Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Longshore hired as pitching coach
6/26/2017 10:07:00 AM | Baseball
McGuire fills assistant coach position
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Blue Raider baseball program added Arkansas State pitching coach Caleb Longshore to the same position, Head Coach Jim McGuire announced this morning.
"Caleb is a young, energetic, up and coming pitching coach that has had success at every level that he's been at," said McGuire. "He understands and knows the history of Middle Tennessee baseball. He knows where we need to get to and what we need to do. He's been around the program, he's been in the middle Tennessee area before and has a good understanding of what it's going to take to get to where we want to go."
His knowledge and familiarity of the great championship tradition and history of the Middle Tennessee baseball program propelled Longshore to the forefront during the interview process.
"I played for Trevecca and coached the Middle Tennessee Outlaws, so I'm very familiar with the middle Tennessee area, very familiar with the tradition of the program going back to Coach Steve Peterson," stated Longshore. "There is a really proud tradition with really good players that have come through in the last 15 years and I'm really excited about that."
The position attracted nearly 200 applicants, according to McGuire, and Longshore stood out from what he has already done in his young and experienced coaching career.
"We had a great talent pool to pick from, with several hundred people applying," stated McGuire. "It's been an exhausting three-week process of putting it all together and narrowing down the field of candidates, which was a lot of time in itself. We had great candidates apply and that we interviewed. In the end, Caleb rose to the top with what he's done and what he brings to the table and what we need going forward for the program, to go along with our pitching staff."
A native of Cleveland, Alabama, Longshore comes to Murfreesboro after spending the previous two seasons developing the Red Wolves pitching staff and recruiting players for the program. Longshore was key in working with Arkansas State pitcher Tyler Zuber, who was the highest drafted Arkansas State player in program history, after he was drafted in the sixth round of the 2017 MLB Draft.
"He's developed arms at Arkansas State," added McGuire. "This year they had a sixth round draft pick, who had not previously been drafted before, which says a lot about what he's done. Caleb also helped them a lot in the recruiting side of things, recruiting to the Sun Belt Conference, and moving into the Conference USA I think that it will be a good transition for him. He brings in a lot of experience as a young coach."
In 2017, the Red Wolves tally a 28-27 record for the team's first winning season since 2014. Longshore's pitching staff registered 462 strikeouts for the second most in school history. The team also had three shutouts during the season for the most since 2014, which included a 5-0 win over Ole Miss, May 16. The shutout of Ole Miss was the first time A-State has blanked the Rebels in school history.
Longshore is no stranger to the middle Tennessee area, as he graduated from nearby Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville in 2011. Longshore played two years with the Trojans, along with being a student assistant coach, after beginning his collegiate baseball career at Jefferson State CC in Birmingham, Alabama.
Longshore has spent time with some of the best and brightest coaches in the game, learning under long-time assistant coach at Mississippi State, and current head coach at Arkansas State, Tommy Raffo. He also was an assistant under former legendary coach at UCLA, and current California Baptist University head coach, Gary Adcock at CBU.
He spent the 2015 season at California Baptist University in Riverside, Calif., as the team's pitching coach. The team also qualified for the NCAA Division II tournament as the No. 3 seed in the West Region.
The Lancers' pitching staff posted the second-best ERA in the PacWest with a 3.51 mark under Longshore's leadership and also tossed eight complete games throughout the season.
Prior to joining CBU's staff, Longshore spent the 2013-14 seasons at NAIA power Oklahoma Wesleyan as the team's associate head coach, where he was responsible for the pitching staff and recruiting. The Eagles broke out in 2014 with a 58-8 record with the 58 wins setting a new school record. Oklahoma Wesleyan reached the NAIA World Series for the first time and finished in third place.
Oklahoma Wesleyan's pitching staff in 2014 was instrumental in the team's run to the NAIA World Series as Longshore's pitchers registered a 2.91 ERA that ranked 12th in all of NAIA. The pitching staff also finished top-five in the NAIA in opponent batting average (.219) and walks per game (2.14).
In addition to serving as the Blue Raider pitching coach, Longshore will also assist with recruiting. Longshore is eager to get started with the program and looks to make an immediate impact on the team.
"I think the most exciting thing all the way around is having a group of players that want to be part of a proud tradition that is Middle Tennessee State baseball," stated Longshore. "I'm ready to work with those guys and build relationships, and to be back in an area recruiting wise that I'm really familiar with know a lot of the players and the faces in the area. It might sound cliché but Middle Tennessee State does really feel like home for me and very comfortable in the environment. When the opportunity came up it was one that I was really interested in. I have all the respect in the world for Coach McGuire and I think it's a great fit for both of us and I'm excited for the opportunity."
