Chris Prothro was chosen as Eastern Kentucky University’s baseball head coach on Sept. 30, 2020. On March 25, 2024 Prothro announced that he was taking an immediate medical leave of absence. Assistant coach Walt Jones is served as acting head coach in Prothro’s absence.
It didn’t take long for Prothro to turn the Colonels into champions. In 2022, EKU went 38-20 overall and claimed a share of the ASUN Conference West Division Championship with a 20-10 league mark. The 38 wins were the most in a season since the 1990 squad won 42. It was the program’s first conference title since 2012. The Colonels were picked to finish eighth in the ASUN Preseason Poll, but tied for the best overall conference record in the league.
EKU followed the championship campaign with 29 more wins in 2023, making it the winningest two-year period for the program since 1989 and 1990.
Two players earned considerable national attention during the 2022 season. Kendal Ewell was a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, given each year to the top amateur baseball player in the country. He also earned multiple national player of the week honors. Will Brian was chosen as an All-American by three organizations, was also a finalist for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award and was picked in the 10th round of the MLB Draft by the New York Yankees. Brian was ranked by D1Baseball.com as the No. 6 reliever in the nation and Ewell was rated as the 34th-best outfielder.
Ewell and Brian joined catcher Will King on the 2022 ASUN All-Conference Team. King also earned a spot on the ASUN All-Tournament team after leading the Colonels to the semifinals.
Accolades poured in after the 2023 season for the Colonels as well. Shortstop Logan Thomason, who helped the team finish fourth in the nation in double plays turned, was selected as the ASUN Defensive Player of the Year. He and King earned all-conference recognition. Chase Alderman was chosen to the ASUN All-Freshman Team. King was on the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award watch list for the second straight season and was chosen to the ABCA Rawlings Midwest All-Region Team.
The pipeline to the pros continued as well. King was picked by the Atlanta Braves in the 2023 MLB Draft. In addition, incoming freshman left-handed pitcher Bradley Stewart, who signed with EKU in the spring, was drafted in the 17th round by the Detroit Tigers.
The drafting of an incoming player speaks to the success Prothro and his staff have fostered on the recruiting trail. EKU’s 2023 recruiting class was recognized by Collegiate Baseball News and ranked higher than such programs as South Florida, Wake Forest, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas State, Middle Tennessee, Washington, South Alabama and Georgia Southern among others.
EKU won 17 more games in 2022 than the season before. Brian broke EKU’s single season individual saves record. As a team, the Colonels set a new record for fielding percentage (97.5 percent) and total saves (19). The 2023 Colonels set a new program record for walks drawn in a season, surpassing a mark that had stood for 42 years.
“Words can’t even express how excited I am to lead the EKU baseball program," Prothro said. "The pieces are in place for a championship level of success. We have amazing facilities, a first class student-athlete experience and outstanding leadership.”
The success in 2022 had EKU mentioned among the nation’s best to start the 2023 season. The Colonels were ranked 46th in Collegiate Baseball’s Fabulous 50 Division I Pre-Season Poll. It is the first time the program has received a pre-season ranking from the publication. EKU was the highest ranked ASUN team and was ranked higher than such programs as South Carolina (47), Alabama (49) and BYU (50). Others who did not crack the preseason top-50 include Washington, Arizona State, Notre Dame, Southern California, Coastal Carolina, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana.
In his first season, Prothro led the Colonels to victories over No. 15 Georgia Tech and No. 7 Louisville in 2021. EKU also got the tying run to second base in the ninth inning at No. 2 Vanderbilt before falling by two. Four players earned postseason honors, the pitching staff led the league in strikeouts and defensively the team set what was then a new program record with a .972 fielding percentage.
Prior to taking the head coaching position at EKU, Prothro helped the University of South Alabama capture two conference championships, make two NCAA Regional appearances and compile a 152-104 record in five seasons as an assistant coach.
“Coach Prothro has done more than build a successful baseball team; he’s built a program,” Vice President and Director of Athletics Matt Roan said. “In fairly short order, Pro has won a division championship and the most games in a year since 1990, as well as stake claim to the three highest cumulative semester grade point averages on record. He is committed to winning the right way, prioritizes the total student-athlete experience, and he’s a competitor.”
As the recruiting coordinator at South Alabama, Prothro led the efforts that resulted in the 2018 recruiting class being ranked 25th in the nation. The 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020 classes also garnered recognition by national collegiate baseball publications.
Prothro joined the Jaguars staff in July of 2015. As the program’s hitting instructor, USA ranked first or second in every major statistical category in the Sun Belt Conference in 2017 as well as placing among the national leaders in runs scored per game, walks and home runs. He instructed two first team All-Sun Belt selections in three consecutive seasons, 2016-18. Prothro coached five players who were drafted over a three-year span, including the No. 10 overall pick in 2018.
With Prothro on the staff, South Alabama captured the 2016 Sun Belt Conference regular season title and the 2017 Sun Belt Tournament Championship. The Jaguars won two games in the Tallahassee Regional in 2016 before falling to top-seeded Florida State. USA beat No. 2 seed Mississippi State in the first round of the Hattiesburg Regional in 2017 and finished that season ranked 26th nationally.
From the summer of 2007 to 2015, Prothro served in a variety of roles at Nicholls State University. He was the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator from 2011 to 2015. He spent six seasons as the pitching coach and two seasons as the hitting coach. In his final two seasons, he helped NSU win 66 games overall and 66 percent of its conference games. The 2014 and 2015 Nicholls recruiting classes were recognized nationally.
During his tenure as pitching coach, eight pitchers were drafted or signed by MLB organizations. He tutored the 2014 and 2015 Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year and the 2015 Southland Conference Reliever of the Year.
Prothro was an assistant at North Iowa Community College during the 2006 season. He also was an assistant coach in the Northwoods Summer Collegiate League in 2006 and 2007, coaching 13 future MLB draft picks.
Prothro earned a bachelor’s of arts degree in history in 2005 at Arkansas State University, where he played for two seasons. He began his collegiate playing career at Northwestern State University. Prothro and his wife Candace have two children, Grayson and Rhyan.
