West Virginia University Athletics

Mark Ginther is in his fifth season as an assistant coach with the West Virginia baseball program, serving as the infield coach and assisting with the hitters.
 
Ginther has already left his mark on the program by assisting in the recruitment efforts of student-athletes. The 2019 class ranked No. 21 nationally, marking WVU’s first top-25 recruiting class in program history. The 2020, 2021 and 2022, 2023 classes also ranked inside the top-40 nationally.
 
In his first year at WVU in 2019, the Mountaineers went 38-22, marking the second-most wins in program history, earned a trip to the Big 12 Championship final and hosted its first NCAA Regional since 1955.
 
The Mountaineers were ranked in the top 25 in each of the final eight weeks of the season, a program record, and finished as high as No. 19 by the NCBWA.
 
WVU’s historic season also featured a program-record eight players selected in the 2019 MLB First-Year Players Draft, including right-handed pitcher Alek Manoah, who was picked 11th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays Other 2019 draft picks included senior Ivan Gonzalez (eighth round, Chicago White Sox), junior Nick Snyder (11th round, Arizona Diamondbacks), junior Kade Strowd (12th round, Baltimore Orioles), junior Brandon White (17th round, Los Angeles Angels), senior Darius Hill (20th round, Chicago Cubs), junior Chase Illig (29th round, New York Yankees) and junior Sam Kessler (34th round, Detroit Tigers).
 
Additionally, a program-record 11 Mountaineers earned Big 12 honors in 2019, including five second-team selections.
 
In 2020, WVU played just 16 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The squad finished 11-5, marking the program's best 16-game start since 2009. Following the season, a pair of WVU newcomers – left-handed pitcher Jake Carr and infielder/catcher Matt McCormick – earned Freshman All-America honors by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, the first time two Mountaineers accomplished the feat in the same season since 2016.
 
Ginther was a part of a WVU coaching staff that saw the Mountaineers win multiple games at the 2021 Big 12 Championship for the sixth time in the last eight tournaments. West Virginia also finished the year with five wins over ranked opponents, including a pair of wins over No. 2 Texas (May 20, 26), good for the highest-ranked wins in program history.
 
For the second consecutive season, a WVU newcomer earned a freshman All-America accolade, as left-handed pitcher Ben Hampton was recognized by Perfect Game. Four players also earned All-Big 12 status, with left-handed pitcher Jackson Wolf leading the way with a spot on the second team. Additionally, catcher Paul McIntosh and outfielder Austin Davis earned honorable mention status, while Hampton and infielder Mikey Kluska were selected to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.
 
Four Mountaineer pitchers were taken in the 2021 MLB Draft. Wolf was the first WVU player to hear his name called, as he was taken in the fourth round by the San Diego Padres. Right-hander Ryan Bergert joined him when he was selected in the sixth round by San Diego. Additionally, right-hander Madison Jeffrey (15th round) and left-hander Adam Tulloch (17th round) were each taken by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
 
In the classroom, a program-record 12 players were named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team, including eight on the first team, also tops in team history.
 
West Virginia won 33 games in 2022, including a program-record 14 in league play. The Mountaineers were the lone Big 12 squad to avoid a three-game losing streak throughout the season and were one of just five Power 5 programs nationally to accomplish the feat.
 
WVU also re-wrote the record books on the base paths, as the team finished with a single-season record 156 stolen bases, good for No. 2 nationally. Individually, outfielder Victor Scott II swiped 38 bags, the most in one season in West Virginia history.
 
Right-handed pitcher Trey Braithwaite earned All-America status by the NCBWA, and he was one of two Mountaineers named to the All-Big 12 First Team, joining Davis. Additionally, catcher McGwire Holbrook earned second-team honors, while right-handed pitcher Noah Short, right-hander Jacob Watters, Hampton and infielder JJ Wetherholt were Honorable Mention selections. Right-hander Chris Sleeper joined Wetherholt on the All-Big 12 Freshman Team.
 
Following the season, three Mountaineers were selected in the 2022 MLB Draft: Watters (fourth – Oakland) Scott (fifth – St. Louis) and Braithwaite (16th – Cincinnati).
 
For their work in the classroom, outfielder Braden Barry and infielder Nathan Blasick each were named CoSIDA Academic All-District Team, becoming the first Mountaineer duo to be named to the team in the same year since 2015. They were two of a school-record 15 players named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team.
 
Prior to his arrival at West Virginia, Ginther was at Oklahoma State, where he was a four-year letterwinner and spent four seasons on the OSU coaching staff.
 
In four years on the Oklahoma State coaching staff, Ginther was the volunteer assistant from 2016-18 and the player development coordinator in 2015. The Cowboys made the NCAA Tournament each season, with a College World Series berth in 2016, and won the Big 12 Championship in 2017.
 
As a student-athlete at Oklahoma State from 2009-12, Ginther was a two-time All-Big 12 Honorable Mention and played in two NCAA Tournaments.
 
In 209 career games, primarily at third base, he hit .296 with 32 home runs, 140 RBIs and 50 doubles. Ginther’s 808 career at-bats rank No. 5 all-time in OSU history, while his 50 career doubles rank No. 8. His 19 sacrifice flies in 2010 is tied for sixth-most in a single season in OSU history. In 2010, he led the team in home runs (12) and RBIs (58), and he had a team-best five homers and 225 at-bats in 2012.
 
Ginther was selected in the Major League Baseball Draft three times, once out of Jenks High School in 2008 and twice at Oklahoma State, in 2011 and 2012. Following his OSU career, he was drafted in the 24th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks and played in 62 games with the Class-A Short Season Yakima Bears in 2012.
 
Following his professional career, Ginther returned to Stillwater and served as the Cowboys’ volunteer student coach and then as a graduate manager.
 
A Tulsa, Oklahoma, native, Ginther graduated from Oklahoma State with a degree in management in 2013. He and his wife, Taylor, have two children, Blair and Tripp.