Randolph-Macon College Men's Baseball

Hedrick '97 returned to his alma mater in 2005, resurrecting the baseball program and returning it to prominence in both the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) and the South Region. In 2008 he led the Yellow Jackets to their first league championship since 1987 and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1977. He has since recorded two more ODAC titles and NCAA appearances, including the 2013 season. In addition, Hedrick has been named 2008 and 2013 Coach-of-the-Year in the state of Virginia. On Tuesday, March 8, he recorded his 200th career victory as the skipper of the Yellow Jackets, defeating Mary Washington 5-3. The success of the program over the past nine seasons has led to 29 All-Conference players, including the 2006, 2008, and 2010 ODAC Pitcher-of-the-Year, the 2006, 2008, and 2013 ODAC Rookie-of-the-Year, 2012 Player-of-the-Year, and 2007 South Region Pitcher-of-the-Year award winners. Additionally, Hedrick has instructed three All-American honorees in Travis Beazley 06, Jay Lichter 11, and Jordan Walton 12 and has seen three professional contracts in Beazley (38th round MLB Draft selection, Boston Red Sox), Walton (St. Louis Cardinals Organization), and James Bierlein 11 (Independent Frontier League, Schaumberg (Ill.) Boomers). No stranger to the baseball community, Hedrick served as top assistant and recruiting coordinator at three different schools before his return to Ashland in the fall of 2004. Prior to his hiring as Randolph-Macon's head coach, Hedrick was the top assistant to Paul O'Neil at Division II UNC Pembroke (2001-2004) and at Division III Shenandoah University (1998-2000). At both institutions, Hedrick helped O'Neil resurrect programs that had not tasted success in years into national powers, while quickly establishing himself as one of the top young coaches and recruiters among the college baseball coaching ranks. Hedrick served in a variety of areas for O'Neil in their six seasons together. A relentless recruiter, he headed up the efforts in that area. On the field, Hedrick coached the bases while working with the hitters and the defense. By stressing offensive productivity, both institutions broke school records and finished ranked nationally in batting, scoring, home runs and slugging percentage. He brings that same mentality to the Randolph-Macon offense. In seven seasons as an assistant, Hedrick's teams amassed 175 wins, including record-setting campaigns in 2000 at Shenandoah, and the 2001 and 2003 seasons at UNCP. Hedrick's recruits played a major role in the success of each program. Out of his six various recruiting classes, Hedrick had several all-conference, all-region and all-state players, as well as three All-Americans, including a player who won the triple crown in the Dixie Conference (now USA South) while leading the country with a .506 batting average in 2000. A Springfield, Virginia native, Hedrick played two years of JUCO baseball at Prince George's Community College for legendary coach William "Bumps" Vaughan. He went on to finish his degree and playing career at Randolph-Macon College, helping lead the Yellow Jackets to the ODAC championships in 1997, which was the last time that R-MC qualified for the tournament before last spring. After graduating from Randolph-Macon in 1997 with a B.A. degree in political science, Hedrick served as an assistant for Vaughan at PGCC. Hedrick also worked with the Bowie Baysox, the AA Eastern League affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, before joining O'Neil in 1998. In addition to his duties as an assistant, Hedrick served three summers (2001-2003) as head coach of the New Market Rebels of the prestigious Valley Baseball League. During his tenure, Hedrick amassed 77 wins and led the Rebels to two championship appearances, winning the league in 2002 and falling seven outs short of repeating in 2003. Over the course of those three summers, Hedrick coached over 30 players that are now playing on the professional level, including current major leaguers Mike O'Connor (NY Mets), Chris Ray (San Francisco), Jared Burton (Cincinnati) and Brett Gardner (NY Yankees). Hedrick is married to the former Sheree Rogers of Woodstock, Virginia. They have one daughter, Maris who turns eight in June of 2014 and one son, Garner Chase who celebrated his fourth birthday in January of 2014.  The Hedricks reside in Ashland.