Twenty-nine years ago, Rick Carver took over as Head Baseball Coach at Bethany College and was handed the task of rebuilding a moribund program that had seen six coaches come and go over five seasons. The team he inherited went 10-26 in the previous year. Now, the 51-year old Carver sits atop the Bethany College Baseball coaches' wins list, having surpassed the legendary Bob Goin in 1994 to become the college’s all-time winningest baseball coach.
Carver, a graduate of Maryville College, joined Bethany from the highly-successful Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges program in California. The energetic coach made an immediate impact, as his 1991 Bison captured the President’s Athletic Conference title. He then applied his enthusiasm and passion for the game to vault Bison Baseball into the national limelight, as Bethany Baseball consistently plays one of Division III’s most difficult schedules.
Since his tenure began, Carver’s teams have set nearly every Bethany College team winning mark. In addition to amassing 448 wins, more than the baseball program had won in the 60 years of competition prior to his arrival, Carver’s teams have an impressive 236 victories in the PAC. The Bison have also appeared in the postseason ECAC Championships five times since Carver became leader of the Green & White.
In addition to Bethany claiming four outright PAC titles and eight first place regular season finishes to date, Carver has won a trio of Dapper Dan awards for coaching achievement, been named the PAC Coach of the Year four times and has been recognized seven times by Louisville Slugger for his championship-level coaching.
In 25 seasons, 60 Bison have received national recognition by Collegiate Baseball Magazine, with 105 players being named to the All-PAC team, including seven MVP selections. In addition, nine of his former players have gone on to be inducted into Bethany's Athletic Hall of Fame, including the most recent additons, Matt King ('00) in 2015 and Steve Opfermann ('00) in 2018.
Also a noted clinician and speaker, Carver has traveled to California, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee promoting and teaching the game of baseball to youths aged 5- 16.
A member of the American Baseball Coaches Association, Carver received a masters’ degree in sport management from the United States Sports Academy in 1988. He also serves Bethany as a teacher in the physical education and sport studies program.
Carver resides in Wintersville, Ohio with his wife Melanie, son Kody (12), and boxer Bella. He and his family also attend the Wintersville United Methodist Church.
