For information on all University of Alabama at Birmingham sports, see UAB Blazers
The UAB Blazers baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of the University of Alabama at Birmingham in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. The team is a member of the American Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. UAB's first baseball team was fielded in 1979. The team plays its home games at Jerry D. Young Memorial Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The Blazers are coached by Casey Dunn.
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History
The UAB fielded its first varsity baseball team in 1979 as an independent before joining the Sun Belt Conference in 1980. Harry Walker, the program’s first head coach, led UAB through the 1986 season, a tenure that included the 1981 Sun Belt North Division title. Pete Rancont took over in 1987 and coached the program for 13 seasons. Under Rancont, UAB reached its first NCAA Tournament in 1991, advancing to the Central Regional in Austin, Texas. The program moved to the Great Midwest Conference in 1992 and won both the regular-season and tournament titles in its first year in the league, with Rancont earning conference coach of the year honors.
UAB joined Conference USA in 1996 and remained there through the 2023 season. Results in C-USA were mixed, with the team producing winning records in some seasons and finishing in the lower half of the standings in others. Larry Giangrosso coached from 2000 through 2006, followed by Brian Shoop, whose tenure ran from 2007 through the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Shoop led the Blazers to their second NCAA Tournament appearance in 2012, when UAB won the Conference USA Tournament and advanced to the Tallahassee Regional. A Shoop-era highlight came in 2014, when the team posted the program’s lowest team ERA at 2.87.
Perry Roth served as head coach for a single season in 2021 before Casey Dunn was hired ahead of the 2022 campaign. UAB left Conference USA for the American Conference in 2024. Through the start of the 2026 season, the program has recorded 23 winning seasons, two NCAA Tournament appearances, and 62 alumni who have reached professional baseball, including 36 drafted players. Home games are played at Regions Field, which opened in 2013, while Young Memorial Field, opened in 1984, remains in use on campus.
Conference affiliations
NCAA Division I Independent (1978-1979)
Sun Belt Conference (1980–1991)
Great Midwest Conference (1992–1995)
Conference USA (1996–2023)
American Conference (2024–present)
Head Coaches
UAB has had six head coaches.
Year by year results
UAB baseball history year-by-year results.
Facilities
Jerry D. Young Memorial Field
Jerry D. Young Memorial Field is the home of UAB baseball. The stadium opened in 1984 and is named after former UAB administrator Jerry D. Young, who played a key role in establishing the program. It seats 1,000. In 2022 artificial turf was installed as the playing surface. UAB plays select games at Regions Field.
Blazers in Major League Baseball
Since the Major League Baseball draft began in 1965, UAB has had 28 players selected.
Notable players include:
Graham Ashcraft
Dan DeMent
Mike Goff
Chris Hammond
Brewer Hicklen
Héctor Villanueva
Mark Morrison
Garrett Whitlock