Coach Ronald “Woody” Hunt begins his 35th season as the head baseball coach at Cumberland University, and 37th season with the program, compiling an impressive 1,193 – 489 record for the Bulldogs and maintaining a position as one of only six head coaches to ever win more than 1,000 games in the NAIA.
With his passion for the game and desire to help young people succeed in life through the game of baseball, Hunt has elevated the Cumberland program into one of the top collegiate programs in the country. Hunt’s hard work has translated the baseball field at Cumberland into one of the finest baseball facilities in the South, with the stadium being named in his honor in 1994.
Within those 1,193 wins you will find some impressive championships including four District Championships, four Southeast Regional Championships, eleven Region Championships and three Super-Regional Championships. His teams have won an amazing 21 conference championships including 14 consecutive championships from 1989-2002.
On the national stage, Coach Hunt has led his Bulldogs to 10 NAIA World Series appearances (1988, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007) winning the 2004 NAIA National Championship and National Runner-up in 1995 and 2006. Named the National Coach of the Year in 2006 by the NAIA and five-time Tennessee Collegiate Coach of the Year, Coach Hunt has also earned the title numerous times for the conference and region as well as four-time National Coach of the Year runner-up and six-time NAIA Southeast Region Coach of the Year.
Equipping an athlete to compete on the next level is every coach’s desire, and Coach Hunt has had the privilege of watching 72 of his former players sign professional baseball contracts. He has coached 50 NAIA All-Americans and is the recipient of the Henry Foster Award at Notre Dame (1992), the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award (1994) and the Moose Krause Award (Notre Dame Monogram Club’s highest honor) (2002). A native of Danville, Kentucky, Hunt is a member of the Boyle County, Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame, Cumberland University Hall of Fame, Tennessee Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame and the NAIA Hall of Fame.