CHARLESTON – Charleston Southern University Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Jeff Barber has promoted Karl Kuhn to head coach of the school's baseball program. Kuhn has spent the past two seasons with the Buccaneers as the pitching coach and was the Associate Head Coach this spring.
Kuhn brings with him one of the top resumes in the nation as a pitching coach with over three decades of coaching experience and being named the National Pitching Coach of the Year in 2014 by Collegiate Baseball. Additionally, he brings a National Championship with him that the University of Virginia claimed in 2015 while he was the as the pitching coach for the team. During the past two seasons with the Buccaneers, he has helped lead the pitching staff to levels rarely achieved over the past 20 seasons as well as one of their top finishes in the conference standings in 13 seasons.
"Over the past two years, Coach Kuhn has become a valued member of both our baseball program and our department," said Barber. "He brings great experience to this position which is crucial in helping us become the program we wish to be."
Under the tutelage of Kuhn, he has mentored 15 All-Americans, 30 All-Conference pitchers and 24 pitchers taken in the top ten rounds of the MLB Draft. Additionally, he helped lead the Cavaliers to back-to-back College World Series Finals Appearances along with four total CWS appearances.
"My family and I are very excited to continue the momentum that has been built inside the Charleston Southern baseball program," Kuhn said. "CSU has always had a special place in my heart as I began my Division I baseball coaching career here 30 years ago. I would like to extend my most heartfelt appreciation and thank you to Marc MacMillan and his family for bringing us here two years ago to be his pitching coach. I will be eternally grateful for the strength and unwavering support of Presidents, Keith Faulkner, current Charleston Southern President, Dr. Dondi Costin, former Charleston Southern President and current President at Liberty University and Dr. Brian Hemphill of Old Dominion University. I would also like to thank Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics, Jeff Barber, and Deputy Director of Athletics, Courtney Hall, for the grace, compassion and strength they both displayed during this process along with their sincere dedication to our baseball players. Lastly, my wife and family for their never-ending support along this journey."
During his time as a coach, he has made 15 NCAA Tournament appearances including CSU's first and only in program history which came in 1996 while he was an assistant coach. During that season, the Bucs won the Big South Championship to advance to the Atlantic East Regional. Kuhn's three seasons with the Charleston Southern pitching staff saw the team break 17 school records with many of these marks still ranking near the top in program history.
For the past two seasons, Charleston Southern has had one of the top pitching staffs in the conference as they have ranked third in the Big South in league play for team ERA. During the 2023 season, the team posted a mark of 4.20 while the 2024 season was at 5.12.
Before his second stint at CSU, Kuhn was the head coach at fellow Big South member Radford for three years for the 2020-2022 season. Previously, Kuhn served at UVA becoming the first assistant hired by current head coach Brian O'Connor and worked there for 16 seasons from 2003-2019. Prior to this he worked for seven years as the associate head coach and pitching coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock from 1997-2003. He oversaw the Trojans' pitching staff, while also being the squad's recruiting coordinator. He signed five consecutive nationally ranked classes by Collegiate Baseball, a first in program history.
His collegiate playing career began at Valencia where he played from 1987-89 before he transferred to Florida for the 1990 season. He graduated from UF in 1992 with a degree in exercise and sports science.
He is married to the former Katrina Gosdin and the couple has two sons, Kason and Kruse.
