The move to Marshall hasn’t been officially announced but Beals is expected to be introduced at a press conference at 4 p.m. Friday, according to a report by Metro News. Beals changed his Twitter biography to read, “Head Baseball Coach at Marshall University.”
While not mentioning the departure of Beals in its press release, Akron named an interim coach on Tuesday: Tim Donnelly, who joined Beals’ staff in August.
“It made sense to appoint an internal staff member at this juncture, and we are very fortunate to have a high-quality coach on the staff with Coach Donnelly,” Director of Athletics Charles Guthrie said in a press release. “With the transition challenges that our baseball student-athletes have endured during the last year, we wanted to ensure some continuity in the leadership of the baseball program. In Coach Donnelly, we have someone who has good rapport and relationships with the current student-athletes, recruits and staff. I believe this is a great opportunity for him and his family and we anticipate he’ll do a fantastic job.”
Beals was hired by Ohio State in June 2010 and was 346-288-1 in 12 seasons. The team finished 21-30 last season. He started his head coaching career at Ball State, where he was 243-202.
Beals won Big Ten tournament championships in 2016 and 2019 with Ohio State and won a MAC tournament championship with Ball State in 2006.
At Marshall, Beals replaces Jeff Waggoner, who was fired in October. Waggoner, who held the job since August 2006, was 339-478-3.
Marshall finished 20-34-1 last season. Its last winning season came in 2016. It has not played in the NCAA tournament since 1978.
Marshall will soon build a new baseball stadium thanks to a $13.8 million gift from the State of West Virginia’s Department of Economic Development in September. The goal is to open a new stadium in 2024.
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