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ATHENS, Ohio – Ohio Director of Athletics Julie Cromer announced today the hiring of Craig Moore as the 10^th head coach of the Ohio baseball program. 
 
"I am excited for Craig Moore to take over the Ohio baseball program," Cromer said. "Craig's previous experience as a collegiate head coach came through this spring, as he set the foundation for the championship culture that Ohio alumni and fans are accustomed to experiencing. The Ohio baseball program will continue pursuing competitive excellence under Coach Moore's leadership."  
 
Moore has spent the last nine season with the Bobcats, serving as Ohio's interim head coach during the 2021 season after previously serving as an assistant coach for eight seasons. 
 
"I would like to thank Director of Athletics Julie Cromer and the search committee for giving me this unbelievable opportunity to lead the Bobcat baseball program moving forward," Moore said. "Ohio baseball has great history and tradition and I look forward to working with our current players, staff, and alumni to build on that foundation that has been set by those before me"
 
Last season, Moore led the Bobcats to their first winning season since 2017, an eight-win improvement from the 2019 season. Moore coached junior left-handed pitcher Joe Rock (Aliquippa, Pa.) and senior right-handed pitcher Edward Kutt IV (Westlake, Calif.) to All-MAC First Team honors. 
 
Rock was named to the ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. I East All-Region First Team, as well as Collegiate Baseball's 2021 NCAA Division I All-American Second Team, powered by Diamond before being drafted 68^th overall by the Colorado Rockies in last week's MLB First-Year Player Draft. Rock was the fifth Bobcat to be selected while Moore has been at Ohio.
 
Moore also helped land 10 Bobcats on the 2021 Academic All-MAC squad, the most for Ohio since 2012. 
 
Moore helped coach Rudy Rott (Holmen, Wis.), who was the only back-to-back and two-time Mid-American Conference Player of the Year after taking home the award in 2018 and 2019. Rott was a Third-team All-American according to Collegiate Baseball and the ABCA and was First Team All-MAC and Academic All-MAC.
 
In the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft, Rott was selected with the 270^th pick in the ninth round by the Philadelphia Phillies. 

The Bobcats have won two Mid-American Conference tournament titles and have made two NCAA Championship appearances over the last three years with Moore on staff. Ohio had made just two NCAA tournament appearances in the 43 seasons prior to the 2015 campaign.

Moore helped guide Ohio back to another league tournament title and appearance on the national postseason stage in 2017. The Bobcats won seven of their final 10 regular-season games and tallied 13 conference victories -- including five MAC series wins en route to capturing the No. 5 seed in the league tournament. 

No. 5-seeded Ohio capped an improbable league postseason run by defeating No. 3-seeded Eastern Michigan, 7-4, to clinch the 2017 MAC Championship title on May 28 at Sprenger Stadium in Avon, Ohio. Ohio earned its third MAC tournament title (1997, 2015, '17) with the victory. The Bobcats opened 2017 MAC Championship play by beating No. 4-seeded Ball State, 4-3, on May 24. Ohio then advanced to the winner's bracket final thanks to a late-night 5-3 win over No. 1-seeded Kent State the following day. The Bobcats eliminated the Golden Flashes with a 7-2 victory on (May 27, marking the fourth time in five tries Ohio emerged victorious over MAC regular season champion Kent State in 2017. After missing the national postseason tournament 17 years in a row, Ohio punched its second NCAA Regional ticket in the last three years as the MAC's automatic bid with the victory over Eastern Michigan, advancing to the 2017 NCAA Championship Lexington Regional.

Moore helped Ohio put together an unprecedented turnaround in 2015 The Bobcats posted an NCAA-best 25-win improvement en route to capturing the 2015 Mid-American Conference Championship -- Ohio's first league title since 1997. Ohio's 36 wins in 2015 rank as the second-most in a single season in school history.

The Bobcats earned the MAC's automatic bid to the national postseason and a No. 4 seed at the 2015 NCAA Championship Champaign Regional, marking Ohio's first appearance on the national postseason stage since 1997.

Prior to arriving in Athens, Moore served two years as an assistant coach with Creighton. While at Creighton, Moore worked with the outfielders and catchers while assisting with the hitters. He also served in the role as camp coordinator for all on-campus camps. Creighton won back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference titles in the 2011 and '12 seasons. The 2011 team finished with a 45-16 record and a trip to the NCAA Championship Corvallis Regional. That year, one of Moore's outfielders, Trevor Adams, was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 16th round. Moore also coached a Freshman All-America outfielder in Mike Gerber, who was later a 15th round draft pick by the Detroit Tigers. In 2012, Creighton finished as the runner-up at the NCAA Championship Los Angeles Regional. One of Moore's catchers, Anthony Bemboom, was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the 22nd Round.

From 2006-10, Moore was the head coach at Western Texas College, a two-year school located in Snyder, Texas. In arguably one of the toughest conferences and regions in junior college baseball in the country, Moore took over a program that had won 13 games prior to his arrival and transformed it into a team that won 28 after year four. His final recruiting class won 37 games and reached the regional tournament for the first time in program history. In that time period, Moore saw several of his players move onto the Division I and Division II levels to continue their careers. Also, while at WTC, Moore had four of his players drafted - first baseman Mitch Delaney (New York Yankees), outfielder George Agyapong-Mensah (Toronto Blue Jays), catcher Nick Studer (Toronto Blue Jays) and right-handed pitcher Jared McCrummen (Colorado Rockies).

Before moving on to the Westerners, Moore spent three years at Tennessee Tech as an assistant and recruiting coordinator under head coach Matt Bragga. Moore's last recruiting class wound up winning an Ohio Valley Conference Championship in 2008 and beating the University of Alabama in the NCAA Clemson Regional. While at TTU, Moore worked with the infielders, outfielders, and hitters. He was also in charge of all scouting of opponents, field maintenance and travel arrangements. Four players in Moore's two recruiting classes were drafted - catcher Corey Kemp (Pittsburgh Pirates), outfielder Jake New (Los Angeles Dodgers), right-handed pitcher Patrick Cole (Baltimore Orioles) and left-handed pitcher Adam Liberatore (Tampa Bay).

Moore, a native of Fremont, Neb., was a four-year letter winner and all-conference academic performer at the University of Nebraska, playing for coaches Dave Van Horn and Rob Childress. In 1999, Nebraska won the Big 12 tournament championship and go on to the NCAA Columbus Regional. Moore shares the school record for most runs batted in with 10 against Chicago State. He graduated with a degree in finance and also boasts an MBA from Lake Erie College, where he served as a graduate assistant. Out of Archbishop Bergan High School, Moore was an all-state football selection and a 65th round draft pick of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Moore resides in Athens with his wife, Alison, and their two sons, Jaxon and Easton.

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