The 2021 season will mark Aaron Rushing’s 16th season as Carleton’s head baseball coach. He is the winningest coach in program history, having amassed 190 victories so far.
During Rushing’s tenure, the Knights boast 23 All-MIAC awards, 16 All-Region awards, 9 Academic All-District or Academic All-America awards, a Fulbright Scholar, and an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar.
Carleton baseball began in 1882, and in the 120 years prior to Rushing’s arrival on campus, the team totaled 10-plus triumphs only 14 times, a feat accomplished in 12 of the last 13 campaigns under Rushing’s direction. He has guided the Knights to five of the top seven win totals in program history.
Formerly an assistant baseball and football coach at his alma mater, Grinnell College (Iowa), Rushing brings a wide variety of experiences to Carleton’s baseball program. In his only year as head coach at Minot State University, he inherited a team that had only six wins the previous season. Under Rushing’s direction, that squad won the conference tournament and qualified for the regional tournament for the first time since the Minot State program was resurrected in 1988.
He also served as pitching and catching coach for two summers with the Lehigh Valley (Pa.) Catz, a summer collegiate team in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League. Rushing’s pitching staff set a Catz record with a 2.23 ERA, helping them to the 2003 ACBL regular season and tournament championships. Ten pitchers and two catchers from those teams went on to play professionally.
A 2001 graduate of Grinnell with a degree in economics, Rushing was a pitcher and catcher for the Pioneers and captained the two winningest teams in school history. Following his collegiate career, Rushing played baseball for a season in France, pitching and playing infield for the Toulouse Tigers. He earned his master’s degree in management from Minot State in 2004.
Rushing, an associate professor in the physical education, athletics, and recreation department at Carleton, and his wife, Naomi, live in Northfield with their daughter, Bella, and son, Tori. He also serves as Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Carleton.
