“I knew from the time that I retired, I wanted to stay involved in baseball,” new baseball coach and former Major League Baseball (MLB) player Casey McGehee said.
This is McGehee’s first semester as head coach at Union; however, he has been associated with the Jackson area since the start of his baseball career in 2003, when he got drafted by the Chicago Cubs and began to play with an affiliate team in the area.
McGehee started his “unique career path” in MLB in 2008. From 2008-2018, he journeyed between Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, New York, Japan, Miami, San Francisco and Detroit. During his career, he won Japan’s version of the World Series and received many other awards and honors. He retired in 2018, after a season in Japan.
“The whole time, I thought that I was just benefiting from baseball because I enjoyed it,” McGehee said, “but, in hindsight, looking back on it, I realize that even from a really young age, the Lord used that to bring me to Him.”
What could have been an idol was used by the Lord to shape and mold McGehee’s faith long before he was even aware. He continues to note that the Lord has used baseball as a means to provide in many areas in his life, from finances to making connections with many people—including his wife, Sarah, with whom he now has a son (15) and a daughter (12).
Just as the Lord led McGehee back to Gadsden, Tennessee for retirement, He opened up this new coaching position. McGehee was not receptive to the opportunity at first, but that quickly changed.
“By the end of the week, I went from not sure if I wanted to do it, to kind of consumed by it in my thoughts,” McGehee said.
After his family was on board, McGehee he became excited for the opportunity and began to see many pros of the job.
“It was being able to help young men in their journey,” McGehee said. “Whether that be in their walk with the Lord, whether that be their maturing, preparing them to be a good husband, a good father, a productive member of whatever community they go back to, all of those kinds of things were really appealing to me”
McGehee’s hopes are set on a long-term commitment and dedication with Union’s baseball team.
“Hopefully, my plan and the Lord’s plan are similar,” McGehee says, “In the sense that I would love to be able to have this position until I don’t have the energy to do it.”
As McGehee shares his passion and intensity for the sport, he continues to note that the team is aiming high in terms of achievement.
“I have very lofty expectations for this program,” says McGehee. “I’ve told these guys and I’ve told people I’ve recruited—I’ve even told Dr. Oliver, everybody—that I don’t want to do this unless we’re trying to win national championships.”
Ryan Middleton, a graduate Union baseball player pursuing a masters of the arts in education, appreciates McGehee’s intensity and drive on and off the field.
“He expects a lot out of us, just like we expect a lot out of him as a coach,” Middleton said. “He’s really intense at practice and he’s doing everything he can to make sure this program gets turned around.”
Middleton expresses that there is a new excitement throughout the team. McGehee is incorporating a lot of drill work with the hitters due to his experience in MLB and has brought in a coach from Mississippi State to work with the team.
“Everybody’s meshed well,” Middleton said. “We’ve all kind of bonded into what Coach Casey’s brought to the program, and I think we all trust his knowledge of the game because he was a pro for so long.”
Middleton shared that the care that McGehee has for his players and the intentionality that he is already investing in them. To complement that, McGehee shared his love for not only the sport, but also the connections he has made along the way.
“At the end of the day, man, I really like people,” McGehee says, “I like being around people; I like working with people; I like being a part of a team.”