Faulkner University

New head baseball coach Patrick McCarthy greets the local media at Wednesday's press conference

June 24

Patrick McCarthy was introduced today as Faulkner’s new head baseball coach to the local media and to the university’s faculty and staff at a press conference and reception on campus.

McCarthy comes to Faulkner after spending nine seasons – the last five as the head coach – at Freed-Hardeman University.  He built the Lions’ program into a consistent winner in the TranSouth Conference. Prior to his taking over the program in 2005, Freed-Hardeman had finished last in the conference five straight seasons. In his five years as head coach, the Lions posted a 158-108 record and have been nationally ranked on numerous occasions.

McCarthy, 32, replaces Brent Barker, who stepped away from the Eagles’ baseball program after a very successful run to become Faulkner’s full-time athletic director.

McCarthy makes a reference to Athletic Director and former head baseball coach Brent Barker

“I’m just real excited for the chance to try and build on what coach Barker has done the past few years,’’ McCarthy said. “I like the challenge that we’re playing in one of the toughest conferences in the country. If you can win in our conference, you can compete nationally. It’s a blessing from God that I get to continue working for a Christian University where the norm is to hold kids to a higher standard and doing the right thing is expected, just like it was at Freed-Hardeman.”

Faulkner competes in the Southern States Athletic Conference, which sent three teams to the 10-team NAIA World Series this past season. The Eagles finished fifth in the league in 2009.

Barker, who has spent a total of seven years as Faulkner’s head baseball coach, is excited about McCarthy’s presence on campus.

“There is no question that Patrick is a great addition to the Faulkner athletics family,’’ Barker said. “He has a wonderful baseball background. And he has a wonderful family. I think it’s just a perfect fit.  I also think he’ll be very successful with our baseball program.’’

After spending two seasons at Florida Community College, McCarthy completed his collegiate playing career at Freed-Hardeman as a catcher. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from FHU in 1999 and later completed his master’s degree in social science at Mississippi College in 2002. He was hired as an assistant at Freed-Hardeman in 2001.

“My nine years at Freed have been phenomenal,” McCarthy said. “I wasn’t looking for a job. We loved it there. I’ve coached against Faulkner several times and I was always impressed with any interaction I had with the athletic department and teams. When an email came across my desk about this job, I was interested in looking into it. The first day I was on the Faulkner campus I was so impressed with everything. I really felt like God was leading me here.”
McCarthy will hit the ground running, and over the next few weeks will constantly be traveling back and forth from Henderson, Tenn., to Montgomery in an effort to get a better feel for the Eagles’ program before his family makes the move late next month.

“I’m in the process now of building relationships and trust with our returning players,’’ said McCarthy, who has already met with a number of Faulkner student-athletes. “I’ll be traveling back and forth a lot during the transition this summer. I’m gonna be spending a lot of time this checking on our players’ academic standing, and making sure they’re on the right track.

“We’re just very excited to be here. And we look forward to doing some great things with this baseball program, both on and off the field.’’

McCarthy and his wife Katie Beth have two sons – Miller, age 6, and Andre, 5.