Todd Miller Named as Marian Baseball Head Coach
INDIANAPOLIS - On Thursday, July 11, Director of Athletics Steve Downing and the Marian University Department of Athletics announced the hiring of Todd Miller as the next Marian baseball head coach. Miller, who joins the Marian staff after spending the last two seasons as an assistant at Davidson University, is the eighth head coach in program history.
An 18-year coaching veteran, the Indiana-native Miller returns to the Hoosier state after spending the previous two years as a recruiting coordinator, hitting coach, and outfield positional coach for Davidson College. Miller is a 2006 graduate of Hanover College, where he was an all-conference football and baseball player.
"It is an honor to be named the head baseball coach at Marian University," said Miller on being named the head coach of the Marian baseball program. "I would like to thank President (Dan) Elsener, Steve Downing, and Mark Henninger for giving me the opportunity to lead the baseball program. Our family is excited to come back home, be involved in a great city, and at a school offering a phenomenal experience. I'm excited to build on the past successes of Marian and I look forward to leading the program to new heights."
In his time at Davidson, Miller helped develop and coach the Wildcats 2023 A10 Player of the Year Ryan Wilson, while helping record the fourth-most victories in a single season in school history. Miller coached three players that went on to be drafted or signed through the MLB draft, including a fifth and ninth round selection. At Davidson, the Wildcats set school records for home runs and times hit by pitch, while leading the A10 in numerous categories during Miller's tenure as an assistant coach.
Before beginning his most recent role with Davidson, Miller spent one season in a similar position at Tennessee Tech, serving as the offensive coordinator and infield positional coach in addition to the recruiting coordinator. The 2022 Tennessee Tech squad earned their first victory in school history over the top-ranked team in college baseball, as the Golden Eagles earned a victory against the University of Tennessee with Miller on staff. Tennessee Tech led their conference in batting average, hits, runs, and home runs, as well as several other categories in his time.
"I am excited to name Todd Miller as our next baseball coach," said Director of Athletics Steve Downing. "Todd brings a strong baseball background to our Marian program, and will bring a new energy and spark to our team. I look forward to working with Todd, and watching him take our baseball team to a new level of play."
Prior to Tennessee Tech, Miller spent considerable time coaching at the NCAA Division II level, including three years at Tusculum and four-year stints at Belmont-Abbey and Catawba.
Miller began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Bluffton University in 2006 and later served as interim head coach during the 2007 season. It was for his leadership in this role that he received the 2010 NCAA Award of Inspiration for leading the team during a period of unprecedented challenges. Also while at Bluffton, he completed his master's degree in business administration.
"Todd will be a great fit for our University and our department," said assistant athletic director Mark Henninger. "He stood out among an extremely strong pool of candidates as an Indiana native with such a strong background of success at every level of college baseball. I look forward to working with Todd and I am excited about what he brings to the future of our baseball program."
At Catawba from 2011-14, Miller helped the Indians win 161 games, three South Atlantic Conference titles and make three NCAA Tournament berths. In 2012, the Indians finished No. 4 in the nation and reached the NCAA Division II College World Series. While in Salisbury, Miller worked with six MLB draft picks and one National Pitcher of the Year.
Miller spent the next four seasons at Belmont-Abbey, where he helped the Crusaders to 141 wins and their best four-year run. The highlight of his tenure came in 2018, when Belmont-Abbey went 40-14, climbed to second in the nation and reached the final of the NCAA Southeast Regional. That club included six all-conference selections, three all-region performers and Conference Carolinas Player of the Year Luke Cureton. All-region pick Matt McGarry, a second baseman, was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 34th round, and Miller also worked with Google Cloud Academic All-America First Team pick Thomas Yoder.
At Tusculum, Miller helped develop one MLB draft pick, three All-Americans and one MLB free agent signing. The 2021 Pioneers won 30 games and finished second in the SAC, behind only eventual national champion Wingate. Tusculum climbed to No. 7 in the nation and finished third in the country in hit-by-pitches, fifth in walks, sixth in on-base percentage, eighth in runs per game and in the top 15 in sacrifice flies, runs scored and stolen bases.
In addition to his college coaching duties, Miller has worked in other capacities in the game, including with the Indiana Bulls player national travel ball organization and the Thomasville HiToms of the Coastal Plain League.
Before his collegiate playing days at Hanover, Miller was a standout baseball, basketball, and football player at Franklin Community High School. The Indiana native Miller and his wife, Leigh, have a daughter, Madeline, and two sons, Brooks and Boone.
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