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2025 ABCA/ATEC Midwest Region Co-Coach of the Year
2025 Conference USA Keith LeClair Coach of the Year
Marc Rardin enters his fourth season on The Hill after being named the WKU baseball head coach on June 15, 2022.
Rardin holds a 115-62 overall record in three years as the head coach of the Hilltoppers, the second-best record of Division I teams that made head coaching hires ahead of the 2023 season, only trailing Clemson (133-53).
The 115 victories are the most in a three-year span the program has seen since 1980-82. WKU has improved its win total every season under Rardin.
The 2025 campaign will go down as arguably the greatest season in Hilltopper Baseball history, as the team finished the season with a 46-14 (18-9 CUSA) record - the second-most wins in a season in program history and the most in 45 years. WKU won its first conference tournament title in 17 years and first Conference USA Championship in program history. The Hilltoppers earned an NCAA Regional berth as CUSA's automatic qualifier, returning to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in program history and first time in 16 years.
Following the completion of the regular season, Rardin was named CUSA's Keith LeClair Coach of the Year. He became the seventh Conference Coach of the Year in program history, the first CUSA Coach of the Year in program history and the first in 16 years.
WKU got off to a fast start in 2025, winning 20 of its first 21 games - the best start in program and CUSA history - including a 15-game winning streak, the second-longest winning streak in program history. The Hilltoppers won their first 23 games at Nick Denes Field - the longest home winning streak in program history - and finished the regular season 30-3 at home, the most home victories in a single-season in program history and the most among Group of Five programs.
The Hilltoppers were recognized in multiple national polls following the series win at #17 Dallas Baptist. This marked the first national ranking for WKU since 2010. The Tops climbed as high as #17 in the Baseball America Poll – the highest ranking in program history by a national media outlet. This ranking came after the Hilltoppers earned a series win over rival Middle Tennessee.
The Hilltoppers finished the 2024 season with a 36-22 (15-9 CUSA) record while making their second-consecutive Conference USA Championships appearance and fourth overall since joining the league in 2015. WKU's third-place finish in the Conference USA rankings marked a program-best since joining CUSA in 2015. WKU dropped its opening game of the tournament but rallied for back-to-back wins in elimination games over New Mexico State and FIU to advance to the Conference USA Championships Semifinals for the second time under Rardin, something the program had not accomplished prior to his tenure.
In Rardin's first season at the helm, the Hilltoppers turned the tables to win five consecutive series for the first time since 2009 after starting conference play 2-10. WKU defeated UAB, FAU, Charlotte, FIU, and Rice on its way to winning 14 of its final 18 league games to finish the season at the No. 4 spot in the Conference USA rankings, tied for its highest rank going into the CUSA Championship since joining the league in 2015. Not only did the Hilltoppers finish fourth in the standings with a winning record in 2023, but they topped 30 wins in a season for the first time since 2011 while their 33-26 overall record is tied for the fourth-best in a season since 2004 and best since joining CUSA.
Rardin, who had spent 20 seasons as the skipper at Iowa Western Community College while making 12 JUCO World Series appearances and winning three NJCAA Division I National Championships, became the 17th head coach for a WKU baseball program that began in 1910.
Rardin and the Reivers accumulated numerous notable accomplishments during his time at the helm. During his 20 seasons at Iowa Western, the program won 15 Regional Championships and 12 District Championships while making 12 JUCO College World Series appearances and earning three NJCAA D1 National Championships. Rardin compiled a remarkable 934-252 (.788) record over that span while averaging more than 46 wins per season, including a 452-69 (.868) conference/regional record and 122-43 (.739) record in postseason play. Over the past 20 years, no other Division I junior college baseball program has won more games or more postseason championships than Iowa Western.
That success has resulted in Rardin earning three National Coach of the Year honors, 10 District Coach of the Year awards and 12 Louisville Slugger Coach of the Year accolades. He was also a 2015 inductee into the NJCAA Hall of Fame.
Rardin’s tutelage has led to student-athlete success both on the field and in the classroom. Since Rardin’s arrival to Iowa Western, the Reivers have seen 142 players sign with NCAA Division I programs while 101 student-athletes have earned First Team All-Region honors, 44 have received First Team All-Northern District recognition, 21 have been named NJCAA All-Americans and two have been tabbed NJCAA National Players of the Year.
Academically, the program has been named the NJCAA Spring National Academic Team of the Year nine times, with numerous student-athletes earning individual honors as well. The Reivers have had 58 NJCAA Academic All-Americans, 15 NJCAA Distinguished Academic All-Americans and one NJCAA Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year during Rardin’s time at Iowa Western.
Rardin and the Reivers’ three NJCAA D1 National Championships came in 2010, 2012 and 2014, with the team also earning national runner-up status in 2019. Iowa Western made NJCAA Division I baseball history by becoming the first Northern District team to win the World Series in 2010 while also leading the country with a .398 team batting average, with Brent Seifert recording a program-record .485 average at the plate. During the Reivers’ 2012 championship run, the team set a program record with 62 wins to go along with a nation-leading .403 batting average, while Tanner Krietemeier posted a program-best 1.78 ERA. The 2014 championship team compiled a 56-11 record en route to its 10th consecutive Regional Tournament Championship, finishing the season ranked second in the nation with a .354 batting average while seeing six players named as All-Region Performers.
Rardin has also accumulated experience in the national coaching circuit, serving as the assistant coach on the NJCAA/USA National Team in 2008 and 2010 while also spending the summer of 2014 as the head coach of the USA Junior College Team that participated in the 80th year of the NBC Tournament – earning a third-place finish in the tournament after being together as a team for only three weeks. In that same summer of 2014, Rardin was also invited to coach and instruct for the USA Baseball Organization. In both 2014 and 2015, he was selected to manage one of the teams while also helping to organize practices and evaluations with the 18U tryouts for the Tournament of Stars.
Before his time at Iowa Western, Rardin made stops at Lamar Community College, Yavapai College, Baylor University and Bluefield College in assistant roles. In the fall of 2003, he worked under Scott Crampton at Lamar Community College. From 2000-02, Rardin was an assistant for Sky Smeltzer at Yavapai College. He came to Yavapai from Baylor University, where he spent two years as the volunteer coach. Rardin’s first job in college baseball was at Bluefield College, where he served as the pitching coach. He has also accumulated five summers of coaching experience in the Jayhawk and Northwoods summer collegiate leagues.
Rardin began his collegiate playing career with a two-year stint at Indian Hills Community College before finishing out his eligibility at Iowa Wesleyan. He graduated from Starmont High School where he enjoyed a successful athletic career, lettering 14 times in four different sports.
Rardin and his wife, Dawn, have two sons – Tyler Maddux and Griffin Hill.
(Last updated June 2025)
