Edwin Thompson- Eastern Kentucky University | Progressing in the Right Direction
Edwin Thompson is the Head Coach at Eastern Kentucky University, a Division I program in the ASUN Conference. He began his collegiate playing career at Howard University, but upon them dropping the program he transferred to the University of Maryland and then finished his career at Weber International. After that he played one season of Independent baseball. He started his collegiate coaching career in 2005 as the Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at the University of Maine at Farmington, a Division III program. Than from 2009-2010 he was the Head Coach at Bates College, next he was hired on to be the Recruiting Coordinator at Duke University. Later on, from 2013-2015 he was an Assistant Coach at Georgia State, spending his first two seasons as the Pitching Coach and then his final season as the Recruiting Coordinator and Defensive Coach. In July of 2015 he was hired as the Head Coach for the Eastern Kentucky Baseball program where he still remains.
In this episode, we start off talking about his Coaching journey thus far, and his experiences moving from a Division III baseball program to a Division I program. We than discuss his preferences when hiring assistant coaches to be a part of his program, focusing on the resumes. Also, diving into the effect of social media on the hiring process as well as the recruiting process.
We than discuss what Coach Thompson has done at Eastern Kentucky to help him increase the programs win totals and progress in the right direction. We also talk about how he talks to his players and give them a positive mindset when things aren’t going their way. We finish off this podcast with Coach Thompson explaining what he believes to be the difference in collegiate baseball divisions and what he believes is the most common misconception about Division I baseball. Listen to this podcast to learn from a Division I Head Coach.