Coduto to Join Bearcats as Willamette's next Head Baseball Coach
By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Mike Coduto has been hired by Willamette University as the head coach of the baseball team. Most recently Coduto served as the associate head coach at Earlham College in Indiana, where he was on the coaching staff since the 2017 season. He will begin his duties with Willamette immediately and will join the Bearcats for several days of practice in mid-October before arriving on campus permanently later this month.
"We are very excited to have Mike leading our baseball program," said Director of Athletics Rob Passage. "He has been a part of winning programs throughout his career and understands the challenges that students face when they strive to be successful on the field and in the classroom. I am glad we were able to complete the search in time for him to be a part of our remaining fall practices. He will get to know the team ahead of what we expect to be another outstanding season for Bearcat baseball."
Coduto helped Earlham qualify for the NCAA Division III National Tournament twice, in 2017 and in 2022. Each time, Earlham won the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) tournament title to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA championship bracket. During the 2017 season, the Quakers led NCAA Division III with 155 stolen bases. In 2022, Earlham scored the most runs in a single game and ranked in the top five in Division III in runs per game. Coduto was the team's offensive coach and worked with the infielders.
"Being afforded the chance to be the head coach at a place like Willamette after my previous coaching stops is an opportunity for which I am extremely grateful," Coduto commented. "Something I have learned while at Birmingham-Southern and Earlham is there are only so many head coaching positions at this level, and there are even fewer schools who offer a great degree and a great baseball experience. So, to be at a place that can offer that is incredible. Being able to be a coach at BSC with Jan Weisberg and at Earlham with Steve Sakosits has also provided me with a wealth of baseball and life knowledge from two of my biggest mentors. They have allowed me to learn through their experiences."
Before coaching at Earlham, Coduto was an assistant coach at Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama, for the 2015 and 2016 seasons. He helped BSC win two Southern Athletic Association (SAA) titles, along with an SAA Tournament championship in 2016.
Birmingham-Southern reached the NCAA Division III National Tournament in 2015 and 2016. The 2016 team finished the season with a school record 39 wins. The Panthers ranked second in Division III with 55 double plays turned and were seventh with 558 hits. At BSC, Coduto coached the infielders and led the short game. He also served as an assistant hitting coach, assistant recruiting coordinator, assistant strength and conditioning coach, and first base coach.
"Throughout the search process, I really got that 'home' feeling when talking to the committee and the players," Coduto said. "Which then made the ability to come on campus all the more special because I was able to feel comfortable being myself and really picture myself at Willamette in the future. After speaking and meeting with the players and hearing their desire to be successful people, it really made me want to be a part of what was going on."
Coduto will be busy this fall as he learns more about his team and prepares for the 2023 season.
"I will use the remainder of the fall to get the opportunity to watch the guys compete in their World Series before getting a chance to do a couple of team practices," Coduto noted. "At the start of the spring, I will get more opportunities to watch live at-bats and other simulated game situations to get a better feel for how each role will be filled."
As a college student-athlete at North Park University in Chicago, Illinois, Coduto played baseball and earned four letters. He helped the Vikings win two consecutive Collegiate Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) championships and contributed to North Park qualifying for the NCAA Division III National Tournament in 2012.
He was named First Team All-CCIW twice and was chosen for ABCA All-Central Region honors in 2014 after hitting .362, going 27 for 30 on stolen bases, and providing a .982 fielding percentage. He was chosen as the ABCA/Rawlings Regional and National Gold Glove winner at second base. He also pitched 32 2/3 innings and was 2-2 on the mound with two saves. Coduto graduated from North Park in 2014 with a major in Psychology.
Coduto, his wife Morgan, and their daughter Joy plan to live in the Salem area.
"I would like to thank the search committee and Rob Passage for their faith in me and the opportunity to join the Bearcat family," Coduto said. "My family and I are looking forward to getting out to Oregon and being a part of the Willamette community."