Willie Stewart - Assistant Coach - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Mercer Baseball at Kansas State (Friday, March 9, 2018)

Willie Stewart

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
Phone:
(478) 301-2738

Nine seasons at Mercer (Hired in July 2015)
Education: UNC Asheville, 2000

Willie Stewart completed his ninth season as an assistant coach for Mercer in 2024, where he serves as the hitting coach for the Bears.

Introduced as an assistant in July of 2015 by Mercer head coach Craig Gibson, Stewart has overseen an aggressive offense that has powered the program to two Southern Conference regular season championships (2016, 2017), one Southern Conference Tournament Championship (2019) and 179 wins since his arrival. Prior to joining the Bears, Stewart spent 13 seasons in various roles at Georgia State, UNC Asheville and Elon.

“Willie is an outstanding fit for our coaching staff & baseball program – we’re thrilled to have a coach of his caliber on board,” Gibson said at the time of hiring Stewart. “He owns a wealth of knowledge and expertise as a former Division I head coach, hitting coach and recruiting coordinator. We will have continued and future success with Willie as a member of our coaching staff.”

In 2024, the Mercer offense slugged 94 home runs, the top mark in the Southern Conference. Stewart helped guide outfielder Ty Dalley to a prolific season in which he finished among conference leaders in slugging percentage (.693), RBI (71), doubles (18) and home runs (21), resulting in a First Team All-SoCon selection. Dalley, outfielder Conner Todaro and shortstop Bradley Frye all earned SoCon All-Tournament Team nods as well.

A high-scoring offense powered the 2023 team as the Bears scored 111 home runs led by Eric Toth (20), Jozsef Rohrbacher (19), and Ty Dalley (18) who all ranked in the top four in the Southern Conference. Stewart coached five position players to All-Conference selections highlighted by Treyson Hughes earning All-SoCon First Team Coaches and Media honors. Toth earned a spot on the Coaches First Team and Media Second Team. Rohrbacher was selected for the Coaches and Media Second Team Jackson Cherry earned Media Second Team honors. Dalley claimed a spot on the All-Freshman Team.

The No. 2 seeded Bears had three players named to the All-Tournament Team: Treyson Hughes (OF), Jozsef Rohrbacher (3^rd Base), Ty Dalley (1^st Base).

Trevor Austin was selected for the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List and four position players earned weekly honors during the 2023 season as Carter Sanford, Rohrbacher, and Toth were all named to Collegiate Baseball’s National Player of the Week List. Cherry, Sanford, and Toth each earned SoCon Player of the Week titles as well. Josh Harlow, Farmer, and Colton Cosper were all selected as SoCon Pitcher of the Week.

One of the highlight weekends of the 2023 season was the Bears’ sweep of Baylor on the road for the first three-game series win over an active Big 12 school in program history. Mercer scored 24 runs while allowing just nine to Baylor. The Bears also took one game against Rutgers and Georgia Tech each.

Mercer reached 40 wins in 2022, setting the highest mark during Stewart’s tenure. The Bears opened the season on a seven-game winning streak and won 15 of the first 16 games. Mercer took down No. 10 Florida State and No. 13 Georgia Tech during that stretch.

Stewart guided three MLB Draft selections in 2022: Colby Thomas (third round, Athletics), Collin Price (sixth round, Astros), and Bill Knight (10^th round, Mariners).

In 2022, Treyson Hughes was the only SoCon player to be named an NCBWA and Perfect Game Freshman All-American. Hughes also earned Southern Conference All-Freshman Team honors while Knight was named to the All-SoCon Coaches and Media First Team and Thomas to the Coaches First Team and Media Second Team. Knight and Price were selected for the ABCA NCAA Division I Southeast All-Region Team.

The Bears continued the streak of winning at least 35 games in 2021 and qualified for the shortened SoCon Tournament. Mercer swept five weekend series, including three in conference play.

Garett Delano led the 2021 team in postseason awards, being named a D1 Baseball All-American, College Baseball Foundation All-American, ABCA NCAA Division I First Team Southeast Region, John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year finalist, All-SoCon First Team Coaches and Media second baseman, and All-SoCon Second Team Coaches and Media starting pitcher.

Others earning honors under Stewart include RJ Yeager who was named a finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award. Yeager was also named to the All-SoCon Coaches and Media First Team. On the Coaches Second Team was Collin Price while Trevor Austin and Bill Knight were named to the Coaches and Media Second Team. Colby Thomas earned SoCon All-Freshman Team honors.

In Stewart’s fifth season, which was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bears were hitting .271 as a team. Mercer offense hit 15 home runs in 16 games and had 35 doubles. Freshman Colby Thomas led the Bears at the plate with five home runs and nine doubles, both led the SoCon, and finished with 18 RBI to finish fourth in the SoCon. Thomas earned Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American honors.

