University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville Announces Alex Raburn as Interim Baseball Head Coach
05.23.2025 | Baseball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – UNC Asheville Director of Athletics Janet R. Cone announced Friday, May 23, the appointment of Alex Raburn as the university's interim head baseball coach for the 2026 season. Alex succeeds Scott Friedholm, who resigned earlier this week.
"I am excited for Alex to have this opportunity to lead our Bulldog Baseball program during this transition period," stated Cone. "Based on my conversations with him, his mentors, and our players, I am confident that he can guide and enhance our program and create a winning culture with an emphasis on player development."
Raburn just completed his first season as a part of the UNC Asheville baseball coaching staff. In his first season with the Bulldogs, Raburn oversaw Asheville's hitters and saw an increase in batting average in conference play, from .266 in 2024 to .288 this past season. The Bulldogs also led the conference with the fewest strikeouts, with 152. In the league, Patrick Gillen and Rylen Stockton finished in the top 10 in batting average, with Stockton earning Second Team All-Conference and All-Freshman honors.
Prior to Asheville, Raburn spent two seasons at James Madison University, where he coached infielders and also held roles as the team's first base coach and assistant hitting coach. In 2024, JMU advanced to an NCAA Regional Final while its infield corps finished sixth in the nation in double plays turned with 52, the most for the program in a single season since 2002. The team also finished 11th in the nation in double plays per game at 0.97. At the same time, third baseman Wyatt Peifer was the first Duke in program history to be named an American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings Gold Glove selection. Under Raburn's tutelage, the Dukes fielded .972 each of the last two seasons, tying the second-highest mark in program history. The 2023 JMU infield also finished 21st nationally in double plays turned.
Before his time on staff at JMU, Raburn was an assistant coach at Rider when the team won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and advanced to an NCAA regional in 2021.
"I'm incredibly excited and honored to step into the role of head coach for this upcoming season," said Raburn. "I'm deeply grateful to Janet Cone and Scott Friedholm for their belief in me and the opportunity to lead this outstanding program. UNC Asheville is a special place with a strong tradition, and I look forward to building on that foundation with passion, integrity, and a commitment to developing our student-athletes on and off the field."
Raburn played at the University of North Carolina from 2013-15 as a member of the 2013 Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and tournament championship team that won a school-record 59 games, advancing to the College World Series. He played in 133 games as a Tar Heel, hitting .251 with 11 doubles, one triple, and four home runs in 2015. In 2017, he played one season at the University of Nebraska, being a member of the 2017 Big Ten championship team.
Following the completion of the 2026 season, a national search will begin to identify the next head coach for the baseball program.
