A Strategic Addition for the Chanticleers
Coastal Carolina University announced this week that Josh Hopper will serve as its new pitching coach, infusing the program with two decades of professional and collegiate experience. The hiring comes as the Chanticleers look to sharpen a pitching staff that has shown steady improvement in recent seasons.
Hopper spent the last five‑plus years within the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, where he contributed to the development of several emerging arms, most notably Paul Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, and Bubba Chandler, a prospect now regarded as one of the nation’s top left‑handed pitchers. His work helped the Pirates’ farm system climb into the upper tier of organizational rankings.
Before joining the Pirates, Hopper honed his craft at Dallas Baptist University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Berry College. At Dallas Baptist, his pitching staff set Division I‑era program records for strikeouts, produced All‑American MD Johnson, and generated three MLB draft picks in 2019. His tenure at UAB culminated in a Conference USA Tournament championship and the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1991, earning him the league’s Assistant Coach of the Year honor in 2014.
Hopper’s coaching journey began at Berry College, where he guided the Vikings to an NAIA World Series appearance in 2009 and mentored future Major Leaguers Collin McHugh and Chris Rearick. A 2004 graduate of Berry with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education, he later earned a master’s in exercise science from Georgia State University and pitched professionally within the New York Mets system.
A Nationwide Footprint
The new coach’s career has taken him from the coastal plains of Conway, South Carolina, to the steel cities of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Dallas, Texas, and further afield to Birmingham, Alabama, Rome, Georgia, as well as the bustling markets of Chicago, Illinois, and New York, New York. Each of these locales has contributed to the rich tapestry of his baseball education, linking him to a network of institutions and professional clubs that span the country.