Raburn enters his second season as head coach in 2027.

The Bulldogs finished the 2026 season with a 21-34 overall record, improving their win total by six games from the previous year. Asheville posted several notable accomplishments throughout the season, including the program’s first five-game winning streak since 2006. The Bulldogs also secured the department’s victory in the Ingles I-26 Rivalry with a win over USC Upstate, defeated Western Carolina at home for the first time since 2017, defeated Wofford at home for the first time since 2018, and handed High Point its only double-digit loss of the season. As a team, Asheville showed significant improvement both offensively and on the mound. The Bulldogs improved their team batting average and OPS from the previous season while lowering their ERA from 9.40 to 7.67. Asheville also allowed 48 fewer runs than the year prior and improved its WHIP from 2.16 to 1.87. At the plate, the Bulldogs nearly doubled their walk total from the previous season, drawing 261 walks compared to 164 in 2025. Asheville also increased its run production significantly, scoring 340 runs after totaling 281 the year before. On the basepaths, the Bulldogs recorded 80 stolen bases, doubling their total from 2025, and finished ninth nationally in stolen bases at home. Defensively, Asheville ranked No. 13 in the nation in double plays turned with 48 and improved its fielding percentage from .959 in 2025 to .965 this season. Individually, Drew Turner broke the program’s single-game strikeout record with 14 punchouts against Jackson State and finished the season leading the Big South Conference with 83 strikeouts. Freshman Ben Green earned national recognition after being named to the College Baseball Hall of Fame John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Watch List and the Perfect Game Midseason Freshman All-America Second Team. The Bulldogs also collected multiple weekly conference honors throughout the season, including five Big South Pitcher of the Week selections, two Relief Pitcher of the Week honors, and three Starting Pitcher of the Week recognitions. Three Bulldogs earned postseason conference honors. Blaize Johnson was named to the Big South All-Conference First Team, Green earned a spot on the Big South All-Freshman Team, and Lucas Boesen was selected to the Big South All-Academic Team. Boesen, Patrick Gillen, Owen Michelson and Smith each earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors.

Raburn was elevated to Interim Head Coach on May 23, 2025.

The Bulldogs collected one major Big South Conference award and totaling three All-Conference selections in 2025. Clay Edmondson was the first Bulldog since 2008 to be named Big South Conference Pitcher of the Year, while also being named a First Team All-Conference selection. Rylen Stockton was named to the All-Conference Second Team and the All-Freshman Team as well as the Buster Posey Award Midseason Watch List. Owen Michelson was also named to the All-Academic Team. Edmondson earned two Big South Conference Starting Pitcher of the Week honors along the way, while Stockton and Garrett Crum each earned one Big South Conference Freshman of the Week honor. The team also earned the American Baseball Coaches Association Team Academic Excellence Award for the third straight season.

Raburn was hired as an Assistant Baseball Coach on Sept. 18, 2024.

Raburn comes to Asheville after 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 11^th in the nation in double plays per game at 0.97, while 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 21^st nationally in double plays turned. Prior to his time on staff at JMU, Raburn was an assistant coach at Rider when the team advanced to a NCAA regional in 2021.

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 all the way 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.

Raburn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Exercise & Sport Science from the University of North Carolina (2016).

Name	Title	Phone	Email Address
Alex Raburn	Head Coach	251-6920	araburn@unca.edu
Bryce Roddey	Assistant Coach	250-2309	broddey@unca.edu

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

2026 Baseball Coaching Staff

Coaching Staff