Rusty Stroupe is an American

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

coach and former

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

. Stroupe was the head coach of the

Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs baseball The Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate athletic team of the Gardner–Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, United States. The team competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's ...

team from 2003 to 2019.

Playing career

Stroupe played shortstop at

Cherryville High School Cherryville High School is a high school in the Gaston County Schools public school district located in Cherryville, NC. Its attendance area covers northwestern Gaston County, and it also serves the western part of the community of Tryon and ...

where he was part of three state championship teams, and earned a scholarship to play at

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a Public university, public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a normal school, teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and th ...

for the Mountaineers baseball program from 1983 to 1986.

Coaching career

After taking a teaching position after college graduation, Stroupe began to coach middle school baseball. In 1990, Stroupe was an assistant coach at Appalachian State. Stroupe took his first head coaching position at North Greenville College in 1991. In 1993, Stroupe became the head coach at

Brevard College Brevard College is a private college in Brevard, North Carolina, United States. The college grants Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Master of Science degrees. History Brevard College was named for Ephraim Brevard, a teacher and one of ...

. From 1998 to 2002, Stroupe was the head coach at

Lander University Lander University is a public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national u ...

, where he started the baseball program. In the summer of 2002, Stroupe to the head coaching position at Gardner–Webb. On April 17, 2019, Stroupe announced that he would be retiring at the end of the 2019 season. Stroupe is the all-time wins leader in Gardner-Webb baseball history. Stroupe was named the Big South Conference Coach of the Year in 2019. In 2012, Stroupe received the prestigious FCA Jerry Kindall Character in Coaching Award (presented annually to the college or high school baseball coach in the United States who best exemplifies the Christian principles of Character, Integrity, Excellence, Teamwork and Service on and off the baseball field). After retiring from coaching, Stroupe became a college professor, an ordained pastor, and a baseball color analyst for ESPN Plus.

Head coaching record at Gardner-Webb

References

External links

Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stroupe, Rusty Living people Baseball shortstops Appalachian State Mountaineers baseball players Appalachian State Mountaineers baseball coaches North Greenville Trailblazers baseball coaches Brevard Tornados baseball coaches Lander Bearcats baseball coaches Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs baseball coaches Year of birth missing (living people)