Matt Miles enters the 2020 season, his thirteenth year as head coach of the Oregon Tech baseball team, as the winningest baseball coach in the school’s 58 year history of participation in the sport. Last season’s team lead the region in batting average and hits but struggled to finish games out. The 2019 pitching staff did set records for striking out 7.3 opponents per game while walking school lowest at 3.1 per game. During his tenure, the Owls’ baseball program won its first ever Cascade Conference Championship (2009) and recorded the school’s highest finish in the Regional Playoffs with a second place finish in 2010. Ryson Mauricio was awarded the honors of All American in 2010, the first Owls baseball player inducted since Mark Kane in 1982.
Miles’ 2009 team set school records with 33 total wins and 24 conference wins. His squads won back to back Southern Division titles in 2009 and 2010, those clubs set school marks in most offensive categories including base hits, runs scored, homeruns, RBI and stolen bases. His 2013 club added school records in doubles and tied the 2010 mark for base hits. The 2018 squad broke the triples record and saves record while setting the strikeouts per game record on the mound. The 2017 squad had the best fielding percentage in school history, the best eight school’s defensive seasons are every season from 2012 thru 2019.
Overall, his teams have set 21 team records since 2008 during that same time his players’ have put their names on top of 20 different single season record categories. Twenty seven of his players have been awarded All-Conference / West Region selections with an additional eighteen being recognized as the Gold Glove selection at their position.
This season the Owls will return only 3 starters in the lineup including All-Region second baseman, Micah Jio, who lead the region in batting average, base hits, and total bases. The roster will be filled with 18 new recruits to surround the returners.
Miles has had the privilege of coaching 77 Academic All-Conference student athletes including 28 NAIA National Academic Honorees which included 7 more last season. His 2017 team had the 7th best GPA (3.31) in the nation of the 188 colleges competing in baseball at the NAIA level, moving up a spot from the 2016 squad being the 8th best team in the nation. The 2018 COSIDA Academic All American second team inductee was Doug Molzahn who was the first Oregon Tech athlete of any sport to receive the award.
Miles was raised in Klamath Falls and graduated from Klamath Union high school where he played football and baseball. He was named MVP, Most Inspirational and team captain of both sports during his senior year. As a three year starter on the football team, he earned 1st team All-Conference awards at both wide receiver and defensive back in football in both his junior and senior years. At the time, setting Klamath Union seasonal records for receptions and receiving touchdowns. Following his senior season he was selected to play in the North-South Oregon Shrine game where he was a starting cornerback on the South All-Stars.
As a 4 year letter winner in baseball, he was able to continue on to the post-season each season including two South Oregon Conference championships. As a senior he set a Klamath Union High School record for stolen bases with 25 and earned 1st team All-State Accolades in 1988. He was a member of the 1987 Klamath Falls Falcon American legion state championship team.
Miles started his collegiate career as a starting outfielder for St. Mary’s College of California, a NCAA division 1 program. He later transferred to Oregon Tech where he was a two sport athlete, starting on the football team as a free safety and as a center fielder on the Owls’ baseball team. He was selected as a 1st team All-Conference outfielder for the Owls in 1991.
Matt and his wife Beverley have been married 31 years and are proud parents of Braxton (27), Maddy (24), and Bryce (21).
“I am extremely proud in the culture of the Oregon Tech baseball program filled with true students athletes with the worth ethic, effort, respect, leadership and high character required to build success for the team, school and community,” - Matt Miles
