Griffin announces handful of coaching staff changes
Carson-Newman head baseball coach Tom Griffin has announced the hiring of five new coaches to his staff for the upcoming 2026 season, featuring the hiring of assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Brendan Krob.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head baseball coach Tom Griffin has announced the hiring of five new coaches to his staff for the upcoming 2026 season, featuring the hiring of assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Brendan Krob.
Krob returns to the banks of Mossy Creek, after spending the 2025 season as a volunteer assistant coach with East Tennessee State. Krob was part of C-N's coaching staff from 2022-2024 as a graduate assistant coach and now transitions to an assistant coaching role with the club.
"It's great to be back home," Krob said. "Being an alumnus of this school, there is a lot of pride with that. Coach Griffin and I were talking throughout the last year I was at ETSU, about coming back. Honestly, it was an easy decision, especially when a Hall of Fame coach is inquiring about you. Super happy to be back here and excited to work with him and the rest of the coaching staff."
Prior to beginning his coaching career, Krob played two seasons with the Eagles. In over 40 games with C-N, the right-handed hitter produced a .394 on-base percentage with a couple home runs and 19 RBIs while swiping five bases. Prior to his time in Jefferson City, Krob appeared in 45 games over two years with Evansville blasting three homers and racking up four multi-hit games.
The four-year starter for Argo High School ranked No. 10 catcher in Illinois by Prep Baseball Report. The Justice, Ill. native hit .408 in high school with 13 home runs and spent his final prep summer with Southland Vikings in the Midwest Collegiate League finishing in the top five in runs batted in and the top 10 in both slugging percentage and on-base percentage.
"Growing in my faith plays a big part of it," Krob said. "Being back here with the support of the faculty and staff. Growing myself as a man and as a person has played a big factor into coming back."
Carson-Newman adds two graduate assistant coaches to the program, Brock Bollinger and Alex Duarte.
Bollinger joins the Eagles family from Lehighton, PA. He played four seasons at Misericordia University in Dallas, PA. The catcher played 189 games with the Cougars and was a .362 career hitter at the plate. The ABCA All-American drove in 176 runs and collected 233 career hits. The four-time all-conference player and three-time all-region player smashed 16 home runs and reached base nearly 50 percent of the time.
Duarte comes to C-N from Mesa College, where he began his coaching career in 2024 as an assistant pitching and bullpen coach. Prior to Mesa, he served as in a similar role at Kansas Wesleyan University. Before starting his coaching career, the Imperial, California native enjoyed an impressive run as a member of the Coyotes. He helped Kansas Wesleyan win the Conference tournament championship in 2022, Conference regular season championship in 2023, and two regional appearances.
Prior to attending KWU, Duarte was a pivotal member of the Olympians success. His freshman season, Alex was a key contributor to Mesa's 2019 Conference Championship, Regional Championship, and
Super Regional Appearance. And was again a vital member to San Diego Mesa's 2020 repeat campaign prior to the COVID-19 season cancellations. Duarte made 17 appearances, including 4 starts, and posted strong K/9 and ERA numbers.
To conclude the handful of coaching staff additions, coach Griffin announced the returns of Luke Goforth and Trey Miller as volunteer assistant coaches.
Goforth played in 105 games over five playing seasons in the Orange and Blue. He was a career .316 hitter and reached base more than 42 percent of the time. Playing all over the field, Goforth had 42 putouts, five assists, turned three double plays and did not commit an error.
Miller spent his final three collegiate seasons with C-N, playing in 132 games. The outfielder recorded a .279 batting average, collecting 107 hits, 62 RBI and 38 extra-base hits. He saved his best season for last, hitting a career-best .319 and recording a career-best .439 on-base percentage in 2024-25.
