Belhaven University Athletics

Andrew Gipson enters his 3rd season at the helm of the Belhaven Baseball program after he was named the eighth Head Baseball Coach in program history by Belhaven Director of Athletics Scott Little in June 2023.

Gipson led Belhaven to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2025 as the Blazers secured an at-large bid with a program best No. 19 NPI ranking. Belhaven swept through their first ever NCAA Regional appearance taking down Rhodes, MSOE and No. 13 Webster en route to a first NCAA Super Regional berth against No. 2 Denison.

Gipson led the Blazers to a strong first season in charge with Belhaven finishing the season 25-17 including a 12-5 regular season record in conference action which secured them the No. 2 seed in the Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) tournament.

In his first season, Gipson  coached CCS Pitcher of the Year Brett Sanchez and CCS Player of the Year Owen Abney who helped lead the Blazers' success and picked up D3baseball.com All-Region nods. Sanchez was also named a D3baseball.com All-American following the 2024 season.

A native of Oneonta, Alabama, Gipson is a 2011 graduate of Belhaven University and played for the Blazers for four seasons where he was a part of three Conference championships, four NAIA Regional/Opening Round tournaments, and one NAIA World Series appearance. 

Gipson most recently served as the Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for the NCAA Division I program Southeastern Louisiana University in 2022, part of a seven-year tenure with the Lions’ program. Gipson held various roles within the SLU coaching staff including serving as the Lions’ Pitching Coach in 2021 and Assistant Baseball Coach and Recruiting Coordinator from 2015-18. 

As Pitching Coach for SLU, Gipson led the Lions’ pitching staff in 2021 which saw RHP Brennan Stuprich named the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year and earn multiple Freshman All-America honors and saw Stuprich combine with Will Warren to finish among the Top 5 in conference ERA, wins and innings pitched while Warren also finished second in strikeouts.

During his time in Louisiana, Gipson helped the Lions to three NCAA Regional appearances during his time with SLU (2016, 2017, 2022) and was a part of the 2015 SLU staff which led the Lions to the school record for overall wins (42), the Southland record for conference wins (25) and the Southland Conference Regular Season Championship. He also helped lead recruiting efforts that saw 47 All-Southland Conference selections, four All-Americans, three Southland Players of the Year, two Southland Freshmen of the Year, one Southland Pitcher of the Year, one Southland Relief Pitcher of the Year and 15 players selected in the MLB draft.

Prior to joining the staff at Southeastern Louisiana, Gipson spent three years on the coaching staff at Belhaven directly following his playing career. Gipson spent the 2014 season as the Assistant Coach under legendary Blazers’ Head Coach Hill Denson after serving as a Graduate Assistant Coach in 2013 and Student Assistant Coach in 2012. During his first stint on the Belhaven Coaching Staff, Gipson helped coach three All-Americans including catcher Kyle Wheeler who was selected in the 26th round of the 2013 MLB Draft.

Gipson graduated Magna Cum Laude from Belhaven in 2011 with degrees in psychology and sports administration. 

Collegiate Coaching Record

Blazers Under Coach Gipson

All-Americans

• Brett Sanchez
  • D3baseball.com (2024)

• Brett Sanchez
  • D3baseball.com (2024)
• Owen Abney
  • D3baseball.com (2024)
• Kade May
  • D3baseball.com (2025)
  • ABCA Rawlings (2025)
• JD Weed
  • ABCA Rawlings (2025)
• Tristan Pearson
  • ABCA Rawlings (2025)

• Brett Sanchez
  • CCS Pitcher of the Year (2024)
• Owen Abney
  • CCS Player of the Year (2024)

• Three CCS All-Conference Selections

Professional Draftees and Signees
*Bold denotes Major League Appearance

2012 – Brett Blaise (Signed w/ Tampa Bay Rays)
2013 – Kyle Wheeler (Drafted by Oakland A's - 26th Rd.)
2015 – Kyle Keller (Drafted by Miami Marlins - 18th Rd.)
            Jake Johnson (Drafted by Cincinnati Reds - 16th Rd.)
            Tate Scioneaux (Drafted by Pittsburgh Pirates - 39th Rd.)
2016 – Jameson Fisher (Drafted by Chicago White Sox - 4th Rd.)
            Zach Clark (Drafted by Milwaukee Brewers - 19th Rd.)
             Kyle Cedotal (Drafted by Coloradio Rockies - 20th Rd.)
            Pat Cashman (Drafted by Chicago White Sox - 30th Rd.)
            Dom Carlini (Drafted by Minnesota Twins - 21st Rd.)
2017 – Mac Sceroler (Drafted by Cincinnati Reds - 5th Rd.)
            Carson Crites (Drafted by Minnesota Twins - 25th Rd.)
2018 – Drew Avans (Drafted by LA Dodgers - 33rd Rd.)
            Josh Green (Drafted by Arizona Diamondbacks - 14th Rd.)
            Jared Denning (Drafted by Baltimore Orioles - 29th Rd
            Daniel Wasinger (Drafted by Arizona Diamondbacks - 31st Rd.)
2019 – Ashton Creal (Drafted by Cincinnati Reds - 21st Rd.)
            Cody Grosse (Drafted by Seattle Mariners - 30th Rd.)
            Bryce Tassin (Drafted by Detroit Tigers - 31st Rd.)
            Corey Gaconi (Signed w/ New York Mets)
            Jared Biddy (Signed w/ New York Mets)
2021 – Will Warren (Drafted by NY Yankees - 8th Rd.)
2022 – Dalton Rogers (Drafted by Boston Red Sox - 3rd Rd.)
            Jacob Burke (Drafted by Chicago White Sox - 11th Rd.)
            Spence Coffman (Drafted by SD Padres - 19th Rd.)
2023 – Andrew Landry (Drafted by NY Yankees - 16th Rd.)
2024 – Brett Sanchez (Signed w/ Joliet Slammers)