Ohio State hires Hamilton native as new baseball coach

Haire spent the last 17 seasons — the final 10 as the head coach — at Campbell University in in Buies Creek, N.C. He averaged more than 30 victories as a head coach and was named the Big South Conference Coach of the Year in 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023.

“I am incredibly honored and excited to be named the head baseball coach at The Ohio State University,” Haire said in a press release. “As an Ohio native, this opportunity is especially meaningful to me. We look forward to building a championship-level program at Ohio State, where the commitment to excellence in both athletics and academics is unparalleled. The passion and pride of Buckeye Nation is unmatched and we are eager to contribute to the success and growth of Ohio State baseball. My family and I would like to thank Mr. Ross Bjork and President Ted Carter for this tremendous opportunity. We look forward to attacking the challenge ahead and know that the best is yet to come!”

During Haire’s time at Campbell, the Camels won five consecutive Big South regular-season titles (2018-23) and four Big South Tournament titles (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023). They played in five NCAA Regionals and won seven NCAA tournament games.

Haire will be the 13th coach in Ohio State history.

“We are so excited to welcome Justin Haire and his family to Ohio State to lead our baseball program into a new era,” said Bjork, the Senior Advisor for Intercollegiate Athletics, in a press release. “We had a tremendous amount of interest in this position from successful coaches around the country, so it was exciting to see this search unfold. Coach Haire’s successful career as a head coach and track record of winning games in the NCAA Tournament made us stand up and take notice, and his deep Ohio roots are an added bonus. We believe Ohio State baseball can be a Big Ten contender and make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament under Justin’s leadership, and we are fired up for him to start here in Columbus. Congratulations to Justin, Lindsey, Jackson, Parker, Max and Anne Marie, and welcome to the Buckeye family.”

Prior to becoming head coach at Campbell in 2014, Haire spent seven seasons with the program in various positions: recruiting coordinator; assistant coach; and associate head coach. He earlier worked as an assistant at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark., and Sterling College in Sterling, Kan.

Haire played college baseball at Bowling Green State University and the University of Indianapolis.