Birmingham-Southern College Men's Baseball

On August 15, 2006, Jan Weisberg was named as the 11th head baseball coach in school history. He is entering his 16th season on the Hilltop with a 431-172-1 record. D3baseball.com recognized Birmingham-Southern as the fourth winningest program in the country in the 2010’s under Weisberg, with four student-athletes making the All-Decade Team.  BSC had the second most individuals recognized, and was one of four programs to earn two first-teamers. After the 2020 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Weisberg and his staff came into 2021 looking to repeat the 2019 season. The Panthers finished the season 28-16 overall and 14-10 in conference play. The Panthers wound up finishing third in the regular season, but won the SAA conference tournament, defeating Berry 25-4 in a winner take all championship game.  BSC got the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament and would up in the High Point, N.C. Regional. The Panthers finished regional runner up after losing to the eventual national champion, Salisbury 9-6. In 2019, Weisberg led the Panthers to the NCAA National Championship series after advancing through the World Series undefeated. BSC earned its first trip to the dance by sweeping Coe in the Super Regional and fending off LaGrange in the Regionals. The fastest coach in BSC history to reach 300 wins, Weisberg is BSC’s second winningest coach in program history. He has led the Panthers to eight 30+ win seasons during his tenure, five Southern Athletic Association regular season titles, and four conference tournament championships. The 2019 season proved historic for the Panthers under Weisberg.  They finished the season as the national runner-up with a program record 42 wins. For the sixth consecutive year, BSC claimed the SAA Pitcher of the Year award, Weisberg was named Coach of the Year for the fourth time, and 11 Panthers earned all-conference honors. 2017 saw 10 Panthers recognized on all-conference teams after going 19-2 in conference play.  Stephen Himic was named pitcher of the year and went on to be voted first-team all-region by D3Baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings.  Four others earned all-region honors.  Fellow starting pitcher Ryan Gaines and utility player Rich Misischia were the only two also recognized by both organizations. After earning the regular season title, the Panthers advanced to the NCAA Division III Central Regional Championship, before falling to the eventual national semifinalist.  Ranked as high as No. 2 during the year, they finished the season ranked No. 10. In 2016, he led the Panthers to a 39-13 overall record, the most program wins in 13 years, and a 17-4 record against Southern Athletic Association opponents. The team captured the conference regular season and tournament titles and was ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation.  It marked their third straight regular season championship.  Weisberg earned SAA coach of the year honors while 10 Panthers picked up all-conference nods, including SAA Pitcher of the Year Ryan Gaines.  Gaines went on to earn all-region honors from D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association. Four others were named to all-region teams between the two organizations and the Panthers concluded the season ranked No. 6 nationally. 2016 also saw Bruce Maxwell, the 2012 ABCA and D3baseball.com Division III baseball player of the year and All-American catcher under Weisberg, called up to the majors. Maxwell appeared in 33 games for the Oakland Athletics after his debut on July 23. In his first five seasons on the Hilltop, Weisberg posted an impressive 150-54 record after leading the Panther Baseball program through the transition to Division III. For his efforts, Weisberg was named 2010 Alabama College Coach of the Year by the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association and Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Co-Coach of the Year.  In 2012, he was named the D3baseball.com South Region Coach of the Year In Weisberg's time at BSC, the Panthers have won three regular season Southern Athletic Association titles (2014-16) and one SAA tournament championship (2016), four SCAC Eastern Division Championships (2009-12).  In 2012, they won the SCAC tournament championship and finished in the NCAA Central Regional Championship Game after earning the No. 1 ranking in the South Region with a 31-7 record in the regular season.   From 2008-2012, 33 players earned all-conference honors under Weisberg's watch.  The accolades include three Panthers who were named freshman of the year in the SCAC (Sam Hill, 2008; Bruce Maxwell, 2010; and Blake Stevens, 2012).  Two players earned SCAC Player of the Year awards (Drew Leachman, 2011; Bruce Maxwell, 2012) and one earned SCAC Pitcher of the Year recognition (Clay Malcolm, 2011). In addition to SCAC awards, 17 players earned all-south region awards. This includes BSC's two south region player of the year recipients Drew Leachman (2011) and Bruce Maxwell (2012). Six Players have received All-America recognition (Brandon Ricco, 2010; Drew Leachman, 2011; Bruce Maxwell, 2012; Miles Nordgren, 2012 and 2014; Blake Yance, 2012; Blake Stevens, 2014-15).  