Rich Witten

Rich Witten enters his first season (2027) on the Virginia Tech baseball coaching staff, having been hired into the role of general manager, director of baseball operations in July 2026. He is tasked with running the Hokies' comprehensive, day-to-day cadence, including the oversight of English Field and its accompanying baseball facilities.

An esteemed leader in the game, Witten joins the Hokies following his four-year tenure as the head baseball coach at Florida International, where he led the Panthers in 2025 to their highest single-season wins total (31) since 2017. Returning to the ACC and the Commonwealth of Virginia, he previously served on the coaching staff at VCU from 2018 to 2022 as the Rams’ hitting coach and recruiting coordinator while harvesting earlier coaching experience at Miami (2014).

» Virginia Tech XP:  First season
» Playing XP:  Coastal Carolina (2008-12)
» Alma Mater:  Coastal Carolina '11

Connect with Coach Witten
» X handle:  @hardhittnwitten

COACHING TIMELINE
SEASONS	SCHOOL	TITLE
2013	UCF	Director of Baseball Operations
2014	Miami (Fla.)	Volunteer Assistant Coach
2015-17	Winthrop	Assistant Coach
2018-22	VCU	Hitting Coach & Recruiting Coordinator
2023-26	Florida International	Head Coach
2027-pres.	Virginia Tech	General Manager / Director of Baseball Operations

Under Witten’s direction, Florida International bettered its cumulative win total during each of his first three seasons as head coach, improving annually in conference victories, too, to set a seven-year high (13) during the 2025 campaign. Upon taking the reins, he oversaw a three-year rise of the Panthers’ NCAA Division I Baseball RPI ranking by more than 100 positions nationally.

Having been absent from its conference tournament since 2018, Florida International returned to the postseason under Witten, qualifying for consecutive Conference USA Baseball Championship berths in 2024 and 2025. While guiding the Panthers in 2025 to their first 30-win season spanning eight years, he chalked two in-state, Power Four victories against Miami in addition to packaging a three-game league sweep of No. 17 Western Kentucky (as ranked per Baseball America).

With his background in developmental hitting, Witten’s offenses at Florida International soared among the program’s best, ranking third and fourth all-time in home runs during the 2024 (83) and 2025 (80) seasons, respectively. During the 2024 campaign, Witten’s lineup batted .293 and totaled 379 RBIs – both equating to program highs since 2011.

Witten’s honor roll at Florida International included seven student-athletes who combined for nine All-Conference USA honors, including four distinct First Team mentions. Academically, the Panthers led all FIU men’s programs with their 3.43 GPA during the fall 2022 semester, elevating to a 3.52 GPA during the spring 2023 season.

Prior to taking the head coaching job at Florida International, Witten factored into five winning seasons at VCU as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for head coach Shawn Stiffler. From 2018 to 2022, Witten helped steer the Rams to phenomenal offensive success, achieving 162 combined victories – 38.3 wins per season (excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign) – three Atlantic 10 trophies and two NCAA Regional appearances.

Witten’s arrival at Virginia Tech marks a decade-long return to the ACC, having served as the volunteer assistant coach at Miami during the 2014 season. After co-leading the Hurricanes to the ACC Coastal Division title and league’s best record, he joined the coaching staff at Winthrop (2015-17), providing hitting mentorship and defensive coaching for catchers and first basemen.

As a student-athlete, Witten crafted a .316 career batting average at Coastal Carolina from 2008 to 2012, ranking at graduation among the Chanticleers’ all-time greats in career doubles (50 – seventh) and RBIs (158 – sixth). Named to the 2012 All-Big South Second Team, the co-captain and infielder competed in five NCAA Regionals (2008-12) and two NCAA Super Regionals (2008, 2010).

Witten earned his bachelor’s degree in exercise and sport science at Coastal Carolina with a minor in psychology. A native of Danville, Kentucky, he resides with his wife, Natalie Kalibat Witten, as well as his two children, James and Victoria.

MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS (18)
YEAR	SCHOOL	NAME	ROUND	PICK	MLB CLUB
2014	Miami	Dale Carey	7th	No. 214	Washington
2014	Miami	Tyler Palmer	21st	No. 629	Los Angeles (A.L.)
2014	Miami	Alex Hernandez	40th	No. 1,186	Houston
2015	Miami	David Thompson	4th	No. 119	New York (N.L.)
2015	Miami	George Iskenderian	7th	No. 211	Milwaukee
2015	Miami	Garrett Kennedy	14th	No. 432	Los Angeles (N.L.)
2015	Miami	Ricky Eusebio	16th	No. 485	Seattle
2016	Miami	Zack Collins	1st	No. 10	Chicago (A.L.)
2016	Miami	Willie Abreu	6th	No. 170	Colorado
2016	Miami	Brandon Lopez	10th	No. 303	Minnesota
2016	Miami	Jacob Heyward	18th	No. 545	San Francisco
2016	Winthrop	Roger Gonzalez	22nd	No. 652	Oakland
2016	Miami	Johnny Ruiz	28th	No. 847	Houston
2018	Winthrop	Mitch Spires	28th	No. 841	Los Angeles (A.L.)
2019	VCU	Zac Ching	10th	No. 311	Los Angeles (N.L.)
2022	VCU	Tyler Locklear	2nd	No. 58	Seattle
2025	Florida International	Owen Puk	18th	No. 531	Washington
2025	Florida International	Easton Marks	19th	No. 557	Colorado