Jerry Edwards
| Title: | Assistant Coach |
| Phone: | 334-3247 |
| Email: | jredwar4@uncg.edu |
Edwards enters his first season as an assistant baseball coach
for UNCG in 2013.
“Jerry’s work ethic and conviction to coaching and
recruiting, as well as his 16 years of college coaching experience,
will be tremendous assets to our program,” Jarrett said.
“He helped build a championship program at Eastern Kentucky
as a coach and recruiting coordinator. His network and contacts
across the country are extensive. I am thrilled that Jerry and his
family are on board at UNCG.”
Senior right hander Matt Fyffe was named the 2012 Ohio Valley
Conference Pitcher of the Year, finishing the regular season with a
9-0 record and a 1.51 ERA in 65.2 innings pitched. He stifled
opposing hitters, holding them to a .209 batting average.
Fyffe’s nine wins led the OVC while his 1.51 ERA paced the
league and ranked seventh in the nation.
The Colonel’s pitching staff experienced revitalization
under Edwards in 2011, lowering its season ERA nearly two points
from 7.48 in 2010 to 5.61 in 2011. With Edwards' instruction,
senior right-hander Stephen Hefler, who transferred to EKU from
Kaskaskia College in 2010, dropped his ERA from 8.23 in 2010 to
3.77 in 2011 and transformed into one of the most dominant starting
pitchers in the Ohio Valley Conference - becoming just the second
EKU pitcher to earn first team All-OVC honors since 1990. Junior
right-hander Matt Harris also blossomed under Edwards last season,
lowering his ERA from 9.58 in 2010 to a team-best 2.77 in 2011.
Against OVC competition, Harris, who started the year in the
bullpen but transitioned into a starter later in the season, posted
a miniscule 0.59 ERA of while batters hit just .168 against
him.
In 2010, Edwards developed a relatively unknown freshman right-hander out of Georgia named Anthony Bazzani. Due to the persistent guidance of Edwards, Bazzani was transformed into one of the top pitchers in the OVC by May. He was named the league’s Pitcher of the Week after he worked all nine innings, allowed one earned run, scattered seven hits and struck out six against Jacksonville State on May 15. He then led the Colonels to their first OVC Tournament win since 2007 as he dominated Murray State on May 26, going eight innings and nearly setting a neutral site OVC Tournament record with 10 strikeouts. Bazzani finished the season with a 5-3 record, led EKU in innings pitched (77.1) and opponent batting average (.282) and was named to the OVC All-Freshman Team.
In 2010, Edwards developed a relatively unknown freshman right-hander out of Georgia named Anthony Bazzani. Due to the persistent guidance of Edwards, Bazzani was transformed into one of the top pitchers in the OVC by May. He was named the league’s Pitcher of the Week after he worked all nine innings, allowed one earned run, scattered seven hits and struck out six against Jacksonville State on May 15. He then led the Colonels to their first OVC Tournament win since 2007 as he dominated Murray State on May 26, going eight innings and nearly setting a neutral site OVC Tournament record with 10 strikeouts. Bazzani finished the season with a 5-3 record, led EKU in innings pitched (77.1) and opponent batting average (.282) and was named to the OVC All-Freshman Team.
Edwards inherited a 2009 pitching staff that had lost nine of 14 arms from the previous season. Only two of his pitchers recorded a win in 2008 and none of them worked more than 30 innings. However, Edwards was able to piece together a group composed primarily of raw underclassmen, freshmen, and career relief pitchers. The staff ended up producing 31 wins.
Before coaching at EKU, Edwards spent two years at North Carolina Wesleyan College as an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator under current North Carolina head coach, Mike Fox. During those two years, he helped lead North Carolina Wesleyan to the 1999 Division III National Championship.
Edwards arrived at EKU from Louisburg (N.C.) College, where he was the pitching coach. While at the two-year college, Edwards had nine of his pitchers sign with Division I schools, and two of his pitchers were taken in the top 12 rounds of the MLB Draft and signed professional contracts.
Before Louisburg, Edwards served as the head coach at Hiwassee College in Madisonville, Tenn. While at Hiwassee, he mentored a pair of MLB draftees. In between his stints at EKU and Hiwassee, Edwards was an Associate Scout for three years with the Atlanta Braves under the guidance of Area Scouting Supervisor Billy Best.
Edwards began his coaching career at the Enfield Academy in Whitakers, N.C. under the tutelage of current East Carolina head coach, Billy Godwin. He earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from North Carolina Wesleyan College in 1999, and he received a master’s degree in physical education/sports administration from EKU in 2001.
Edwards and his wife, Amy, are the parents of two children – Jacob (12) and Claire (10).