Making Practice Competitive to Compete in the Big Game

The Coach

NHSBCA

National High School Baseball Coaches Association

Follow

Craig Rainey is set to enter his 30th season at the helm of the Adrian College baseball team in 2023. Under Rainey's leadership, the Bulldogs' baseball program has risen to national prominence and has become a perennial contender in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). In the summer of 2022, Rainey was promoted to Athletic Director while still serving as the head baseball coach.

In 2021, Adrian captured its twelfth consecutive MIAA regular-season crown in route to the eighth tournament title in program history. The team posted a 37-10 overall record, tying the mark for the most wins in a single season which was previously set in 2012 and matched in 2019. The Bulldogs carried that momentum straight into the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament where they captured the program's second ticket to the NCAA Division III World Series, both under Rainey's tenure.

On the year, Adrian made an appearance in the D3baseball.com top 25 every week except one, finishing the year with the number five ranking.

For his efforts, Rainey was awarded the American Baseball Coaches Association's (ABCA) Division III Regional Coach of the Year award, the second such honor of his career (2008). Additionally, he would secure his 700th-career coaching victory on March 12, 2021 with a 4-0 defeat of then-third ranked North Central College (Ill.).

Notable Accomplishments

• Rainey has guided the program to 13 consecutive 30-win seasons, including an all-time 37 wins in 2012, 2019 and 2021. Additionally, the team has secured 17 straight winning-seasons under Rainey's tenure.
• All 14 NCAA Tournament appearances in program history have come under Rainey's leadership.
• The Bulldogs became the first MIAA team to reach the NCAA World Series in 2008, finishing fourth in the nation behind a 36-13 overall record.

• In 2009, Adrian set an MIAA record by winning the league with a 25-3 record. The team went on to host the NCAA Midweast Regional at Nicolat Field for the first time in program history.
• Rainey's current assistant and third base coach Aaron Klotz was first Bulldog to earn MIAA Player of the Year honors in 1997.
• The Bulldogs produced seven-straight conference players of the year between 2008 and 2014: Bobby Rickstad, DH/UT (2008); Todd Meyers and Alex Cowart, OF (2009); Alex Cowart, OF (2010); Brian Bilius, 3B (2011); Kyle Strawn, OF (2012); Dan Heatherly, DH/UT (2013); Ryan Dorow, SS (2014), and three consecutive MIAA Pitchers of the Year on two seperate occassions: 2009-11 with Ryan Domschot, Josh Lancaster and David Partyka; and 2014-18 with Holden Branch, Eric Schmidt and Tommy Parsons (3x).
• Adrian was named the 2016 NCAA D-III statistical champion with a .438 on-base percentage, a school record.
• Ryan Dorow was the 2014 D3baseball.com National Rookie of the Year.
• Todd Meyers earned the ABCA National Gold Glove Award at shortstop in 2009.
• Gunner Rainey earned the ABCA National Gold Glove Award at catcher in 2021.
• Alex Cowart (2009-10), Dorow (2014, '16-17) and Tommy Parsons (2017-18) are the only Bulldogs chosen All-American in multiple years.
• Ryan Domschot (D3Baseball.com, 2009), Cowart (ABCA, 2009), Ian Mikowski (D3Baseball.com, 2017) and Parsons (ABCA, 2018) are the only first-team All-Americans in team history.
• Dorow was a Major League Baseball draft pick (Texas Rangers, 30th Round) in 2017, while Parsons was an Appalachian League All-Star at Johnson City (St. Louis Cardinals) as undrafted free agent in 2018.
• Mo Hanley was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2021 MLB draft.

Prior to being hired as the Bulldogs' head coach, Rainey served as the assistant baseball coach under former athletic director and Bulldog Hall of Fame member Henry Mensing. During the 1993 season, Rainey helped lead Adrian to its first MIAA baseball regular-season crown. As a player for the Bulldogs, Rainey started for three years at catcher, winning a MIAA batting title behind a .467 batting average.

Rainey is an Adrian College graduate. He then went on to receive a master's degree in sports administration from the United States Sports Academy.

He currently resides in Adrian with his two children, Gunner and Kia.