By Tim Corso / Jambar Contributor
The Youngstown State University baseball team named Trevor Charpie as the 10th head coach in program history.
Charpie officially became the new coach of the program June 28. The move came 34 days after the conclusion of the Penguins’ Horizon League runner-up finish.
He was elevated from former head coach Dan Bertolini’s staff, where Charpie served as the 2023-24 pitching coach for Youngstown State.
Normally, universities will look externally in the hiring process for a new coach before promoting a coach internally. However, Ron Strollo, executive director of Intercollegiate Athletics said that wasn’t the only factor that led to the hire.
“As we talked to people and as we continued to talk to our student-athletes and the baseball community [alumni], it became clear that [Charpie] was the right answer for the program,” Strollo said.
Charpie began his playing career at the University of Tennessee in 2013, where he saw significant innings out of the Volunteers’ bullpen.
Following a two-year stint in Knoxville, Tennessee, he transferred to the University of Nevada and became a mainstay in the Wolfpack rotation. Charpie pitched 171 innings across two seasons while going 8-11 with a 4.58 earned run average.
After college, Charpie played Major League Baseball in 2017 for the Tampa Bay Rays, where he spent three seasons before spending three more with the Joliet Slammers of the Frontier League.
Charpie’s strong relationship with the players, as well as his journey, were factors that helped solidify him as the Penguins’ next head coach.
“Clearly his playing career in college and in the pros stood out to us. He’s been around a lot of good baseball coaches. He’s learned a lot,” Strollo said.
Charpie brought in three coaches compared to last year’s two. He said the hiring of another coach will help give the program an edge and add a plethora of professional baseball experience.
“I tried to get really good people around me. I tried to bring in baseball minds. We’re in a position that we can coach at every level and we have a ton of playing experience and we’re just ready to kind of take on whatever comes our way,” Charpie said.
Charpie hired new staff that catered to the culture of the program, such as assistant baseball coaches Will Maddox, Dylan Moser and Rodney Lopez. He rounded out the staff with Evan Johnson as the head of player development.
Charpie and his staff brought in 24 new faces to go along with 25 returnees, including 15 transfers and nine freshmen.
Six players from the 2023-24 season departed Youngstown State.
Junior Matt Thompson and sophomore Alejandro Covas transferred to Kent State University. Redshirt freshman Derrick Tarpley Jr. transferred to the University of Pittsburgh, while senior Ian Francis transferred to the University of Kansas and senior RJ Sherwood transferred to North Alabama University.
Trey Law, the only Penguin in program history to record consecutive 80-hit seasons, signed with the Milwaukee Milkmen.
To complement a new lineup, Youngstown State returns a rotation that includes senior Jacob Gehring, redshirt junior Brandon Mikos, junior Sloan Ulrich, and junior Braden Gebhardt.
Gebhardt, a local player from Howland, was used as a starter and long-relief role for Youngstown State. Gebhardt was a notable name that withdrew from the transfer portal once Charpie was announced as the new leader of the Penguins.
“Last year, a lot of us created a good relationship with [Charpie] and he really knew what he was doing and really inspired a lot of us as well, ” Gebhardt said. “I think him being signed as the head coach really brought me back to Youngstown.”
The Penguins’ program will look for their second winning season since 2005 as they begin practices in preparation for the spring campaign.
Contacts: Ron Strollo, Trevor Charpie, Braden Gebhardt, Tommy Rover