Wingate University Athletics

Jeff Gregory enters his 13th season as the head coach of Wingate University in 2023. In his first 12 seasons, Gregory has compiled an overall record of 379-231, with a 187-112 mark in SAC play. Gregory led the Bulldogs to the first NCAA national title in the history of Wingate or SAC baseball. It was also the first NCAA Region title and first appearance in the D2 World Series. Gregory was named the ABCA National Coach of the Year in 2021. The Bulldogs followed by going 48-10 in 2022, with a 21-2 league record to take home the regular season SAC title. The 48 wins are the most in program history, while the 'Dogs earned hosting duties at the NCAA Regionals for the first time ever. 

The 2022 season saw the Bulldogs spend the entire regular season as the number one or two ranked team in the NCBWA top 25 poll. Wingate capture the regular season SAC title, with Gregory earning SAC and Region Coach of the Year honors. The 'Dogs piled up the awards, with 10 All-SAC selections including the SAC Pitcher of the Year (Brody McCullough) and the SAC Freshman of the Year (Seaver King). McCullough was also named the Region Pitcher of the Year and was a consensus All-American. Mitch Farris and Sam Brodersen also picked up All-American recognition. McCullough was then drafted in the 10th round of the MLB draft in July by the Chicago Cubs. 

In the 2021 season, Gregory guided the Bulldogs to their first-ever NCAA national championship, which was also the first-ever trip to the World Series, after capturing the first NCAA region title in program history. The 2021 season saw the 'Dogs go 39-13 overall and 20-10 in the SAC, setting the record for wins in the NCAA era. The Bulldogs also won their seventh SAC Tournament title. Gregory was named the 2021 NCBWA National Coach of the Year. He has guided Wingate to one regular season SAC title and three tournament championships, earning SAC co-Coach of the Year honors in 2014.

The 2021 title was the first national title in the history of SAC baseball. Wingate was only the second SAC team to win a national championship in a SAC-sanctioned sports, joining the 2016 WU men's soccer team. The 'Dogs closed out the year by winning 16 of their last 18 games. Wingate went 13-2 in postseason play, with nine of those victories coming over ranked opponents. 

The SAC Tournament run started with a win over Newberry, followed by a loss. The 'Dogs knocked out top-seeded Catawba on a walk-off single to stay alive, advancing to championship Monday where they beat Carson-Newman 8-2 to advance to the winner-take-all game. Wingate rolled to a 13-4 win over Newberry to claim the title and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

Wingate rolled through regionals, starting with a 6-4 win over #19 North Greenville. The 'Dogs won back-to-back games over #11 Mount Olive by a combined score of 30-11 to advance to the title game. Wingate rallied for a 4-2 victory over North Georgia to advance to its first-ever World Series in Cary. 

The World Series had a rough start, with the 'Dogs dropping the opener 6-2 against #9 Angelo State. Wingate stayed alive two days later by knocking out #14 Southern New Hampshire 3-2. The next day, it was #4 Seton Hill that the Bulldogs eliminated, prevailing 5-1 and advancing to the Final Four. The third win in as many days came against Angelo State, a 5-4 victory to setup a third contest against the Rams the following day. The Bulldogs won that game 8-7 in 11 innings to advance to the title game. Wingate knocked off #2 Central Missouri 5-3 to claim the title. The Bulldogs were the first team since 2005 to win the championship after losing the opening-round game and just the third team to ever do it in an eight-team field. 

Wingate was off to a hot start in the 2020 season, going 15-6 overall and 7-2 in the SAC when the season was cut short. The Bulldogs had won five straight SAC games and seven of eight games overall when the season was cancelled. The Bulldogs ranked 16th in the nation in ERA in the 2020 season. 

The Bulldogs went 33-20 in 2019, posting their second consecutive 30-win season while going 14-10 in league play. Three players earned league honors, with Jed Bryant and Hunter Dula adding All-Region accolades. 

Wingate went 34-19 in the 2018 season, with a 17-10 record in league play to finish second in the SAC standings. The Bulldogs earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, the first at-large bid for the 'Dogs since the 2001 season. Austin Turgeon earned All-SAC and All-Region honors for the Bulldogs, with Bradley Brown picking up first team all-conference accolades. McCann Mellett was also an All-SAC selection, while Ty Andrus was named a first team Academic All-America honoree.  

Wingate went 19-31 in the 2017 season, with a 10-14 mark in league play. Junior Bradley Brown earned all-conference recognition for the third consecutive year, while junior left-hander Kory Behenna was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 25th round, the third consecutive year a Bulldog was taken in the MLB draft. 

The Bulldogs went 30-22 in 2016, led by consensus All-American Shane Billings, who would go on to be drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 13th round. Billings, Brown and Bill Krebs earned All-Region honors in 2016.

Wingate was 33-26 in 2015, going on an incredible run to win the SAC Tournament title and earn an NCAA Tournament bid. After winning a single-elimination game on day one, the ‘Dogs lost the first double-elimination game on day two. Wingate responded by winning five straight games, defeating Catawba twice on championship Monday to win the title. Wingate piled up 70 runs in the five days, posting a 6-1 record. The Bulldogs led the tournament in runs scored, while also posting a tournament-best .357 average, 14 homers and 22 doubles. The Bulldogs also pounded out a tournament-high 95 hits in seven games. Wingate won the title by going 4-0 on the final two days against the top three teams in the league. The Bulldogs got a 2-0 win over North Greenville in the NCAA Tournament, with Jimmy Doolittle taking a perfect game into the eighth inning. Billings and Thomas Spitz were consensus All-Americans, ranking among the national leaders in hits, runs and total bases. Spitz was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 32nd round of the MLB draft.