"Caleb is a young, energetic, up and coming pitching coach that has had success at every level that he's been at," said McGuire. "He understands and knows the history of Middle Tennessee baseball. He knows where we need to get to and what we need to do. He's been around the program, he's been in the middle Tennessee area before and has a good understanding of what it's going to take to get to where we want to go."
His knowledge and familiarity of the great championship tradition and history of the Middle Tennessee baseball program propelled Longshore to the forefront during the interview process.
"I played for Trevecca and coached the Middle Tennessee Outlaws, so I'm very familiar with the middle Tennessee area, very familiar with the tradition of the program going back to Coach Steve Peterson," stated Longshore. "There is a really proud tradition with really good players that have come through in the last 15 years and I'm really excited about that."
The position attracted nearly 200 applicants, according to McGuire, and Longshore stood out from what he has already done in his young and experienced coaching career.
"We had a great talent pool to pick from, with several hundred people applying," stated McGuire. "It's been an exhausting three-week process of putting it all together and narrowing down the field of candidates, which was a lot of time in itself. We had great candidates apply and that we interviewed. In the end, Caleb rose to the top with what he's done and what he brings to the table and what we need going forward for the program, to go along with our pitching staff."
A native of Cleveland, Alabama, Longshore comes to Murfreesboro after spending the previous two seasons developing the Red Wolves pitching staff and recruiting players for the program. Longshore was key in working with Arkansas State pitcher Tyler Zuber, who was the highest drafted Arkansas State player in program history, after he was drafted in the sixth round of the 2017 MLB Draft.
"He's developed arms at Arkansas State," added McGuire. "This year they had a sixth round draft pick, who had not previously been drafted before, which says a lot about what he's done. Caleb also helped them a lot in the recruiting side of things, recruiting to the Sun Belt Conference, and moving into the Conference USA I think that it will be a good transition for him. He brings in a lot of experience as a young coach."
In 2017, the Red Wolves tally a 28-27 record for the team's first winning season since 2014. Longshore's pitching staff registered 462 strikeouts for the second most in school history. The team also had three shutouts during the season for the most since 2014, which included a 5-0 win over Ole Miss, May 16. The shutout of Ole Miss was the first time A-State has blanked the Rebels in school history.
Longshore is no stranger to the middle Tennessee area, as he graduated from nearby Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville in 2011. Longshore played two years with the Trojans, along with being a student assistant coach, after beginning his collegiate baseball career at Jefferson State CC in Birmingham, Alabama.
Longshore has spent time with some of the best and brightest coaches in the game, learning under long-time assistant coach at Mississippi State, and current head coach at Arkansas State, Tommy Raffo. He also was an assistant under former legendary coach at UCLA, and current California Baptist University head coach, Gary Adcock at CBU.
He spent the 2015 season at California Baptist University in Riverside, Calif., as the team's pitching coach. The team also qualified for the NCAA Division II tournament as the No. 3 seed in the West Region.
The Lancers' pitching staff posted the second-best ERA in the PacWest with a 3.51 mark under Longshore's leadership and also tossed eight complete games throughout the season.
Prior to joining CBU's staff, Longshore spent the 2013-14 seasons at NAIA power Oklahoma Wesleyan as the team's associate head coach, where he was responsible for the pitching staff and recruiting. The Eagles broke out in 2014 with a 58-8 record with the 58 wins setting a new school record. Oklahoma Wesleyan reached the NAIA World Series for the first time and finished in third place.
Oklahoma Wesleyan's pitching staff in 2014 was instrumental in the team's run to the NAIA World Series as Longshore's pitchers registered a 2.91 ERA that ranked 12th in all of NAIA. The pitching staff also finished top-five in the NAIA in opponent batting average (.219) and walks per game (2.14).
In addition to serving as the Blue Raider pitching coach, Longshore will also assist with recruiting. Longshore is eager to get started with the program and looks to make an immediate impact on the team.
"I think the most exciting thing all the way around is having a group of players that want to be part of a proud tradition that is Middle Tennessee State baseball," stated Longshore. "I'm ready to work with those guys and build relationships, and to be back in an area recruiting wise that I'm really familiar with know a lot of the players and the faces in the area. It might sound cliché but Middle Tennessee State does really feel like home for me and very comfortable in the environment. When the opportunity came up it was one that I was really interested in. I have all the respect in the world for Coach McGuire and I think it's a great fit for both of us and I'm excited for the opportunity."
Facility tour – Stephen and Denise Smith Student-Athlete Performance Center
Wednesday, July 30
Spring Sports Show hosted by The Boulevard – April 21, 2025: Softball and Baseball
Monday, April 21
🎥 from the 52nd annual Groundhog Day Luncheon! Also, we play baseball this month 🤩
Sunday, February 02
MTSU Baseball 2025 52nd Annual Groundhog Day Luncheon
Friday, January 31
