by Josh Sukraw
Bishop Ward High School’s baseball team has had much success securing eight Kansas state championship wins since 2001 and as the returning 2016 regional champions, they have a big season ahead of them.
With pre-season preparations beginning, Bishop Ward High School has announced that Matthew Carpenter will be heading the baseball program as head coach for the 2017 season.
Carpenter started his coaching career at Plaza Heights Christian Academy in 2002, building their program from scratch. Within seven years, he helped the program to earn a No. 1 ranking in the MAACS National Regionals.
By the end of his career at Plaza Heights, he left with a 20-2 record and a MAACS National Championship in 2008, making him the only person in MAACS history to win a championship as both a player and head coach.
Carpenter most previously served as assistant coach at Avila University for the past five seasons. While at Avila the team made it to the post season playoffs four times and won the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship in 2012 and 2015.
“I am so excited and grateful for the opportunity to become a part of such a storied program. It is my hope and belief that we will continue to build on that tradition and write another chapter in the history of Cyclone baseball, a chapter that hopefully will be defined by success with integrity on and off the field. I want to thank everyone involved in giving me this opportunity. I will make every effort to honor the trust that you have put in me,” Carpenter said.
Head coach Matthew Carpenter will be taking over for Dennis Hurla and will be the 10th head baseball coach of the Bishop Ward baseball program that began in 1949. Bishop Ward will play its first game of the season against Smithville on Saturday, April 1, at Smithville.
The full baseball schedule is online at www.wardhigh.org or www.kawvalleyleague.org.
Joshua Sukraw is the marketing and social media manager at Bishop Ward High School.