Rusty Stroupe Explained

Rusty Stroupe
Birth Place:Cherryville, North Carolina, U.S.
Player Years1:1983–1986
Player Team1:Appalachian State
Player Positions:Shortstop
Coach Years1:1990
Coach Team1:Appalachian State (asst)
Coach Years2:1991–1992
Coach Team2:North Greenville College
Coach Years3:1993–1997
Coach Team3:Brevard College
Coach Years4:1998–2002
Coach Team4:Lander
Coach Years5:2003–2019
Coach Team5:Gardner–Webb
Overall Record:837–678–2
Tournament Record:A-SUN: 4–4
Big South: 11–16
NCAA: 0–0
Awards:
  • Big South Coach of the Year (2019)
  • Most wins by any coach in Gardner-Webb history

Rusty Stroupe is an American college baseball coach and former shortstop. Stroupe was the head coach of the Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs baseball team from 2003 to 2019.

Playing career

Stroupe played shortstop at Cherryville High School where he was part of three state championship teams, and earned a scholarship to play at Appalachian State University for the Mountaineers baseball program from 1983 to 1986.[1]

Coaching career

After taking a teaching position after college graduation, Stroupe began to coach middle school baseball.[2] In 1990, Stroupe was an assistant coach at Appalachian State. Stroupe took his first head coaching position at North Greenville College in 1991.[3] In 1993, Stroupe became the head coach at Brevard College.[4] From 1998 to 2002, Stroupe was the head coach at Lander University, where he started the baseball program.[5]

In the summer of 2002, Stroupe to the head coaching position at Gardner–Webb. On April 17, 2019, Stroupe announced that he would be retiring at the end of the 2019 season.[6] Stroupe is the all-time wins leader in Gardner-Webb baseball history.

Stroupe was named the Big South Conference Coach of the Year in 2019.

In 2012, Stroupe received the prestigious FCA Jerry Kindall Character in Coaching Award (presented annually to the college or high school baseball coach in the United States who best exemplifies the Christian principles of Character, Integrity, Excellence, Teamwork and Service on and off the baseball field).

After retiring from coaching, Stroupe became a college professor, an ordained pastor, and a baseball color analyst for ESPN Plus.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Diamond 'Dogs Set to Host Appalachian State This Weekend . February 23, 2017 . Gardner-Webb University . www.gwusports.com . October 8, 2018.
  2. Web site: Rusty Stroupe, Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldog . Bill Ballew . January 27, 2017 . College Baseball Now . www.collegebaseballnow.com . October 8, 2018.
  3. Web site: GWU coach: Big changes in college baseball this year . Alan Ford . February 11, 2015 . GateHouse Media, LLC. . www.shelbystar.com . October 8, 2018.
  4. Web site: The clarion : the Brevard College weekly . December 7, 1994 . North Carolina Newspapers is powered by Chronam . www.newspapers.digitalnc.org . October 8, 2018.
  5. Web site: Looking back: Successful start set Lander baseball program on right path . David Roberts . January 23, 2018 . BLOX Content Management System . www.indexjournal.com . October 8, 2018.
  6. Web site: Gardner-Webb Baseball Coach Rusty Stroupe Announces Retirement . April 17, 2019 . Gardner-Webb University . www.gwusports.com . May 26, 2019.