Billy Godwin (born November 19, 1964) is an American

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

coach and former

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He is the head baseball coach at the

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand-al ...

. Godwin played college baseball at Atlantic Christian College in 1986. He was the head baseball coach of

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its orig ...

from

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. In , Godwin was listed as an area scout, based in

Emerald Isle, North Carolina Emerald Isle is a town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Crystal Coast and is located entirely on Bogue Banks. The population was 3,655 at the 2010 census, but as many as 50,000 tourists each week inhabit the ar ...

, for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

Early years

Godwin was born in Rocky Mount,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, and attended

Northern Nash High School Northern Nash High School is a high school located in Nash County, west of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina city limits. History Northern Nash High School opened in 1966, consolidating the former Nashville High School, Red Oak High School, Benve ...

. He then earned an athletic scholarship as a

in 1982 to attend Atlantic Christian College, now

Barton College Barton College is a private college in Wilson, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and enrolls about 1,200 students on campus. History Barton College was incorporated as Atlantic Christian College ...

. He was named team captain in 1986 and

Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Since 1987, the organizatio ...

Award for the Most Outstanding Male Student-Athlete. He graduated in 1986 in

Business Administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

. His first coaching job came at

North Carolina Wesleyan College North Carolina Wesleyan University (NCWU) is a Private college, private United Methodist Church, Methodist university in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. It was founded in 1956. North Carolina Wesleyan also offers evening courses at its main Rocky Mo ...

in 1989 and 1990. He was the assistant coach to current UNC head coach Mike Fox. The two guided NCWC to the NCAA Division 3 baseball championship in 1989 and a third-place finish a year later.

Head coach

Godwin's first head coaching stint came at Enfield Academy, a private school in

Nash County Nash County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 94,970. Its county seat is Nashville. Nash County is now a part of the Rocky Mount, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, instead of the ...

, North Carolina. Starting in 1991 he was the athletic director and head baseball coach. During the seven seasons (1991–1997) as head coach, he accumulated a 131–57 (.697) record. During this time Enfield Academy baseball team had five consecutive conference championships, four straight Final Four appearances and a state title in 1994. After Enfield Academy, Godwin became

Cary Academy Cary Academy is an independent, coeducational, nonsectarian, college-preparatory secondary school located in Cary, North Carolina. The school emphasizes the use of technology in the classroom, the arts, and foreign exchange. History Cary Acade ...

's first athletic director in 1997. Godwin's next head coaching job came at

Louisburg College Louisburg College is a private Methodist-affiliated two-year college in Louisburg, North Carolina. History Louisburg College has its roots in two schools: Franklin Male Academy, which was chartered in 1787, re-chartered in 1802 but held its fir ...

. During his six-year term, he earned a 262–85 (.755) overall record. During the 2005 season, Godwin guided the Hurricanes to Region X regular season and tournament titles on his way to earning Region X Coach-of-the-Year honors. The 2005 Hurricanes finished the regular season with a 49–13 record and stood sixth nationally in the NJCAA Division I final regular season poll. In 2004, the Hurricanes went 40–18 and claimed the top seed at the Region X Tournament before finishing the campaign as a regional finalist. After taking the helm at Louisburg College in the fall of 1999, Godwin kept the Hurricanes in the national spotlight by averaging 43 wins per season. The Hurricanes finished with a school-record 51–11 mark in 2002 and made their tenth trip to the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

Grand Junction, Colorado Grand Junction is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 65,560 at the 2020 United States Census, making Grand Junction the 17th mos ...

. During his tenure at Louisburg, Godwin earned Region X and Eastern District Coach-of-the-Year honors, received the North Carolina College Coach-of-the-Year award in 2002.

East Carolina

Godwin first came to ECU as an assistant coach on June 9, 2005. After

Randy Mazey Randy Mazey (born May 23, 1966) is an American college baseball coach. He is the head baseball coach at West Virginia University, a position he had held since the 2013 season. Mazey attended Clemson University, where he played baseball for the Tig ...

resigned his position as head coach, Godwin was tapped as interim head coach on October 10, 2005, then was named permanently to the position on October 28, 2005. For his first year as head coach, his record was 33–26. Godwin's team also earned many awards and recognition during his first year. Senior catcher Jake Smith earned the

Johnny Bench Award The Buster Posey Award, formerly known as the Johnny Bench Award, was created in 2000 to honor college baseball's top catcher in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The award is administered by the Greater Wichita Area Sp ...

, which is given annually to the nations top collegiate catcher. Four Pirates earned All-Conference honors. The 2006 Pirates ranked among the league leaders (all games) in average (.305), runs scored (381), total bases (939), slugging percentage (.452), hits (633), triples (13), RBI (342), home runs (58), ERA (4.34), runs allowed (296), opposing batting average (.282) and runners picked off (10). His 2009 team made it to the Super Regionals before losing to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Godwin earned a

master's degree in education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

in 1995 from East Carolina University.

UNC Greensboro

On August 8, 2019, Godwin was named the head baseball coach at the

Head coaching records

Below is a table of Godwin's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.

References

External links

Godwin Official Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Godwin, Billy 1964 births Living people Barton Bulldogs baseball players Baseball pitchers East Carolina Pirates baseball coaches East Carolina University alumni High school baseball coaches in the United States Louisburg Hurricanes baseball coaches New York Yankees scouts North Carolina Wesleyan Battling Bishops baseball coaches UNC Greensboro Spartans baseball coaches People from Rocky Mount, North Carolina People from Emerald Isle, North Carolina Baseball coaches from North Carolina