Matt McCarty enters his fifth year as the head baseball coach of Shepherd University after being named as the interim head baseball coach in September 2012 and elevated to head baseball coach in July 2013. Shepherd posted a 39-15 overall mark with a 24-8 record in conference play in 2016. The Rams won the MEC regular season and tournament championships and advanced to the NCAA II Atlantic Regional Tournament where they won a pair of regional games for the first time since 2002. McCarty’s Rams posted a 39-12 mark with a 35-9 record in conference play as the MEC regular season champions in 2015. Shepherd tied the school record for most wins in a season with 39. The Rams posted a record-setting 20-game win streak during the season. McCarty reached the 100-win mark when Shepherd handed Fairmont State a 7-0 setback on May 2. McCarty led the Rams to a 39-14 overall record in 2014 and was named Mountain East Conference Coach of the Year as Shepherd posted a 35-7 mark in MEC play to capture the inaugural MEC regular season championship. The 39 wins tie the mark for the most wins in program history. Additionally, McCarty garnered NCBWA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year after leading the Rams to an appearance in the 2014 Division II Baseball Championship Atlantic Region Tournament as the number two seed. In his first season at the helm of the program, he led the team to 28-20 overall with a conference record of 21-10. Since taking over the program, McCarty’s vision of elevating the program to nationally known premises is evident by the program’s efforts on the recruiting trail and work ethic that is instilled in the classroom and on the baseball field. McCarty has been a staple in Shepherd baseball dating back to his playing days for Rams in 2008-09. During his time as a player, assistant coach and head coach, McCarty has been a part of 198 Ram victories. Along with being the program’s head coach, McCarty serves as the pitching coach for a staff that has experienced ample amounts of success in the past years. Since shifting to pitching coach duties in 2012, the team’s ERA has progressively dropped, with a team ERA of 4.49 in 2013 and a 3.51 ERA in 2014.