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Head Coach Jack Leggett on Bunn: "Kyle is our first-year pitching coach. He brings a lot of enthusiasm to our team. He is an extremely hard worker and is very organized. He has a positive approach to the pitchers, but yet he has a hard enough edge for them to be in that competitive mode all the time. We are excited about having him after coming from Mississippi and its fine program. I think he is going to do a great job with our pitchers."
Kyle Bunn is in his first season on the Clemson coaching staff. Bunn replaced Kevin O'Sullivan, who became head coach at Florida in June of 2007, as Clemson's pitching coach.
A former pitcher at The Citadel, Bunn completed his first season as a full-time assistant at Mississippi in 2007 after serving five seasons as the Rebels' volunteer coach. In his six years working with the pitchers, Mississippi had 16 hurlers drafted by Major League teams, eight of which had not been drafted previously.
From 2004-07, all four Rebel teams hosted an NCAA Regional, including an SEC Western Division title in 2005. The 2003 team played in the Houston (TX) Regional at Rice. The 2003 pitching staff had five freshmen who all pitched at least 50 innings, while the team led the SEC with a 3.45 ERA. The 2002 team had three pitchers drafted as well.
During the 2006 season, Bunn saw one of his biggest challenges as a pitching coach, as the Rebels replaced the entire starting rotation from the 2005 season. Mississippi lost four pitchers and a pair of two-way players who both earned All-America honors on the way to leading the Rebels to within one out of an appearance in the College World Series.
The 2007 season saw the Rebels emerge as one of the top pitching staffs in the SEC under Bunn's tutelage. Mississippi had a 3.58 ERA overall (second-best in the SEC and 17th-best in the nation), but its 3.37 ERA during the regular season was best in the SEC and ninth-best in the nation. Mississippi's 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings pitched was also the ninth-best mark in the country in 2007.
Lance Lynn and Will Kline claimed the top-two spots on the school's single-season strikeout list with 146 and 134, respectively. The Rebels saw three pitchers claim All-SEC honors, as Lynn and sophomore Cody Satterwhite were named Second-Team All-SEC, and Nathan Baker was named to the All-Freshman team. Baker was also named a freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball, one of three freshman All-Americans Bunn coached at Mississippi. Lynn and Satterwhite were also selected to represent the United States as part of USA Baseball's National team in the summer of 2007. They were two of three Rebel hurlers Bunn sent to USA Baseball.
Three Mississippi hurlers heard their names called in the 2007 draft, as Kline (second round, Devil Rays), Craig Rodriguez (28th round, Rockies), and Scott Bittle (48th round, Yankees) were all selected in June.
Prior to Mississippi, Bunn spent the 2001 season as an assistant coach at Jefferson Davis Community College in Brewton, AL, where he worked as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. Bunn also helped coach Jefferson Davis Community College to the NJCAA Division II Region 22 Southern Division Championship.
A 1999 graduate of The Citadel with a bachelor of science degree in business administration and minor in law & legal processes, the 31-year-old was a three-year letterwinner for the Bulldogs, earning the team's Ace Pitching Award in 1999. He helped The Citadel to back-to-back Southern Conference titles in both 1998 and 1999, and he was a Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll member. Bunn started for the Bulldogs in the 1999 Southern Conference Tourney Championship game against Western Carolina, as he struck out 11 batters in a complete-game victory.
Bunn is no stranger to Clemson and Doug Kingsmore Stadium. On March 25, 1998, he made a relief appearance against the Tigers. Then two years later to the day in 2000, he pitched 4.0 innings in a starting role against the Tigers at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. His 1998 team played in the NCAA East Regional at Clemson, while his 1999 squad played in the NCAA Tallahassee (FL) Regional.
Bunn was a cadet captain and regimental liaison for baseball to the South Carolina Corps of Cadets. He was also a recipient of the Joseph T. Isaac, Jr. Memorial Scholarship during his time at The Citadel.
Bunn, who is single, was born Kyle Stone Bunn on November 8, 1976 in Georgetown, SC. He is a distant relative of former Tiger slugger Michael Johnson (2000-03), who also hails from Georgetown, SC, and played for Johnson's father (Mike) at Georgetown High School.
Full Name: Kyle Stone Bunn
Born: November 8, 1976 in Georgetown, SC
Education: Bachelor of science in business administration at The Citadel (1999)
Playing Experience: Three-year letterman at The Citadel (1998-00)
Coaching Experience: Assistant coach at Jefferson Davis Community College (2001); volunteer assistant coach at Mississippi (2002-06); assistant coach at Mississippi (2007)
Family: Single
