PERKINSTON — New Mississippi Gulf Coast baseball coach Zach Allen has picked his right-hand man for his staff, and they have deep ties. Allen has hired Chase Stewart, who reinvigorated a pitching staff at his last stop, to do the same here.
The two were teammates on an NJCAA runner-up squad in 2011, and Stewart has spent the last two years coaching in the MACCC. Getting to rejoin his friend was a big reason he’s a Bulldog.
“It’s the opportunity to coach with Zach Allen,” Stewart said. “We played for two years together, and we know what each of us wants to do. We know what our goals are and have the same mindset. On top of that, it’s another opportunity to build up a new pitching staff and get things going in the right direction.”
In Stewart’s first year handling pitchers at Copiah-Lincoln, he helped lower the staff ERA by more than three runs. The pitchers finished with the second-lowest walks total and rate in the MACCC, with three sophomores signing with four-year schools. The 2024 staff struck out 391 batters, among the 20 best in the NJCAA. Their WHIP of 1.50 was fourth in the conference and top 25 in the country, with two among the top 10 strikeout pitchers in the NJCAA and three starters finishing in the top 10 of MACCC ERA. Six more sophomores signed with four-year schools.
“We go way back,” Allen said. “We played together, lived together. He’s somebody I trust. On the pitching side of it, he’s really dived in deep to the analytics side of it, the mentality side. That’s what we need on the mound.”
Stewart began his coaching career in the Mississippi high school ranks. He was an assistant coach at Wayne County for two years, followed by two years at Clinton. He served as interim head coach the last season with the Arrows.
His Petal High School staff in 2022 had a sparkling 3.16 ERA with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 245/110. Five pitchers signed collegiate scholarships.
Stewart grew up in Laurel and graduated from West Jones High School, where he was a four-year member of the baseball team. He pitched two years at Jones County Junior College, where he was a member of the 2011 NJCAA runner-up squad. He pitched at William Carey University before finishing his bachelor’s in psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Stewart is Rapsodo and Driveline certified. He’s also served as a pitching coach in the Tidewater Summer League, a collegiate wooden bat league in Virginia.
He’s looking to build a strong staff here at Gulf Coast.
“It starts with the mentality. That’s the biggest thing when you get on the mound. Our job is to recruit good players, but at the end of the day, the mentality is what’s going to change things. My main pitching philosophy is I want guys who want the ball in their hands. I want guys who know who they are and know what they do already, and we can come in and make small adjustments to make them better. We want to move them on to the four-year level where they want to be at.”
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