Gregory was named the SAC co-Coach of the Year in 2014, when he led the Bulldogs to a share of the regular season SAC title. The Bulldogs went 34-17 on the year, with a 20-7 mark in league play. Gregory picked up his 100th victory as a head coach during the 2014 season. The Bulldogs advanced to championship Sunday of the SAC Tournament in 2014 as well. Wingate led the SAC in ERA for the second straight year, with senior Olen Little earning first team All-SAC accolades. Ben Currie was a second team All-SAC selection, joined by catcher Josh Clark and outfielder Eric Serra. Little and Currie also earned All-Region honors from multiple publications in 2014. 

Gregory led the Bulldogs to a second-place finish in the SAC in 2013, notching a 20-7 record in league play. The Bulldogs led the conference with a 3.58 ERA, with Olen Little registering a SAC-best 1.50 ERA and SAC Freshman of the Year TJ Rinoski ranking second with a 1.76 ERA. Little and outfielder Thomas Spitz earned first team All-SAC honors, while Rinoski was joined by Josh Clark and Blake Prince on the All-SAC second team. Little, Spitz and Rinoski each earned All-Region recognition. 

During his first two years as head coach at Wingate, Gregory has had the Bulldogs playing on championship Sunday in the Food Lion SAC Tournament both seasons. The team won the title in 2011, going undefeated in the SAC Tournament and earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Gregory led a potent offensive attack during the 2012 season. The Bulldogs led the nation with 95 homers, ranking second nationally in doubles, sixth in scoring, eighth in runs and 11th in hits. 

Gregory has had three players earn All-American honors in his three seasons. In 2011, outfielder Dodson McPherson earned first team All-American honors from the NCBWA and the ABCA, while earning second team accolades from Daktronics. One of eight semi-finalists for the Tino Martinez Award, McPherson earned SAC and Region Player of the Year honors, while also being named the SAC Male Athlete of the Year. First baseman Brian Yeung earned second team All-American honors from the ABCA and third team accolades from Daktronics. He led the nation in doubles during his sophomore year. In 2012, outfielder Casey Allison earned first team All-American honors from Daktronics and the NCBWA, and second team accolades from the ABCA. He was a semi-finalist for the Tino Martinez Award, leading the nation with 22 homers. 

During the 2011 season, the Bulldogs finished second in the SAC during the regular season, after winning the regular season title in 2010. Wingate was dominant during the SAC Tournament, winning all four contests. The Bulldogs got overpowering pitching performances from Chris Nelson and Justin Somers in the first two contests, outscoring opponents 7-2 in the two contests. The Bulldogs won a 12-inning thriller to advance to championship Sunday, where they knocked off regular season champion Catawba 7-1 to claim their first title since 1998 and first NCAA Tournament bid since 2001. 

A 2000 graduate of Wingate University, the 35-year-old Gregory has spent nine seasons on the Bulldog baseball coaching staff. He was promoted to full-time assistant baseball coach during the summer of 2005. The 2010 spring season was his fifth campaign as a full-time assistant coach.

Most recently, Gregory was responsible for working with the Bulldog hitters and outfielders. In addition, he coordinated Wingate’s recruiting efforts. His endeavors gave the Bulldogs several top classes, including recent South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year award winners. Outfielder Mark Letchworth (Greenville, N.C.) was the 2009 SAC Player of the Year, while outfielder Casey Allison (Horse Shoe, N.C.) was the 2009 SAC Freshman of the Year.

Gregory’s tutelage helped Letchworth gain many honors. The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) voted Letchworth to the 2009 NCAA Division II All-America third team. In addition, he received All-Region honors from the ABCA, the College Sports Information Directors of America (Daktronics) and the NCBWA. Letchworth was also named to the NCCSIA All-State college division team.

Under his supervision, the Bulldog outfield has been a steady source of strong defense and powerful offense. Gregory’s outfielders fielded .965 in 2010 and powered the offense with a unit batting average of .335. The group also stole 15 bases.

The Bulldogs finished the 2010 season 29-19 overall and 19-5 in the SAC. Wingate won its first regular season title since 2000. The 19 conference regular season victories are the second most in the team’s NCAA history (1990-present). The Bulldogs were the number one seed in the 2010 Food Lion SAC tournament.

The Scotland County native earned four letters for the Bulldog baseball team from 1997-2000. Gregory has won a conference regular season championship as a player (2000) and a coach (2010) at Wingate. Gregory and his teammates captured the Food Lion SAC tournament title in 1998.

Gregory’s baseball coaching experience is not limited to the collegiate game. In the summer of 2005, he was an assistant coach for the Harrisonburg (Va.) Turks in the prestigious Valley Baseball League (VBL). During the summer of 2004, Gregory served as the head coach for the Rowan Pirates in the Southern Conference Baseball League (SCBL). He had previous experience in the SCBL, as he was the assistant coach for the Monroe Bulldogs in 2000.

In addition to his undergraduate degree in Sport Management, Gregory earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at Wingate in May, 2004. Prior to joining the Wingate baseball staff, Gregory was the assistant golf professional at nearby Eagle Chase Golf Club from 1999-2001.

June 2010 will always hold special meaning for Gregory. In addition to his promotion to head coach, Gregory tied the knot with Jessica Murphy of Suffolk, Va. on Saturday, June 26. Murphy is a 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech. Their son Reid is nine years old. 

Jeff Gregory Year-by-Year Results