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Moranda is introduced as WCU’s new baseball coach
Bobby Moranda was formally introduced as the head baseball coach at Western Carolina last Thursday morning at a news conference in the Hospitality Room of the Ramsey Center.
He received a three-year contract with an annual salary of $95,000.
“The search for a head baseball coach has been very difficult and very fulfilling,” Athletic Director Chip Smith said. “There was a large and qualified pool of candidates, which is attributable to the respect in which Western Carolina’s program is held throughout college baseball. Today is the culmination of a great deal of hard work by a lot of people that goes far beyond the process of finding a head baseball coach. The tradition of Catamount baseball is the product of countless baseball alum, as well as the current team, who have built a program that is committed to winning with integrity.”
Bobby Moranda, a former Georgia Tech assistant, addresses the media and Western Carolina supporters last Thursday after he was introduced as the Catamounts’ new baseball coach. – Photo by Ashley Evans.
He added, “As would be expected of someone who thrives on competition, Bobby Moranda clearly stood out as the right person to lead Catamount baseball. He is enthusiastic, motivated and well-prepared to take this team into the future and we are very pleased to have him and his family become Catamounts.”
“I am humbled and honored to be the new head baseball coach at Western Carolina,” Moranda said. “The reason I came here is because of the tradition. Cullowhee is a special place. I have known (former WCU coach) Jack Leggett for 18 years, and he taught me that this is a special place. I look forward to the opportunity and the challenge of continuing the outstanding tradition that coaches like Jack Leggett, Keith LeClair, Rodney Hennon and Todd Raleigh have started.”
An assistant at Georgia Tech the past six seasons, Moranda replaced Raleigh, who was named coach at Tennessee.
“I want to go to the College World Series,” Moranda said. “I would not have come here if I did not think that we could go to Omaha. I have no interest in just being a head coach. I could have done that 10, 12 or 15 years ago. I want to raise the bar for this program.”
The Catamounts reached the final round of the Chapel Hill tournament before being eliminated by eventual national runner-up North Carolina in May.
Moranda said he was confident the Cats could beat Cal-Irvine and Louisville in a three-game series if they played in the coming season. Both of those teams played in this year’s College World Series.
The new coach recalled that his first college hit was a home run at WCU’s Childress Field in 1985 while playing for Eastern Kentucky.
Moranda brings 21 years of coaching experience, the last 18 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, to WCU. He was associate head and pitching coach at Tech. Prior to his stint with the Yellow Jackets, he spent six years in a similar role at Wake Forest (1996-2001) and was an assistant coach at both Virginia (1990-95) and Eastern Kentucky (1987-89).
Moranda has been a part of eight conference championships and 10 NCAA Tournament appearances as either a player or a coach.
Under the tutelage of Moranda, 12 pitchers have been selected in the top five rounds of the Major League Baseball Draft, including Matt Wieters, the fifth pick this year. Moranda has coached 26 players who have been selected in the baseball draft, 20 of which were undrafted out of high school.
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