Coach Luke Johnson has announced the hiring of Trent Abernathy as Assistant Coach / Pitching Coach for North Park University Baseball. Abernathy joins the Vikings in October 2024 after coaching with Division II Concord University for the past three seasons.
“I’m very happy to welcome Trent to North Park,” said Johnson. “I think he will fit in well with our players and existing staff and has the ability to put his mark on our pitching staff and program in a really positive way. We have always been fortunate to have competent and competitive pitching coaches and that will hold to form with this hire. In Trent, we are getting a young coach who has had successful experience and total autonomy in directing and developing a pitching staff for a scholarship program, significant recruiting responsibility, as well as many administrative duties within a baseball program and athletic department. He’s really packed a lot of good experience into his three prior years as an assistant.”
Abernathy began his collegiate coaching career in 2021 as a graduate assistant for his alma mater, Concord. He assumed full-time assistant coach responsibilities in June of 2023, developing pitchers and outfielders. Abernathy, who also worked as a recruiting coordinator for the Mountain Lions, helped guide the 2023 Concord Baseball team to a 29-21 overall record with a 23-7 league record in the Mountain East Conference (MEC). That team also finished third in the MEC Tournament. He developed five players to All-MEC status including the MEC Pitcher of the Year, Andrew Neff.
“In the interview process, Trent showed a great working knowledge of the importance of having a pitching staff that throws a ton of strikes,” Coach Johnson continued. “You can tell he knows that’s the bedrock of winning and how to stress and teach that. The prior pitching staff he’s led did and I’m looking forward to him continuing that here. I think he has a high ceiling as a coach and I’m excited for him to have the multitude of opportunities to learn and grow against the competitive backdrop that is the CCIW. He has already hit the ground running.”
In his time as a pitcher at Concord, Abernathy appeared on the MEC’s All-Conference ballot twice (2018, 2021) and was a Second Team All-Region pick by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) in 2021. In his collegiate career, he collected 14 wins and a save, tossing seven complete games across 209 innings pitched. He struck out 223 hitters against just 85 walks. Abernathy’s 223 career strikeouts are good for fourth in Concord Baseball history and his 209 IP rank eighth.
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to join Coach Johnson and the North Park Baseball Team,” said Abernathy. “I’m looking forward to working with this group of hard working and talented guys that are in the program. They’re coming off a great season and I’m excited to help them continue to develop, build off last year, and take the next step both in baseball and in their lives.”
