy, a private school in Nash County, North Carolina. Starting in 1991 he was the athletic director and head baseball coach. During the seven seasons (1991–1997) as head coach, he accumulated a 131–57 (.697) record. During this time Enfield Academy baseball team had five consecutive conference championships, four straight Final Four appearances and a state title in 1994.
After Enfield Academy, Godwin became Cary Academy's first athletic director in 1997.
Godwin's next head coaching job came at Louisburg College. During his six-year term, he earned a 262–85 (.755) overall record. During the 2005 season, Godwin guided the Hurricanes to Region X regular season and tournament titles on his way to earning Region X Coach-of-the-Year honors. The 2005 Hurricanes finished the regular season with a 49–13 record and stood sixth nationally in the NJCAA Division I final regular season poll. In 2004, the Hurricanes went 40–18 and claimed the top seed at the Region X Tournament before finishing the campaign as a regional finalist.
After taking the helm at Louisburg College in the fall of 1999, Godwin kept the Hurricanes in the national spotlight by averaging 43 wins per season. The Hurricanes finished with a school-record 51–11 mark in 2002 and made their tenth trip to the College World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado. During his tenure at Louisburg, Godwin earned Region X and Eastern District Coach-of-the-Year honors, received the North Carolina College Coach-of-the-Year award in 2002.
East Carolina
editGodwin first came to ECU as an assistant coach on June 9, 2005. After Randy Mazey resigned his position as head coach,[2] Godwin was tapped as interim head coach on October 10, 2005, then was named permanently to the position on October 28, 2005. For his first year as head coach, his record was 33–26.
Godwin's team also earned many awards and recognition during his first year. Senior catcher Jake Smith earned the Johnny Bench Award, which is given annually to the nations top collegiate catcher. Four Pirates earned All-Conference honors. The 2006 Pirates ranked among the league leaders (all games) in average (.305), runs scored (381), total bases (939), slugging percentage (.452), hits (633), triples (13), RBI (342), home runs (58), ERA (4.34), runs allowed (296), opposing batting average (.282) and runners picked off (10). His 2009 team made it to the Super Regionals before losing to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Godwin earned a master's degree in education in 1995 from East Carolina University.
UNC Greensboro
editOn August 8, 2019, Godwin was named the head baseball coach at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.[3]
On December 19, 2023, Godwin announced he was stepping down from his position at UNCG to rejoin the New York Yankees in a scouting role.[4]
Head coaching records
editBelow is a table of Godwin's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.[5][6]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Carolina Pirates (Conference USA) (2006–2014) | |||||||||
| 2006 | East Carolina | 33–26 | 10–14 | 6th | |||||
| 2007 | East Carolina | 40–23 | 14–9 | 2nd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2008 | East Carolina | 42–21 | 13–11 | 5th | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2009 | East Carolina | 46–20 | 17–7 | 1st | NCAA Super Regional | ||||
| 2010 | East Carolina | 32–27 | 11–13 | t-5th | |||||
| 2011 | East Carolina | 41–21 | 14–10 | 3rd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2012 | East Carolina | 36–24–1 | 13–10–1 | 6th | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2013 | East Carolina | 31–26 | 14–10 | t-3rd | |||||
| 2014 | East Carolina | 33–26 | 16–14 | t-6th | |||||
| East Carolina: | 314–214–1 | 122–98–1 | |||||||
| UNC Greensboro Spartans (Southern Conference) (2020–2023) | |||||||||
| 2020 | UNC Greensboro | 11–5 | 0–0 | Season canceled due to COVID-19 | |||||
| 2021 | UNC Greensboro | 27–25 | 12–17 | 4th (Blue) | |||||
| 2022 | UNC Greensboro | 34–30 | 12–9 | T–2nd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2023 | UNC Greensboro | 25–34 | 9–12 | 6th | Southern tournament | ||||
| UNC Greensboro: | 97–94 | 33–38 | |||||||
| Total: | 411–308–1 | ||||||||
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National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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References
edit- ^ Leventhal, Josh, ed. (2015). Baseball America 2015 Directory. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-56-5.
- ^ "Randy Mazey Officially Resigns from ECU Position". ECUPirates.com. East Carolina Sports Information. 8 December 2005. Archived from the original on 2013-05-02. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
- ^ "UNCG hires Billy Godwin". www.reflector.com. APG East LLC. August 8, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
- ^ Archetto, Denise (December 19, 2023). "Godwin Steps Down as Baseball Head Coach" (Press release). UNC Greensboro Spartans. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
- ^ "2013 Conference USA Baseball Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
- ^ "2013 Conference USA Baseball Standings". D1Baseball.com. Jeremy Mills. Archived from the original on May 18, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2013.