By GRANT TRAYLOR

Marshall University Athletics

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. –Marshall baseball coach Greg Beals announced the addition of Tim Donnelly as his Associate Head Coach.

Donnelly comes to Huntington after spending the 2022 season as interim head coach of the Akron Zips.

“I am so happy to have Tim join our baseball staff as Associate Head Coach,” Beals said. “He and I have worked together previously and he compliments me very well.”

Donnelly said he can’t wait to get back to work with Beals, whose staff he joined in 2023 prior to Beals accepting the Marshall head coaching job.

“I am very excited to work with Beals again!” Donnelly said. “He is one of the best baseball minds in coaching and a great leader. I am very thankful to him and Marshall for bringing us back to Huntington.”

Donnelly will not need help getting acclimated with Marshall’s program or the Huntington community, having served as an assistant for the Thundering Herd for 10 seasons from 2007-16.

Donnelly’s last season at Marshall was the 2016 campaign when Marshall went 34-21 and finished 21-9 in Conference USA. Following the season, Donnelly was named the Conference USA Assistant Coach of the Year.

During his previous tenure at Marshall, Donnelly had 25 players either selected in the MLB Draft or signed as free agents, including the highest pick in school history when Aaron Blair was selected 36th overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2013.

In addition to Blair, some players whom Donnelly brought to Marshall that advanced to the Major League level include pitchers Dan Straily and Kevin Shackelford. 

The return to Huntington also brings Donnelly’s family back full circle as his wife, Kellie – the former Kellie Schmitt – was a standout tennis player who earned the Conference USA Women’s Tennis Player of the Year honors three times during her Marshall career from 2005-09. She was inducted into the Marshall University Hall of Fame in 2021.

“Our family is so excited to come back to Marshall!” Donnelly said. “We bleed Green! My wife, Kellie, is in the Athletics Hall of Fame at Marshall and now we get to bring our kids back to this special place.”

Beals said that Donnelly’s baseball knowledge, plus passion and investment into Marshall will serve him well as he helps build the Herd baseball program.

“Tim is a family man, a baseball guy and a tireless recruiter with Marshall ties,” Beals said. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will strengthen the Herd. I look forward to welcoming he, Kellie and the kids back to Huntington.”

Prior to joining Beals’ staff at Akron, Donnelly was an assistant coach at Western Kentucky in 2022. From 2019-21, Donnelly spent three years as Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at Southeastern Louisiana University, which came after a two-year stint at Middle Tennessee in 2017-18.

Before his 10-year run at Marshall, Donnelly served as an assistant coach at Malone College in 2005 before moving on to Kent State in 2006 where he coached Emmanuel Burris, who won MAC Player of the Year and went on to be a first-round draft pick in the 2006 MLB Draft.

Donnelly is also the son of 30-year MLB coaching veteran Rich Donnelly. He and Kellie have a son, Drew, and a daughter, Addison.