VALDOSTA — Valdosta State baseball head coach Jan Weisberg was named head coach at Eastern Kentucky Saturday afternoon.

“On behalf of the Blazer Athletic Department and the baseball program, we are saddened to announce the departure of our head baseball coach, Jan Weisberg. Coach Weisberg has been instrumental in shaping the culture of Blazer Baseball, and his impact will be felt for years to come,” VSU Director of Athletics Troy Katen said.

Weisberg came to VSU last summer and led the Blazers to a 30-22 record overall and a 22-10 mark in Gulf South Conference play this past spring. The Blazers finished second in the GSC regular season standings after being selected sixth in the preseason league poll.

After a slow start to open the season, the Blazers turned up the heat winning 12 of 15 games from Feb. 14 to March 11, while sweeping the regular season series with four GSC programs including NCAA postseason selection Mississippi College as the second place regular season finish was the highest for VSU since also finishing second in 2022.

“This past season was a tremendous success for our program,” Katen added. “Under Coach Weisberg’s leadership, the team secured a second-place finish in the highly competitive Gulf South Conference. His influence helped our athletes earn numerous accolades, including the GSC Player of the Year and several All-Conference honors. His efforts also contributed to our department winning the GSC Men’s All-Sports Trophy. We are incredibly grateful to Coach Weisberg for laying the foundation of a winning culture and for his unwavering dedication to our student-athletes.”

Senior Orlando Peña earned GSC Player of the Year honors and first team all-league at third base. Senior Pedro Moreno earned first team all-league honors as an infielder, while senior Hunter Booth earned second team all-league honors as a starting pitcher.

Senior Ryan Brown also earned second team honors as a relief pitcher and Hunter Stowe earned second team accolades at designated hitter. Peña became the seventh Blazer to earn GSC Player of the Year honors.

In addition, Peña earned first team Rawlings/ABCA All-Region honors at infielder, while Stowe earned first team all-region accolades at designated hitter. Peña earned second team all-region honors for NCBWA at third base and second team all-region for D2CCA, while Brown also earned second team honors for NCBWA.

For the season, VSU led the GSC in doubles with 98, while it was second in double plays turned with 46 for 12^th nationally. VSU finished second in the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 2.06 for 42^nd nationally, while the team was 17^th nationally and second in the league in walks allowed per nine innings (3.33).

Peña finished 16^th nationally to lead the league in home runs (20), while he was tenth nationally in RBI (79) to lead the conference and led the league in slugging percentage at a .724 clip for 39^th nationally. Stowe led the GSC in doubles with 18, while Brown finished third in the league in saves (8) for 20^th nationally.

“As Coach Weisberg begins a new chapter at Eastern Kentucky University, we extend our heartfelt thanks and best wishes to Coach Weisberg, his wife Alyssa, and their sons,” Katen said. “Thank you, Coach Weisberg. You will always be a part of the Blazer family.”