Maxwell was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 2nd Round of the 2012 MLB First Year Player Draft.  Maxwell joined Leachman as the 2nd player to be drafted in Weisberg's time at BSC.  Leachman was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 2011. Prior to coming to BSC, Weisberg led Transylvania University to a second-place regular-season finish in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, the highest finish ever in school history, and to its first-ever conference tournament berth in 2006. He had seven players earn all-conference honors and implemented academic strategies which helped raise the team GPA from 2.83 to 2.95. Weisberg also created the first ever support group that raised over 15 percent of the 2006 budget and directed the school's first-ever summer baseball camps that had over 300 attendees. Before Transylvania, Weisberg spent 1991-2005 as a player and coach at the University of Kentucky. He earned two varsity letters from 1991-92, helping the Wildcats to a then-school-record 41 wins and an NCAA Regional berth in 1991. In 1992, the team captain finished the year ranked fifth on the single-season RBI list. Weisberg played at San Jose City College from 1987-90 before signing with UK. He helped SJCC to a California Junior League Final Four appearance in 1989 and was voted team captain in 1990. He moved into the coaching ranks as a graduate assistant from 1993-94 before moving up to full-time assistant from 1994-2005. Weisberg added the tag of recruiting coordinator in 1999, serving in that capacity until his departure in 2005. He had three top 25 recruiting classes and 60 percent of UK players earned a GPA of 3.0 or higher during that stint. He also coordinated the team offense, instructed hitters, catchers and infielders, and coached third base. In 2000, the UK offense set new school mark for slugging percentage. He and his wife Alyssa have two sons, J.T. and Evan. Weisberg earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Kentucky in 1993.

JD Hulse joined Coach Weisberg’s staff as his assistant coach in the 2017 season. His responsibilities are recruiting coordinator, strength and conditioning coach, and third base coach. He also leads the hitters and outfielders. In his six full seasons from 2017-2023, the Panthers have three 40+ win seasons and have made the NCAA Tournament and NCAA Regional Final five times. In those five tournaments, the Panthers were a number one regional seed in 2017, 2019, 2022, and 2023 and  hosted Super Regionals in 2019 and 2022. In 2019, Hulse helped BSC to a 42-15 record and their first DIII College World Series appearance in Cedar Rapids, Iowa where they finished national runner-up. After the season, Coach Hulse received Alabama’s Assistant Coach of the Year Award.  During his tenure, the Panthers have earned 55 All-Conference honors, 29 All-Region honors, four All-Americans, four SAA Pitcher-of-the-Year awards, three Rawlings Gold Glove winners, and one draft pick (Preston White). In 2023, Hulse recruited a team that was ranked #1 in the country for six straight weeks. In the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Hulse led one of the most productive offenses in the country where the team was in the nation’s top 10 in wins, runs scored per game, home runs, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and stolen bases. Before taking the job at BSC, Hulse was the assistant coach at Louisiana Tech during the 2015 and 2016 seasons where he was the camp coordinator, director of operations, outfield coach, assistant hitting coach, and first base coach. In his short stint in Ruston, Louisiana, Hulse helped produce seven draft picks. Three of those draft picks have made it to the big leagues; Phil Maton, Phil Diehl, and Braden Bristo. The season before he took the job at LA Tech, the Bulldogs went 15-40. Two years later, Hulse helped the bulldogs to a 42-20 record and played Mississippi State in the 2016 regional final.  Hulse helped Birmingham-Southern as the volunteer assistant coach in the 2013 and 2014 seasons where he assisted the recruiting efforts, the strength and conditioning program, the offense, and field maintenance. He led the outfielders and short game. He helped the Panthers win their first SAA regular season and tournament championship in the 2014 season, which granted them an automatic bid into NCAA South Regional. As a player, Hulse was in Coach Weisberg’s first recruiting class at Birmingham-Southern in 2007. He was a four-year starter for the Panthers in center field. Hulse was a 3 time All-SCAC performer, earning honors in 2008, 2010 and 2011. He was a catalyst to the team’s championship seasons in 2009, 2010, and 2011. Hulse's career numbers earned him recognition in both the SCAC and Birmingham-Southern record books. He hit .338 for his career with 12 home runs, 101 RBIs, and 68 stolen bases. He sits at 7th in BSC history in runs scored and 6th in triples. In SCAC history, he is 9th in runs scored and 10th in stolen bases.  He married his wife, Cortney, in 2014. They have two daughters, Harper and Hayden. Hulse received his Masters of Arts degree in coaching sports performance in 2018. He earned his performance enhancement specialist certification for strength and conditioning in 2012. Hulse earned his Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Birmingham-Southern in 2011.