Chris Finwood wrapped up his fourth year as head baseball coach at Western Kentucky University by leading the Hilltoppers to one of their most successful seasons in school history and earning Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year honors in the process. A 21-year veteran in the college coaching profession, he was named head baseball coach at Western Kentucky University on May 17, 2005.
In just four seasons, the Hilltoppers have witnessed unprecedented improvement under Finwood. Magical postseason runs the last two seasons, both in the Sun Belt and NCAA Tournaments, have been highlights of the Finwood era thus far. In 2009, en route to notching the program's first 40-win season in 21 years and fifth overall, Finwood's club earned a share of WKU's first-ever Sun Belt Conference Regular Season Championship. WKU also achieved new firsts with a return trip to the NCAA Tournament as well as the program's first at-large invitation.
The 2009 team finished with a 42-20 record and a 21-8 mark in the Sun Belt Conference, earning a conference championship along the way, the first in Finwood’s WKU tenure. The Hilltoppers were an impressive 27-3 at home, setting a new WKU record for home winning percentage in a season.
Finwood-coached squads pride themselves on defense and his 2009 team was no exception, finishing third in the nation in fielding percentage (.979). WKU’s fielding percentage was nine percentage-points higher than the next-closest conference foe, and the Hilltoppers made 17 fewer errors than second-place Troy.
The nine-game turnaround from 2008 to 2009 is tied for the fifth-best improvement from one year to the next in the 90-year history of Hilltopper baseball. In Finwood four years at the helm of the Hilltoppers so far, the team has improved its record 15 games.
The 42-20 season in 2009 comes on the heels of a 2008 campaign in which Finwood led the Hilltoppers to a 33-27 record, their first winning season since 2004, and a Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship and trip to the NCAA Regionals.
After winning just five Sun Belt Conference games in 2006, the Hilltoppers finished 15-15 in the league in 2007. The 10-win turnaround marked the biggest one-year improvement in the history of the conference. The Hilltoppers have also qualified for the eight-team Sun Belt Conference Tournament all four seasons under Finwood.
“I am excited and honored to be the head baseball coach here at WKU, and look forward to continuing our climb to the top of the Sun Belt Conference,” said Finwood. “I want to thank (WKU President) Dr. (Gary) Ransdell and (Athletic Director) Dr. Wood Selig for the support they continue to show our program and our family, and we are looking forward to being here in Bowling Green and at WKU for a long time.”
Throughout his career, Finwood has coached more than 55 players who have gone on to sign professional contracts, which includes three Major Leaguers. A school record six Hilltoppers were drafted in June 2009, with five coming in the first 25 rounds. Wade Gaynor became the highest-drafted Hilltopper in program history, when he was taken in the third round by the Detroit Tigers.
Finwood came to the Hill from Auburn, where he served as an assistant coach for five seasons and helped lead the Tigers to three NCAA Regionals in his first four seasons. During his time at Auburn, Finwood was responsible for all aspects of the Tiger defense, while also coordinating the program’s recruiting efforts. In his five seasons, Auburn posted five winning campaigns and combined for 181 victories. The Tigers made the NCAA Tournament field in each of his first three seasons, earning a top-seed and hosting a regional in 2003 after a 42-21 season and second-place finish with the West Division of the Southeastern Conference. Auburn again advanced to the regionals in 2005, falling in the finals to host Florida State.
In his five seasons, he oversaw a defense that posted the two best fielding percentages in school history, finishing at .970 in 2002 and .968 in 2003. The 2002 fielding percentage also ranked second in the SEC and 12th nationally.
Prior to joining the staff at Auburn, the Hampton, Va., native spent six seasons at Virginia Commonwealth — four seasons as an assistant (1995-98) before serving as the Rams’ associate head coach in 1999 and 2000. Finwood helped guide VCU to a 219-139 record in six years in Richmond. In his six seasons, VCU claimed Colonial Athletic Association regular-season titles in 1997 and ‘98. The Rams also earned trips to the NCAA Tournament in 1998 and ‘99, winning 40-plus games each season including a school-record 46 victories during the ‘98 campaign.
Finwood began his coaching career at his alma mater — Virginia Military Institute — serving as an assistant for three seasons before taking over the head coaching duties from 1992-94. After inheriting a VMI team that had won just two games the year before, Finwood led the Keydets to a school-record 21 wins in ‘93 and ‘94 and a berth in the 1993 Southern Conference Tournament championship game.
A four-year starter on the field at VMI from 1985-88, Finwood was named to the Southern Conference all-Northern Division team three times. A career .300 hitter, he posted a .399 batting average as a senior — the sixth-best average in school history. He was also named team captain during his senior season and finished his career with the Keydets ranked second in hits and runs scored. Finwood was inducted into the VMI Athletics Hall of Fame in the summer of 2003.
Finwood and his wife Annette have two children — a daughter, Riley, and son, Greyson.
THE FINWOOD FILE
Born: Jan. 20, 1966 in Plattsburgh, N.Y.
High School: Hampton (Va.) High School
High School Athletics: Varsity Baseball (3 years), Varsity Basketball (3 years)
College: Virginia Military Institute, 1988 (BA, English)
College Athletics: Baseball (1985-88), shortstop, four letters
Coaching Experience:
Virginia Military Institute, Assistant Coach, 1989-90; 1991
Radford, Assistant Coach, Fall 1990
Virginia Military Institute, Head Coach, 1992-94
Virginia Commonwealth, Assistant Coach, 1995-98
Virginia Commonwealth, Associate Head Coach, 1999-2000
Auburn, Assistant Coach, 2001-05
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