MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Auburn University at Montgomery Director of Athletics Erik Maas has announced the hiring of Franklin Bush as the school's new head baseball coach.
 
Bush becomes just the third head coach in the AUM baseball program's 36-year history, building on the foundation laid by Q.V. Lowe, who won more than 1,000 games from 1987 to 2014, and Marty Lovrich, who coached the Warhawks to 235 wins from 2015 to 2023.

"We are excited to welcome Franklin Bush as the new head coach of the Warhawks baseball program," said Maas. "AUM Baseball has great tradition and Franklin fits what we were looking for as someone who can structure and develop a championship-level program on and off the field, while honoring that tradition. We are happy to bring Franklin and his family back home to Montgomery to lead this storied program."

Bush comes to the capital city after spending the past six seasons at fellow Gulf South Conference institution the University of Montevallo, most recently as Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator.
 
"Montgomery is where it all started for me," said Bush. "To come back home and serve as the head baseball coach [for Auburn University at Montgomery] is an absolute dream for me and my family. We are grateful to Chancellor Carl Stockton, Erik Maas, and the search committee for this opportunity. We look forward to working each and every day to build on the success of this baseball program and athletics department."
 
Bush, a Montgomery, Alabama native, has helped lead Montevallo to second and third-place finishes in the GSC regular season the past two seasons and a 75-31 overall record in that span, including an appearance in the NCAA South Region tournament this past season.
 
"Coach Bush's work ethic, attention to detail, and passion for his student-athletes have proven evident in his recruiting, player development, and Gulf South Conference successes, and we are excited to welcome him to the Warhawk family," Maas said.
 
Bush was heavily involved in all aspects of the program for the Falcons, including on-field coaching, academic management, community involvement initiatives, and facility maintenance. 
 
Under his tutelage, the program produced two GSC Players of the Year, a National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Player of the Year, six All-American selections, seven First Team All-GSC selections, five Second Team All-GSC selections, two College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-Americans, five CSC Academic All-District Honorees, three GSC All-Academic Team selections, and 50 Honor Roll recipients.
 
The baseball program found success both on and off the field with Bush helping lead the way, particularly in the classroom, as the program maintained a 3.0 cumulative GPA in each semester of his tenure at Montevallo. 
 
After the 2022 season that saw Montevallo sport a 36-15 record and a 19-11 mark in GSC play, Bush was selected as the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year. 
 
Bush served on a coaching staff that led the Falcons to a pair of NCAA South Region tournaments (2018 & 2023) and a pair of nationally-ranked recruiting classes. The Falcons' 2019 recruiting class was ranked fourth nationally, and the squad's 2023 recruiting class was ranked 18th nationally. The program also produced a 19th-round pick in the MLB Draft in 2019, the second-highest draft pick in program history. 
 
Bush joined the Montevallo baseball program in 2018 as a volunteer assistant coach, and worked his way up to assistant coach (2019-2021) and ultimately the associate head coach/recruiting coordinator post, which he assumed in 2021.
 
Bush has made numerous coaching stops in his distinguished young career, which began at Blackburn College as a baseball student-athlete and an assistant to the Director of Athletics. From there, Bush served a one-year Olympic Sports Recruiting internship in the Auburn University athletic department before moving to the Midwest to serve as the associate head baseball coach at Central Springs High School in Manly, Iowa.
 
Bush then returned to his alma mater to serve as the Assistant Baseball Coach at Blackburn College before taking a Volunteer Assistant Coach position on the baseball staff at the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York before being hired at the University of Montevallo.
 
He also has held three different summer ball coaching positions in his career. Bush began as an assistant coach for the Wellsville Nitros in the New York Collegiate Baseball League in 2016 before taking the head coach position for the Newark Pilots of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League in 2017. Bush then served as head coach of the Madisonville Miners of the Ohio Valley League in Madisonville, Kentucky.
 
Bush holds a master's degree in Adult Education from Auburn University and a bachelor's degree in Sports Management from Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois.
   
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