Former UMBC All-Conference pitcher Michael Austin returned to his alma mater as the recruiting coordinator and pitching coach in September 2026.
A Baltimore, MD native and a six-year professional baseball player, Michael Austin comes back to UMBC after spending the previous three seasons as Frostburg State's pitching coach.
In his first year as the Bobcats’ pitching coach in 2024, Austin helped lead Frostburg to historic levels in their Division II era, helping the team to their best-ever NCAA DII ranking in ERA, walks to strikeout ratio, strikeouts per nine innings, and WHIP, all which were top-20 in the nation. The squad was built around outstanding pitching, finishing 12th in ERA with a team-average of 4.15. Austin led RHP Patrick Bauer to All-Region honors, where Bauer led the team with an ERA of 2.65, a team-high 54 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.09. In his first season, FSU reached their first ever NCAA DII Tournament, appearing as the No. 7 seed in the Atlantic Region.
Overall, in his three years with the Bobcats, he helped the team be ranked as high as #4 in Atlantic Region and received national Top-25 votes. The program also achieved three straight 36+ win seasons. National pitching rankings: ERA: 4.13 (12th, 2024); 3.87 (8th, 2025); 4.56 (24th, 2026). WHIP: 1.43 (29th, 2024); 1.42 (23rd/25th, 2025–26). K/9: 9.1 (17th, 2024); 9.3 (13th, 2025). K/BB: 2.37 (17th, 2024).
He also Developed four MEC All-Conference pitchers in 2025, including the Pitcher of the Year., and then five MEC All-Conference pitchers in 2026.
Austin started his college career at Bethune Cookman University, where he won a 2014 MEAC Title and pitched in his first NCAA regional. In 2016, he transferred to UMBC where he earned All-Conference honors and led the team to their first-ever America East Championship and and third ever NCAA Tournament berth. After college, Austin was signed by the Kansas City Royals and started his professional career where he logged over 300 strikeouts, threw a no-hitter in 2021, and won the Frontier League Championship in 2022.
Austin has a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from UMBC.
