Northeast Ohio Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2023 Honored at Canal Park

Photo by Al Kornspan

Akron – The Northeast Ohio Baseball Coaches Association honored their 2023 Hall of Fame induction class at Canal Park on Wednesday.

Northeast Ohio Baseball Coaches inducted into the 2023 NEOBCA Hall of Fame included, David Burkett (Tuslaw), Richard Coppola (Austintown Fitch), Brad Ganor (St. Ignatius), Jerry Hites (Fairport Harding), Richard Murray (Poland Seminary), Steve Norris (Willoughby South), Josh Sorge (Strongsville), and Jon Wallace (Green).

Burkett, a recent inductee into the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame has coached at Tuslaw since 2010. Throughout his career Burkett has amassed 389 career victories. In addition, Burkett has coached 13 All-Ohioans.

Richard Coppola, a former Arizona State University basketball player, coached baseball at Austintown Fitch for 28 years. Throughout his coaching career, Coppola won 453 games. Coppola won OHSAA Regional Titles in 1977 and 1978 as he took his team to the OHSAA Division AAA State Semifinals. In 1983, Coppola’s team finished as OHSAA Division AAA Runners-Up. Coppola won a fourth OHSAA Regional Title in 1994 as he took his team to OHSAA Division I Semifinals.

Brad Ganor, currently the head baseball coach at St. Ignatius, has 394 career victories and coached the Wildcats to the 2019 OHSAA Division I State Championship.

In addition, Ganor led St. Ignatius to OHSAA Regional Titles in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015, and 2016. Also, as an assistant coach, Ganor helped lead the Wildcats to the 2002 OHSAA Division I State Championship.  

Jerry Hites coached Fairport Harding for twelve years. During his coaching tenure, Fairport Harding won at least twenty games, 11 of his 12 seasons. Hites also guided his teams to four district championships.

Richard Murray has coached Poland Seminary since 2004. Early in the 2023 baseball season Murray won his 300th game. Murray’s team were OHSAA Regional Champions in 2015 and 2016. In 2015, Poland Seminary was OHSAA Division III State Runners-Up, while in 2016 his team made the OHSAA State Championship Semifinals.

Dr. Steve Norris was the head coach of Willoughby South from 2007-2018.

During his time coaching, Dr. Norris won over 200 games and won an OHSAA Regional Title in 2011 as he took his team to the OHSAA State Championship Semifinals.

Josh Sorge, a former NCAA Division I assistant baseball coach at Ohio University, Georgia Tech, and the University of Hawaii, coached Strongsville from 2004-2013. In 2006, Surge led Strongsville to the OHSAA Division I State Championship.

Jon Wallace coached Green from 2002-2012. He then returned to coach the baseball team in 2016 and currently has won over 300 games as Green’s baseball coach.

In 2009, Wallace led Green to an OHSAA Regional Title as he took his team to the OHSAA State Championship Semifinals.

A list of coaches that have been inducted into the NEOBCA Hall of Fame since the first class was inducted in 2008 and the biographies of the Hall of Fame Coaches can be found at the following link:

https://sites.google.com/view/neobca/hall-of-fame