Baseball

6 * MARTY HUNTER Head Coach (2008-)

After leading George Fox University to another winning season in 2008, Marty Hunter aims to keep the tradition of success alive as he enters his second season as the Bruins’ head baseball coach and his seventh overall with the program.

Hunter joined the George Fox staff as an assistant baseball coach in 2003 and was named the Bruins’ associate head coach in 2005. In the summer of 2007, he replaced Pat Bailey, whose 12-year run at George Fox included an NCAA Division III national title in 2004, eight Northwest Conference championships, and a win-loss record of 353-158.  Bailey was named an assistant coach at two-time defending NCAA Division I national champion Oregon State University, where he joined another former George Fox baseball coach, Pat Casey.

Despite a rash of injuries, the Bruins did not miss a beat as they posted a 28-14 record in Hunter’s inaugural season, the 13th straight winning season for the team and the 20th in the last 21 seasons.  Included in their non-conference record were a two-out-of-three series win at West Region powerhouse McMurry University to open the season, and a 3-2 road win over NCAA Division I University of Portland.  The Bruins went 24-8 in the Northwest Conference, finishing as league runner-up by one game to Linfield College and earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III West Regional at McMurry in Abilene, Texas, where the season ended with losses to Trinity (Texas) and La Verne.

As an assistant coach, Hunter’s primary focus at George Fox was with the infielders.  Under his tutelage, the George Fox defense ranked in the top six nationally in fielding average for five straight seasons (2003-2007), leading the nation in both 2003 and 2005 and setting a Division III record in 2005 with a .979 fielding mark.

Hunter came to the George Fox program from Canby (Ore.) High School, which he guided to a 132-63 record from 1995 to 2002.  His teams made the state Class 4A playoffs every year and won Pacific-9 Conference titles in 1997, 1998, and 2002.  He was the Conference Coach of the Year in ’97, ’98, ’01, and ’02.  He also continued as a teacher at Canby while working with the Bruin baseball team.

Prior to his stint at Canby, Hunter coached Bend (Ore.) High School from 1991-94, going 68-40. Bend won the Intermountain Conference championship in 1991 and 1992, and he was named Coach of the Year in the conference both seasons.  In 1990, he served as an assistant coach with the Bend Bucks, a team in the professional Class A Northwest League. 

A graduate of Gresham (Ore.) High School, Hunter attended Linfield College, where he received two letters as a football cornerback and three as a second baseman and catcher on the baseball team.  He earned both dual business and health degrees from Linfield in 1984, then worked at Gladstone, Gresham, and West Albany high schools before landing in Bend.  He completed a master of education degree from Linfield in 1991.

In addition to his coaching duties, Hunter serves as an instructor in the George Fox department of health and human performance.

When Hunter was named head coach of the Bruins, he admitted, “I believe the continuity we have will be a great thing for the program. All our coaches are going in the same direction in terms of goals and philosophy.  We have some great kids and a great staff at George Fox, and I look forward to this opportunity of continuing the legacy of outstanding baseball established here by Coach Bailey and Coach Casey.”

George Fox director of athletics Craig Taylor, in announcing the promotion of Hunter, said, “We are very excited and fortunate to have a coach of Marty’s caliber accept our position.  Over the five years he has been here, he has related well to the players and had strong support from both the returning players and the current recruiting class.  While he will bring his own personal perspective to the program, we know that he will build on what Pat Casey and Pat Bailey have done over the last 20 years of Bruin baseball.”

Hunter and his wife of 23 years, Kim, have two sons: Taylor, 19, a sophomore on the George Fox baseball team, and Tucker, 16. The Hunters reside in Canby.

Marty Hunter's Coaching Ledger (2008-)
Year	Team	Overall W-L	Pct.	Conf. W-L	Pct.	Highlights
1991-94	Bend HS	68-40	.630			Intermountain Conference champions 1991-92; Conference Coach of the Year 1991-92
1995-2002	Canby HS	132-63	.677			Pacific 9 Conference champions 1997-98, 2002; Class 4A Playoffs 1995-2002; Conference Coach of the Year 1997-98, 2001-02
HS Totals (12 yrs)		200-103	.660
Year	School	W-L	Pct.	Conf.	Pct.	Highlights
2003-04	George Fox					Assistant Coach
2005-07	George Fox					Associate Head Coach
2008	George Fox	28-14	.667	24-8	.750	NWC 2nd; NCAA West Regional (0-2)
GFU Totals (1 yr)		28-14	.667	24-8	.750

Career Totals

13 (yrs), 228-117 (.661)

Hunter vs. All Opponents
School	Overall	Home	Road	Neutral
California State University-East Bay	1-2	-	1-2	-
Concordia University-Portland	0-1	0-1	-	-
La Verne, University of	0-1	-	-	0-1
Lewis & Clark College	4-0	-	4-0	-
Linfield College	3-1	-	3-1	-
McMurry University	2-1	-	2-1	-
Pacific University (Ore.)	3-1	3-1	-	-
Pacific Lutheran University	2-2	-	2-2	-
Portland, University of	1-0	-	1-0	-
Puget Sound, University of	2-2	2-2	-	-
Trinity University (Texas)	0-1	-	-	0-1
Whitman College	4-0	-	4-0	-
Whitworth College	4-0	4-0	-	-
Willamette University	2-2	2-2	-	-
Totals (1 yr)	28-14 (.667)	11-6 (.647)	17-6 (.739)	0-2 (.000)