COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State Department of Athletics announced Friday that Justin Haire will be the Buckeyes' next baseball coach. 

What You Need To Know

  • The university said he has signed a five-year contract, making him the 13th coach in program history

  • Haire is no stranger to Ohio, as he was born in Hamilton and graduated from a local high school

  • Before coming to Ohio State, Haire served as the head coach at Campbell for the past 10 seasons

The university said he has signed a five-year contract, making him the 13th coach in program history. 

“We are so excited to welcome Justin Haire and his family to Ohio State to lead our baseball program into a new era,” said Senior Advisor for Intercollegiate Athletics Ross Bjork in a release “We had a tremendous amount of interest in this position from successful coaches around the country, so it was exciting to see this search unfold. Coach Haire’s successful career as a head coach and track record of winning games in the NCAA Tournament made us stand up and take notice, and his deep Ohio roots are an added bonus. We believe Ohio State baseball can be a Big Ten contender and make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament under Justin’s leadership, and we are fired up for him to start here in Columbus. Congratulations to Justin, Lindsey, Jackson, Parker, Max and Anne Marie, and welcome to the Buckeye family.”

Haire is no stranger to Ohio. He was born in Hamilton, Ohio, graduated from Badin High School, previously played at Bowling Green for two seasons and was part of the 2001 MAC East Division Championship team, according to the university. 

“I am incredibly honored and excited to be named the head baseball coach at The Ohio State University,” Haire said in a release. “As an Ohio native, this opportunity is especially meaningful to me. We look forward to building a championship-level program at Ohio State, where the commitment to excellence in both athletics and academics is unparalleled. The passion and pride of Buckeye Nation is unmatched and we are eager to contribute to the success and growth of Ohio State baseball. My family and I would like to thank Mr. Ross Bjork and President Ted Carter for this tremendous opportunity. We look forward to attacking the challenge ahead and know that the best is yet to come!”

Before coming to Ohio State, Haire served as the head coach at Campbell for the past 10 seasons, winning 317 games, averaging over 30 wins per season. He also earned the title of "Big South Coach of the Year" four times. 

Additionally, 13 of his players went on to be selected in the MLB Draft, and 18 have signed professional contracts with MLB organizations, according to the university. 

“Coach Haire is the right person to lead Ohio State baseball into the future,” said Shaun Richard, executive associate athletic director, in a release. “He has tons of passion, a great plan to achieve success, and is someone who wants to be a Buckeye. We talked to a lot of coaches throughout this process and it just kept coming back to Justin and what he laid out to move this program forward. Buckeye Nation is going to love what he brings both on and off the field.”

While with the Campbell Camels, he had a variety of roles before being named head coach in June 2014, including recruiting coordinator, assistant coach and associated head coach. 

Before being named the head coach at Campbell in June 2014, Haire spent seven seasons with the Camels serving in various roles including recruiting coordinator, assistant coach, and associate head coach.

He also spent four years as an assistant at Ouachita Baptist University and one season as a pitching coach at Sterling College before joining Campbell.