For the second straight season, the Bears had the 2019 Southern Conference home run leader. During the 2019 season, senior Kel Johnson led the league with 23 home runs and drove in 65 RBI. Johnson’s 23 home runs were the fifth most in the NCAA. As a team, the Bears hit .269 on the season and drew 263 base on balls, which was second in the Southern Conference. The Bears offense powered up for 73 home runs, hit by 12 different players. Nine different Mercer players drove in 20 or more runs on the season. The offense powered the Bears to a 35-29 record on the season and to its fourth NCAA Regional appearance in school history. Mercer is one of four NCAA Division I programs with at least 35 wins in each of the last ten years, joining Florida State, LSU and Vanderbilt.

After losing five position starters from the 2017 roster, Stewart and the Bears saw new faces take major roles in the lineup in 2018. Mercer batted .302 collectively & was one of two teams nationally with 15 or more players to hit at least one home run during the season. Seven Bears tallied at least 40 RBI, including freshman Le Bassett, who led the SoCon in home runs (17) & ranked second in RBI (60). Fellow freshman RJ Yeager was named the SoCon Freshman of the Year and five total Bears earned All-SoCon postseason honors.

Stewart saw senior outfielder Trey Truitt get selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 34th round of the 2018 MLB Draft, giving the Bears four position players drafted since Stewart joined the staff.

Stewart helped lead Mercer to a 39-17 record and the third of three straight Southern Conference regular season championships during his second season on staff in 2017. The Orange and Black ranked among the top 25 nationally in nine offensive categories, including 13th in home runs (79) and slugging percentage (.484) and 14th in on base percentage (.401). Mercer saw two position players – Danny Edgeworth and Charlie Madden – selected in the 2017 MLB Draft while four position players earned All-SoCon honors, including Co-Player of the Year Ryan Hagan.

Mercer cracked the Baseball America Top 25 rankings at No. 24 during the 2017 season and eventually became one of five NCAA Division I programs with at least 35 wins in each of the last eight years, joining Coastal Carolina, Florida State, LSU and Vanderbilt.

In Stewart’s first season with the Bears, Mercer went 38-23 and claimed its second straight Southern Conference regular season title. Mercer led all NCAA Division I programs with an average of 1.52 home runs per game, 93 sacrifice bunts and 366 bases on balls while ranking in the top 10 nationally for home runs (93; second), on-base percentage (.414; fourth), slugging percentage (.491; seventh) and runs scored (473; seventh).

Stewart was instrumental in guiding 2016 Golden Spikes Award winner Kyle Lewis through a junior season that saw the eventual No. 11 overall pick in the MLB Draft total 20 home runs, 72 RBIs, a .395 batting average and a .731 slugging percentage. Lewis was a consensus All-America selection and also earned player of the year honors from USA Baseball, Baseball America and ABCA/Rawlings.

Stewart spent four seasons (2012-15) as the hitting coach at Georgia State, including the 2015 campaign as the Panthers’ assistant head coach on Greg Frady’s staff. He helped lead a Georgia State offense that played a vital role in two of the eight 30-win seasons in program history up to that point. The Panthers ranked among the top five nationally in batting average (2013), runs scored (2013), home runs (2014), doubles (2013-14), and slugging percentage (2014) under Stewart’s guidance.

Georgia State’s 2014 team was just one of two programs in the nation to have three players reach double-digit home run totals. Stewart helped recruit and develop 12 all-conference selections, six MLB Draft selections, four All-Americans, three Freshman All-Americans and two Academic All-Americans.

Prior to his time in Atlanta at Georgia State, Stewart spent eight seasons (2001, 2003-09) on staff at his alma mater, UNC Asheville, including the final five seasons as the Bulldogs’ head coach. He led UNC Asheville to its first NCAA Tournament berth by capturing the Big South Tournament title and setting a program record of 28 wins in 2006. He mentored seven MLB Draft selections, four all-conference picks and the 2008 Big South Pitcher of the Year during his tenure at UNC Asheville.

Stewart was an assistant coach at UNC Asheville in 2001 and 2003-04; he spent one season as an assistant coach at Elon, where he helped guide the Phoenix to the 2002 NCAA Tournament – the first in program history – as an at-large selection and No. 3 seed.

A four-year letterwinner (1996-2000) at UNC Asheville, Stewart rounded out his playing career by earning All-Big South First Team honors as a second baseman in 2000. He batted .300 with 32 RBIs and set a school record with an 18-game hitting streak during his senior season (2000).

In the classroom, Stewart earned a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing from UNC Asheville in 2000. A native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Stewart and his wife Christine have two children, son Kendall and daughter Kailyn.