BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – On Friday (July 24) morning, the Bowling Green State University Athletic Department and Director of Athletics Bob Moosbrugger announced the hiring of Kyle Hallock as Head Baseball Coach. Hallock becomes the 11th head coach in program history.
Hallock, who was hired by 30-year head coach Danny Schmitz in September of 2018, has served as BGSU’s pitching coach for the last two seasons. Upon the reinstatement of the program in June, Schmitz moved into an advisory role within the department and Hallock was named interim head coach.
“Coach Hallock is a rising star in the coaching ranks,” said Director of Athletics Bob Moosbrugger. “We are excited to see him and Associate Head Coach Ryan Shay put their own stamp on this program. Coach Schmitz has been synonymous with BGSU Baseball for the past 30 years. Not only are we thankful for his championship service on and off the field, but also grateful for attracting Coach Hallock to the Falcons. BGSU Baseball is in great hands with Coach Hallock.”
In 2018, his first full season with the Falcons, Hallock transformed the BGSU pitching staff. After ranking last in the category in 2017, Bowling Green’s pitching staff allowed the second-fewest runs in the Mid-American Conference. Eight of BGSU’s top-nine ERA leaders were either freshmen or sophomores that season. Additionally in 2018, BGSU ranked top-five in the MAC in ERA and fewest-hits allowed. The previous season, the Falcons ranked last and third-to-last in the two categories, respectively.
“I am truly grateful to be named Head Coach of the Bowling Green State University baseball program,” said Hallock. “I would like to thank President Rogers, Bob Moosbrugger and Steve Messenger for the opportunity and trust to lead our student-athletes now and into the future. I want to thank our alumni base for believing in our vision, and for their unparalleled support of this program.
“A special thank you goes out to Coach Schmitz for elevating our program to new heights – his career spanned a legendary 30 years and seven MAC championships. Our coaching staff and players are ready and eager to leave our mark on this program’s 105-year history. Ay Ziggy Zoomba!”
Even though the program played just 13 games in 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak, Hallock and his pitching staff were rounding into form. Tyler Hays, one of the premier arms in the MAC and the program’s freshman strikeout king, owned a 1.66 ERA and was limiting batters to a .203 batting average through four starts.
Very familiar with the MAC, Hallock was an All-American pitcher at Kent State. At KSU (2008-11), Hallock won four-consecutive league titles, played in three NCAA Regionals, and his teams averaged over 40 wins per season. During his senior year in 2011, Hallock won 10 games and posted a 1.95 ERA on his way to earning All-American and MAC Pitcher of the Year honors. During his time at KSU, Hallock was mentored by current University of Georgia Head Coach Scott Stricklin, as well current Golden Flashes’ pitching coach Mike Birkbeck – a former Major Leaguer and ABCA/Baseball America Division I National Assistant Coach of the Year.
Hallock went on to have a highly-successful career in professional baseball. Hallock, who was also drafted out of high school by the Philadelphia Phillies, began his career in pro ball in 2011 after being selected by the Houston Astros in the 10th round of the 2011 MLB Draft. Across his first year in the Astros’ system, he participated in the New York Penn League All-Star Game, on top of being named an organizational All-Star by MiLB.com writers and scouts.
In 2013, Hallock was promoted three times, spending time with the Quad Cities River Bandits (Single-A), Lancaster Jethawks (Advanced-A) and Corpus Christi Hooks (Double-A) before finishing the year with the Oklahoma City RedHawks (Triple-A). In total, Hallock appeared in 59 games as a pro, logging 186.2 innings.
As he transitioned into a coaching role, Hallock took over pitching coach duties in the summer of 2014 for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) – the premier summer circuit for college baseball players. On top of running a pitching operation that culminated with a CCBL championship, Hallock coached 12 players that summer that went on to be selected in next year’s 2015 MLB Draft, including three first-round picks (Walker Buehler, Phil Bickford and Tyler Jay). Bickford was named the Summer Collegiate Pitcher of the Year that summer, while Buehler is currently a star for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Prior to coming to BG, Hallock spent four years as the pitching coach at Malone University under head coach Tom Crank. Over his time at Malone, on top of playing a pivotal role in the program’s overall resurgence, Hallock turned the Pioneers’ pitching staff into one the very best across the Midwest Region. In the two seasons prior to his arrival, Malone went a combined 40-57. Across Hallock’s four years on staff, the Pioneers posted four-straight winning seasons and went 124-83 (.600) overall.
Malone averaged 31 wins per season under Hallock’s guidance, due largely in part to a pitching staff that ranked first or second in team ERA within the GLIAC/GMAC conferences in three of his four years on staff. In fact, Malone’s team ERA ranked 22nd in the country in 2015 (3.43), and 14th in the nation in 2017 (3.32). While on staff, Hallock coached right-handed pitcher Alex Widmer, who was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 2017 MLB Draft.
Hallock, who received his Bachelor’s degree in Sport Administration from Kent State in 2011, earned a Masters of Business Administration from Malone University in 2016. Hallock was born and raised in Sandusky, Ohio. Hallock, along with his wife, Morgan, and two sons – Keegan and Klay – reside in Bowling Green, Ohio.
