Lehigh baseball faces hitting coach turnover

When Lehigh baseball players arrived for practice this fall, they learned they would be adjusting to a new hitting coach. 

Al Reda, who joined the program for only two weeks, became the latest coach to step down —  marking the seventh hitting coach to leave the team in three years.

For players who have cycled through coach after coach, the turnover has become a familiar challenge that they must offset with leadership within the team.

Unlike the full-time pitching coach position, Lehigh’s hitting coach role is part-time. 

Senior infielder and captain Ryan Cochran said this makes retention difficult in a profession where young coaches are eager to move up. All of Lehigh’s recent hitting coaches, he said, left for full-time jobs elsewhere. 

Despite the turnover, senior pitcher Ryan Mullock said the consistency of the head coach and pitching coach has helped the team adapt to the changes.

“Coach (Sean) Leary has been here for over 30 years, and our pitching coach has been consistent too,” Mullock said. “That continuity helps balance out the changes with hitting coaches.”

Cochran said while each coach brought minor differences in philosophy – some emphasizing bunting and situational hitting while others leaned into power swings – the turnover hasn’t drastically affected player development.

“There hasn’t been a coach that brought a cookie-cutter swing to Lehigh,” Cochran said. “It’s been more about small tweaks, like approach or philosophy, but nothing drastic.”

Still, Mullock said the lack of long-term relationships makes it harder for players to fully settle in. 

Senior pitcher Shane O’Neill said the team has leaned on its leadership from within to smooth the transitions.

“We’ve always had a really good group of seniors that we can rely on,” O’Neill said. “When a coach leaves, you just look to those guys a little bit more. Captains like (Cochran), Owen (Walewander) and others step up.”

Mullock said Leary’s approach prepares players to fill the gaps when coaches leave. He said Leary makes sure upperclassmen get involved early so that if a coach leaves, the players know what needs to be picked up.

Players have also turned to outside resources. Cochran said former infielder Rafe Perich, ‘25, and his father, a former Mets player, have been steady resources who offer hitting advice when needed.

“(Perich) and his dad are like swing doctors,” Cochran said. “If you text them, they’ll show up and help. When (Perich’s) back from professional baseball, he’s always around hitting with us.” 

He said that kind of consistency helps keep the program steady amid staff turnover.

Players pointed to broader career realities, not Lehigh baseball’s culture, as the reason coaches keep leaving.

“A lot of our hitting coaches have been younger guys,” Mullock said. “Some leave for family reasons, some to be closer to home, some just to take the next career step. It’s not really about the team, it’s the position.”

O’Neill said all the coaches have enjoyed their time at Lehigh, but opportunities elsewhere have made their time as a Mountain Hawk short-lived. 

Despite the frequent changes, O’Neill said the team has maintained its identity through Leary’s leadership.

“Having Coach Leary here for 30-plus years gives us that stability,” O’Neill said. “We know who we are as a team, no matter who’s in the batting cage with us.”

Cochran said the team is looking for experience, reliability and someone who is a stand-up guy in the next hitting coach.

Unless Lehigh can add another full-time assistant position, Cochran said turnover may remain a reality.

“Until we have a second full-time assistant, we’re not going to be able to hold on to any coach for two or three years,” Cochran said. “But as players, when we graduate and we’re in the position to give back, that’s something we’d love to help fix.”