A former standout on the Concord mound and former MLB draft pick, Drew Bailey begins his second season in the dugout in 2026.
Bailey comes to Concord after spending four seasons as the head coach at nearby Bluefield State University.
In his first season at Concord, Bailey coached seven All-Mountain East Conference performers along with two all-region selections, MJ Hunter and Kaden Swaim. Hunter, Swaim and Matt DiSanti were voted to the All-MEC First Team under Bailey's tutelage.
Although Bailey's background comes in pitching, the first-year CU head coach led the Mountain Lions to the top hitting team in the MEC in 2025, batting .319. Concord posted a 25-27 record in Bailey's first year in Athens, and qualified for the MEC Tournament.
In four seasons at Bluefield State, Bailey compiled a record of 95-79, highlighted by the most successful season in program history as BSU went 33-15 this spring and won its second HBCU World Series last week in Montgomery, Alabama—the second such title in the last four seasons. Under Bailey's guidance, Bluefield State steadily improved from 15 wins in his first season to the program-record 33 wins.
While Bluefield State was Bailey's most recent head coaching stop, the Christiansburg, Virginia native brings nine years of coaching experience to Athens. From 2014-17, Bailey was an assistant coach at Bluefield University where he helped the Rams to a 32-21 record in his final season. The first head coaching opportunity Bailey received was for the 2018 season at Division III Averrett University in Danville, Virginia.
Beginning in 2018, Bailey was the head softball coach at Bluefield University. After his stint as the head softball coach in Bluefield, Virginia, Bailey was a volunteer assistant coach for Concord during the fall of 2020 before being hired away by Bluefield State in January 2021.
On Bailey's watch, the Big Blues set program records for pitcher strikeouts and stolen bases in 2023. He also coached BSU's first two all-region players in program history (Tahir Meulens and Jordan Varela-Payne) last spring.
As a player for Concord from 2008-10, Bailey was named All-WVIAC Second Team twice and was the program leader in saves until the 2022 season. Additionally, Bailey was inducted into the Concord Hall of Fame in 2017. He helped the Mountain Lions to a national ranking in 2008, and capped his career by being drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 35th round of the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft.
Bailey spent parts of two seasons in the Athletics' farm system, making it to low-A ball in 2011. With the Vermont Lake Monsters, he posted a 5-0 record with a 2.34 ERA in 42.1 innings in 2011. From 2012-13, the newest CU head coach pitched in two different independent leagues, the American Association and Frontier League.
Bailey and his wife, Emma, also a Concord alum, have four children.
