Linfield’s Carnahan to Step-Down After Season

During his 23-year tenure as Wildcats baseball coach, Carnahan's teams won 11 NWC championships and finished as runner-up on six other occasions.

Scott Carnahan Photo courtesy: Linfield College

MCMINNVILLE - Scott Carnahan has announced that the 2007 season will be his last as Linfield College head baseball coach.

Carnahan, who will remain as Linfield’s director of athletics, plans to step down next May from the coaching position he has held since 1984. He cited the growing and ever-demanding workload of athletic administration as the principal reason for his resignation.

Carnahan is in his 11th year as director of athletics at Linfield. Under his leadership, Linfield has been awarded the McIlroy-Lewis All-Sports Trophy three of the past five years, honoring the top overall athletics program in the Northwest Conference. He has overseen upgrades to the tennis, softball, baseball, and soccer venues.

Most recently, he directed a $1.4 million fund-raising campaign in 2004 that funded the complete renovation of the running track, added FieldTurf and lights to the football field. The project also included installation of a new scoreboard and video display, and the reconstruction of the stadium pressbox.

During his 23-year tenure as Wildcats baseball coach, Carnahan's teams won 11 NWC championships and finished as runner-up on six other occasions. His teams won five straight NWC crowns between 1992 and 1996. He was named NWC Coach of the Year 11 times and NAIA District 2 Coach of the Year three times. Carnahan's record at Linfield is 540-361-2, including a remarkable 342-120 (.746) record in Northwest Conference play.

In addition to his time at Linfield, Carnahan coached at Lower Columbia College from 1978-83, compiling a 166-70-1 record that included four conference championships and one community college association tournament title.

In all, he has coached more than 1,100 games during his 29 years as a college head coach. His overall career record stands at 705-431-2.

His most successful former player is Scott Brosius, currently a Linfield assistant coach. Brosius played 11 seasons of professional baseball and was a member of three World Series championship teams with the New York Yankees. Brosius was named World Series Most Valuable Player in 1998.

Carnahan graduated from Linfield in 1973 and was an all-conference catcher under former Wildcats coach Ad Rutschman.

A possible replacement has not been considered and no timetable for hiring a baseball coach has been established.

In keeping with college policy, the job will be offered internally to current college employees first before opened up to all comers.

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