Coming to UNCG after spending four years as a Volunteer Assistant at Clemson, Starbuck joined the Spartan baseball staff in September of 2019, returning to his home state to work under first-year Head Coach Billy Godwin.
The Tigers collected two ACC Championships with Starbuck on staff, in addition to making four NCAA Regional appearances and producing 12 All-American honors. The Kernersville native coached first round MLB draft picks Logan Davidson and Seth Beer while helping the Tigers collect 40-plus wins in three of his four campaigns with the side.
In 2019, six Tigers earned All-ACC honors, tied for most in the league, and five were drafted, including first-rounder Logan Davidson. Grayson Byrd was an All-American and First-Team All-ACC selection who totaled 16 homers. Davidson was a first-team Academic All-American, just the third in school history. He became the first Tiger in history to total both double-digit homers and double-digit steals in three different seasons.
The 2018 Tigers totaled 47 overall wins, 22 ACC regular-season victories, a share of the ACC regular-season title and an outright ACC Atlantic Division championship. Clemson finished ranked as high as No. 12 in the nation by Perfect Game and were also ranked in the top-25 during all 19 weeks. Clemson was third in the nation in homers (98), while Seth Beer (first) and Davidson (third) earned All-America honors. Beer became just the second three-time All-American in Clemson history and was a first-round draft pick by the Houston Astros.
In 2017, the Tigers totaled 42 wins and hosted a regional. The squad was ranked in the top-10 for 10 straight weeks and finished ranked No. 22 in the coaches poll. The Tigers were also ranked in the top-25 during all 19 weeks. They totaled 73 home runs, a .381 on-base percentage and .970 fielding percentage. Reed Rohlman was a second-team All-American and First-Team All-ACC selection who batted .361 and had a 20-game hitting streak. Seth Beer was a second-team All-American who led the team in homers (16), RBIs (53) and on-base percentage (.478).
Starbuck helped coach the 2016 team to 44 wins, the ACC championship and a top-eight national seed. Clemson, who was ranked No. 15 in the final USA Today coaches poll, slugged an ACC-high 75 homers, tied for seventh most in the nation, thanks in large part to Beer, who won the Dick Howser Trophy. Beer, who batted .369 with 18 homers, 70 RBI and a .535 on-base percentage, became the first freshman to win the award and the first freshman to be named ACC Player-of-the-Year.
Before making the move to Clemson, Starbuck spent 17 years at nearby Elon, standing as the Phoenix' Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for 12 of those seasons. Under Starbuck, Elon reached NCAA Regionals for the first time in program history in 2002, going on to make the tournament four more times in the next eight years. The club produced five SoCon championships with Starbuck, including a sweep of the conference's regular season and tournament titles in 2008. Players at Elon have benefited from the former UNC Asheville shortstop's coaching, with the Phoenix earning a pair of SoCon Freshman of the Year honors, two SoCon Pitcher of the Year accolades and a SoCon Player of the Year selection with Starbuck on staff.
Under Starbuck’s guidance in 2009, Elon set new program records in runs scored (604), hits (711), doubles (137), home runs (138) and RBI (558). The program won at least 30 games in 14 of his 16 seasons and has eclipsed the 40-win plateau three times, including a school-record 45 victories in 2006. Starbuck has coached 45 players that have received first or second-team all-conference honors. He has also coached two Academic All-Americans.
In 2013, the Phoenix won its second SoCon Tournament title and advanced to NCAA Regional play, where it reached the regional finals. Elon’s 19 triples led the league that year, while its 652 hits and 123 doubles were both second in the SoCon. Under Starbuck’s leadership, Elon finished in the top-five in SoCon triples in each of its 11 seasons in the league and in the top-five in runs scored and hit-by-pitch in nine out of 11 seasons. The Phoenix placed in the top-five in the league in on-base percentage in eight out of 11 campaigns.
The 2010 team won its fourth SoCon regular-season crown with a 23-7 league mark. In 2009, the Phoenix took home the regular-season conference title for the second straight year and third time in four years. Elon finished the SoCon season with a 22-3 record and went 41-18 overall. Elon earned a berth as the number two seed into the Atlanta Regional of NCAA Tournament play. The team also collected the program’s first top-25 finish at the Division I level, ranking 24th in the final Baseball America poll.
In 2006, Starbuck was a part of Elon’s first-ever Southern Conference regular-season title with a 21-6 league record. The team also collected its second NCAA Division I Tournament berth in five seasons, participating in the Clemson Regional as the number two seed. In the regional’s opening game, the Phoenix knocked off third-seeded Mississippi State by a 5-4 margin for the first NCAA Division I Tournament victory in any sport at Elon.
During Elon’s historic 100th season of baseball celebrated in 2002, Starbuck helped the squad compile a record of 34-23, including a 13-8 mark in the Big South Conference, good enough for second place in the league. In just its third official season of Division I baseball, the Phoenix received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and competed in the Clemson Regional.
Prior to coaching at Elon, Starbuck was the head coach at Carver (N.C.) High School from 1991-98. He also served as the head coach for the Kernersville (N.C.) Legion team from 1988-97, where his team won a pair of American Legion State Champion titles.
Starbuck received his bachelor of science degree in physical education from Winston-Salem State in 1991. Born June 11, 1964 in Winston-Salem, N.C., Starbuck and his wife, April, have three sons, Mac, Banks and Jackson, and a daughter, Brettlyn.
