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Marty Hunter, the 2009 Northwest Conference Co-Coach of the Year, has kept alive the tradition of excellence established by George Fox University Sports Hall of Fame coaches Pat Casey and Pat Bailey by leading the nationally-recognized Bruins' baseball program to a 64-25 record in his first two seasons as head coach.
In Hunter's inaugural season in 2007, the Bruins posted a 28-14 record despite a rash of injuries. Included in their non-conference record were a two-out-of-three series win at West Region powerhouse McMurry to open the season and a 3-2 road win over NCAA Division I Portland. The Bruins went 24-8 in the Northwest Conference, finishing as league runner-up by one game to Linfield and earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III West Regional in Abilene, Texas, where the season ended with losses to Trinity (Texas) and La Verne.
Hunter's 2008 team went 36-11, the second-most wins in a season in Bruin history, and posted their 14th straight winning season and 21st in the last 22 years. After tying for the conference championship with Pacific Lutheran, both at 27-5, the Bruins defeated PLU in a one-game playoff to earn the NWC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The playoff win gave the Bruins a 33-9 regular season record, the most wins prior to post-season play in team history. In the West Regional in McMinnville, Ore., the Bruins battled back after an opening-round loss to California Lutheran with wins over No. 1-ranked Pomona-Pitzer, Texas-Tyler, and Chapman, before Chapman eliminated the Bruins in the regional title game.
Among the numerous records set by the 2008 squad was a new single-season standard for hits (589), while their .367 batting average was the second-highest in Bruin history and ranked third nationally. George Fox led the nation in sacrifice flies (40) and ranked high in several other categories, including fifth in fielding percentage (.969), seventh in hits, eighth in slugging percentage (.546), 10th in runs (449), 17th in doubles (112), 18th in scoring (9.6), and 25th in home runs (48).
Hunter was named NWC Co-Coach of the Year along with Pacific Lutheran's Geoff Loomis, a former George Fox assistant coach.
Hunter first came to George Fox as an assistant baseball coach in 2003, with a primary focus on the infielders, and was named the Bruins' associate head coach in 2005. 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.
In the summer of 2007, Hunter was named to replace Bailey, whose 12-year run with the Bruins included an NCAA Division III national title in 2004, eight Northwest Conference championships, and a win-loss record of 353-158. Bailey left for an assistant's position at Oregon State University, back-to-back NCAA Division I national champions in 2006-07, where he joined head coach Casey, who had guided George Fox to a 171-113-1 record in seven seasons from 1988-94.
Prior to joining the George Fox staff, Hunter led Canby (Ore.) High School to a 132-63 record from 1995-2002. His teams made the state Class 4A playoffs every year and won Pacific-9 Conference titles in 1997, 1998, and 2002. He was the Pac-9 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.
Hunter also coached Bend (Ore.) High School from 1991-94, going 68-40. Bend won Intermountain Conference titles 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, all in Oregon, before landing in Bend. He completed a master of education degree from Linfield in 1991.
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, when he announced the promotion of Hunter, said, "We are very excited and fortunate to have a coach of Marty's caliber accept our position. He relates well to the players and had strong support from both the returning players and the current recruiting class. While he brings his own personal perspective to the program, we know he will build on what Pat Casey and Pat Bailey have done over the last 20 years of Bruin baseball."
In addition to his coaching duties, Hunter serves as an instructor in the George Fox department of health and human performance. He and his wife of 24 years, Kim, have two sons: Taylor, 20, an All-Conference performer for the Bruins as a sophomore last year before transferring to Oregon State, and Tucker, 17. The Hunters reside in Canby.
Marty Hunter's Coaching Ledger
Overall Conference
Year Team W-L Pct. W-L Pct. Highlights
1991-94 Bend (Ore.) HS 68-40 .630 Intermountain Conference champions 1991-92;
Conference Coach of the Year 1991-92
1995-2002 Canby (Ore.) 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
2003-04 George Fox Assistant Coach
2005-07 George Fox Associate Head Coach
2008 George Fox 28-14 .667 24-8 .750 (2nd) NCAA West Regional (0-2)
2009 George Fox 36-11 .766 27-5 .844 (1st T) NCAA West Regional 2nd (3-2); #12 ranking
GFU Totals (2 yrs) 64-25 .719 51-13 .797
Career Totals - 14 yrs, 264-128 (.673)
Hunter vs. All Opponents
Team Overall Home Road Neutral
California Lutheran University 0-1 - - 0-1
California State University-East Bay 3-3 2-1 1-2 -
Chapman University 1-1 - - 1-1
Concordia University-Portland 1-2 1-2 - -
Hawai'i-Hilo, University of 2-2 - 2-2 -
La Verne, University of 0-1 - - 0-1
Lewis & Clark College 8-0 4-0 4-0 -
Linfield College 6-2 3-1 3-1 -
McMurry University 2-1 - 2-1 -
Pacific University (Ore.) 7-1 3-1 4-0 -
Pacific Lutheran University 5-4 3-2 2-2 -
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges 1-0 - - 1-0
Portland, University of 1-0 - 1-0 -
Puget Sound, University of 5-3 2-2 3-1 -
Texas-Tyler, University of 1-0 - - 1-0
Trinity University (Texas) 0-1 - - 0-1
Whitman College 8-0 4-0 4-0 -
Whitworth University 7-1 4-0 3-1 -
Willamette University 6-2 2-2 4-0 -
Totals - 2 yrs 64-25 28-11 33-10 3-4
(.719) (.718) (.767) (.429)
