For information on all University of Alabama at Birmingham sports, see UAB Blazers

The UAB Blazers baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of the University of Alabama at Birmingham in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. The team is a member of the American Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. UAB's first baseball team was fielded in 1979. The team plays its home games at Jerry D. Young Memorial Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The Blazers are coached by Casey Dunn.

History The UAB fielded its first varsity baseball team in 1979 as an independent before joining the Sun Belt Conference in 1980. Harry Walker, the program’s first head coach, led UAB through the 1986 season, a tenure that included the 1981 Sun Belt North Division title. Pete Rancont took over in 1987 and coached the program for 13 seasons. Under Rancont, UAB reached its first NCAA Tournament in 1991, advancing to the Central Regional in Austin, Texas. The program moved to the Great Midwest Conference in 1992 and won both the regular-season and tournament titles in its first year in the league, with Rancont earning conference coach of the year honors.

UAB joined Conference USA in 1996 and remained there through the 2023 season. Results in C-USA were mixed, with the team producing winning records in some seasons and finishing in the lower half of the standings in others. Larry Giangrosso coached from 2000 through 2006, followed by Brian Shoop, whose tenure ran from 2007 through the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Shoop led the Blazers to their second NCAA Tournament appearance in 2012, when UAB won the Conference USA Tournament and advanced to the Tallahassee Regional. A Shoop-era highlight came in 2014, when the team posted the program’s lowest team ERA at 2.87.

Perry Roth served as head coach for a single season in 2021 before Casey Dunn was hired ahead of the 2022 campaign. UAB left Conference USA for the American Conference in 2024. Through the start of the 2026 season, the program has recorded 23 winning seasons, two NCAA Tournament appearances, and 62 alumni who have reached professional baseball, including 36 drafted players. Home games are played at Regions Field, which opened in 2013, while Young Memorial Field, opened in 1984, remains in use on campus.

Conference affiliations

NCAA Division I Independent (1978-1979) Sun Belt Conference (1980–1991) Great Midwest Conference (1992–1995) Conference USA (1996–2023) American Conference (2024–present)

Head Coaches UAB has had six head coaches. Coach Years Seasons Record Pct. Harry Walker 1979–1986 8 211–171 .552 Pete Rancont 1987–1999 13 368–374–1 .496 Larry Giangrosso 2000–2006 7 169–218 .437 Brian Shoop 2007–2020 14 361–407 .470 Perry Roth (interim) 2021 1 18–36 .333 Casey Dunn 2022–present 4 98–121 .447 Total 47 1,252–1,271–1 .496

Year by year results UAB baseball history year-by-year results.

Season Coach Overall Conf. Standing Postseason Independent (1979) 1979 Harry Walker 21–29 — — Sun Belt Conference (1980–1991) 1980 Harry Walker 30–20 6–6 2nd 1981 40–17 12–0 1st (North) 1982 14–18 4–2 1st (North) 1983 29–18 11–6 2nd (West) 1984 27–16 8–9 3rd (West) 1985 26–27 5–11 3rd( West) 1986 24–26 7–10 3rd (West) 1987 Pete Rancont 23–22 8–10 4th (West) 1988 22–28–1 4–12 4th (West) 1989 28–27 7–11 3rd (West) 1990 27–26 8–10 2nd (West) 1991 29–30 9–7 2nd (West) NCAA Regional Great Midwest Conference (1992–1995) 1992 Pete Rancont 43–18 17–1 1st 1993 35–23 12–6 2nd 1994 32–23 16–6 2nd 1995 34–22 13–9 2nd Conference USA (1996–2023) 1996 Pete Rancont 33–25 13–11 4th 1997 31–29 14–13 6th 1998 29–24 15–12 4th 1999 22–31 7–20 9th 2000 Larry Giangrosso 28–32 10–15 7th 2001 25–30 6–21 10th 2002 16–40 7–23 10th 2003 27–26 12–17 9th 2004 30–29 13–16 7th 2005 31–27 14–16 8th 2006 19–38 6–18 6th 2007 Brian Shoop 25–33 12–12 4th 2008 26–34 7–17 8th 2009 31–26 11–12 6th 2010 28–25 11–13 T-5th 2011 29–28 9–15 7th 2012 32–30 9–15 7th NCAA Regional 2013 23–36 7–17 8th 2014 35–21 20–10 2nd 2015 33–25 15–15 2nd 2016 21–34 12–18 9th 2017 24–31 9–21 11th 2018 21–33 13–17 8th 2019 27–29 12–18 9th 2020 7–9 0–0 — Season canceled (COVID-19) 2021 Perry Roth (interim) 18–36 11–21 6th (West) 2022 Casey Dunn 31–25 13–17 8th 2023 17–36 8–22 10th American Conference (2024–present) 2024 Casey Dunn 26–29 13–14 5th 2025 24–30 8–19 10th Total 1,252–1,271–1 2 NCAA Appearances

Facilities

Jerry D. Young Memorial Field Jerry D. Young Memorial Field is the home of UAB baseball. The stadium opened in 1984 and is named after former UAB administrator Jerry D. Young, who played a key role in establishing the program. It seats 1,000. In 2022 artificial turf was installed as the playing surface. UAB plays select games at Regions Field.

UAB in the NCAA tournament 1991 1–2 Central Regional 2012 0–2 Tallahassee Regional 1-4

Blazers in Major League Baseball Since the Major League Baseball draft began in 1965, UAB has had 28 players selected.

Notable players include: Graham Ashcraft Dan DeMent Mike Goff Chris Hammond Brewer Hicklen Héctor Villanueva Mark Morrison Garrett Whitlock

See also List of NCAA Division I baseball programs

References

External links