Ryan Hunt is stepping away from baseball after being named the 2025 Mid-South Conference coach of the year.
For the first time in 45 years, Cumberland baseball will not have a coach with the last name Hunt. Ryan Hunt, the son of legendary Phoenix coach Woody Hunt, resigned as coach on Aug. 29.
Hunt posted a 109-104-2 record over four seasons. He lead the Phoenix to a 39-18-1 record this past season and a berth in the NAIA national tournament for the second time in three years.
Hunt spent a total of 19 seasons on Cumberland's staff, including 14 as an assistant on his father's staff. After taking the head coaching position at Volunteer State in 2016, Ryan Hunt returned to Cumberland in 2022.
Woody Hunt, who coached the Phoenix from 1981 to 2021, will serve as Cumberland's interim coach during a search for a new coach.
"I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here as a player, assistant and now as a head coach," Ryan Hunt said in a release. "This program and university has been my life. There have been many great memories during my time here. This program means a lot to me, but I feel like it's time to step away from the game of baseball and the program."
Hunt was named the 2025 Mid-South Conference coach of the year after leading the Phoenix to a second-place regular-season finish. Cumberland ended the season with a 14-12 loss to Tennessee Wesleyan in the first round of the NAIA national tournament.
"Ryan has poured so much into Cumberland baseball," Cumberland athletics director Ron Pavan said in a release. "He has honored his family's legacy while also making his own impact on the program. We are grateful for his leadership and wish him the very best moving forward."
Hunt played at Cumberland during a stretch which the school claimed five conference championships, four conference tournament titles, and two regional championships, advancing to the NAIA World Series in 1997 and 1998.
Woody Hunt led Cumberland to 1,630 wins and three NAIA championships. He earned 17 coach of the year honors and was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024.
Cumberland's baseball stadium is named in honor of Woody Hunt.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Ryan Hunt resigns as Cumberland baseball coach
Category: General Sports
