BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Robert Hardy was named the new pitching coach for the Gardner-Webb baseball program, announced by GWU Head Baseball Coach Jim Chester on Monday, July 17.
“It is with great excitement to announce and welcome Rob Hardy and his new wife Kayla to the Gardner-Webb Baseball family,” says Chester. “He comes to Boiling Springs with extensive experience, focus on player development, and a commitment to success on and off the field. Words can’t describe my feelings for the opportunity to work alongside a like-minded individual who embodies our program’s mission of being selfless, relentless, and blue collar. This is a win for Gardner-Webb Baseball!”
Hardy comes to Gardner-Webb after spending the last two seasons at Conference USA squad Rice University in Houston, Texas. Hardy was the lead trainer of the state-of-the-art pitching and hitting labs on campus at Rice. His training helped aid Parker Smith to a 3.58 ERA this past season for the Owls, the sixth-best in Conference-USA. Smith also had a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.57 this season, ninth-best in the conference.
Hardy was also instrumental in guiding Justin Long, who converted from catcher to pitcher last fall. Long finished with a 4.93 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP in his lone season on the mound for the Owls, and earned his first career win on Mar. 3 with 2.2 scoreless innings in relief against Texas Tech. The hard work from Hardy and Long paid off, as he was drafted in the seventh round of the 2023 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves.
Prior to his time in Houston, Hardy was the Pitching Coach for three years at Siena College of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in Loudonville, N.Y. After the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Hardy coached John Lumpinski to Second-Team All-MAAC honors as the sophomore finished the regular season with a 1.88 ERA and a 4-1 record. He also coached Connor Bovair to an All-MAAC Freshman Team honor, as Bovair broke the Siena freshman record for strikeouts with 65 over just nine games.
Hardy’s first full-time collegiate coaching stop was a three-year stint at Division-II Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania. In his time at Bloomsburg, Hardy helped coach the Huskies to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and helped guide the team to their first PSAC Baseball Championship in 54 years, winning the 2019 PSAC Baseball Tournament with a 35-16 record.
Hardy also has experience as a student assistant at Binghamton University and was Pitching Coach for the Adirondack Trail Blazers of the Perfect Game Collegiate League in Booneville, N.Y.
In his playing career, Hardy started at Herkimer College, going 7-4 with two saves over 69.0 innings in two years. He finished his career with a 2.61 era and 59 strikeouts. During his sophomore campaign, Hardy played a crucial role in helping Herkimer advance to the NJCAA World Series and a third-place finish. In both seasons of his seasons at Herkimer, the baseball team was ranked in the top 10 getting as high as the number two team in the country.
Hardy finished his collegiate playing career at Binghamton, finishing with a 4.41 career era and 69 strikeouts over 122.1 innings pitched. In his senior season, Hardy helped guide the Bearcats to a 30-25 overall record and a 19-5 mark in conference play, winning the 2016 America East Conference Championship and making an appearance in the College Station Regional against Texas A&M and Minnesota.
“I am beyond grateful to join the Gardner-Webb Baseball community,” says Hardy. “I am looking forward to work alongside Coach Chester, Coach Marks and Coach Robison. I have had the opportunity to watch the Gardner-Webb baseball program from afar since Coach Chester was tabbed the Head Coach in July 2019, and the direction he has the program going is exciting. We are looking to bring home a Big South Championship, and it will be fun to lead this pitching staff towards that goal.”
The Gardner-Webb baseball program is coming off a 31-25 season with a fourth-place finish in the Big South conference, along with seven players earning All-Conference honors.
