Coaches

Paul Hesse

Head Coach

Paul Hesse enters his 12th season at the helm of the Raider baseball program. Since taking over in 1997, Hesse has posted a career record of 212-202-3 (.512), placing him second in wins, games coached (417) and winning percentage behind only long-time Raider head coach Jack Rafeld. Hesse reached his 200th victory on March 25, 2007 against John Carroll. 

During Hesse’s tenure, seven school records have been either tied or broken. In 1999, the Raiders set season records in team batting average (.357), hits (503) and runs (384). They also set a school record for fielding percentage (.963). In 2000, more team records were set, including home runs (33) and stolen bases (86). The school mark of 23 wins, set in 1991, was tied in 2000 and again in Mount Union’s 2006 run to the OAC Tournament.

Since the OAC went to the current four-team playoff format in 1985, the Raiders have made nine appearances. As head coach, Hesse has led the Raiders to appearances in 1997-99, 2002 and 2006 with championship game appearances in 1999 and 2002. During the Raiders’ three-year tournament run from 1993-95, Hesse served as an assistant coach under Bill Ek.

Hesse began his coaching career during the summer of 1971 with the Suffield Warriors in the Portage County League. He continued his coaching career at various levels  throughout the Akron, Canton and Alliance areas until the summer of 1996 when he took over the Raiders. He was active at his alma mater, Field High School, where he worked as an assistant from 1972-78 and head coach from 1981-83.

In addition to coaching, Hesse is involved with many organizations in the collegiate ranks. He currently represents the Mid-East Region on the American Baseball Coaches Association Division III All-American & the Coach of the Year Committee (2001-08).  He has served as the national chair since 2002.  Hesse has also served as a high school basketball official for 21 years with the Ohio High School Basketball Officials Association.

In the summer of 2007, Hesse was inducted into the Greater Akron Baseball Hall of Fame in recognition for his 38 of coaching and contributions to the high school summer league and collegiate programs.

Hesse graduated from Kent State University in 1982 with a degree in education and then received his master’s degree from Kent four years later in sport administration with a collegiate focus. In addition to coaching baseball, Hesse serves as Mount Union’s assistant to the athletic director as well as a class lecturer. He is a native of Suffield, Ohio and currently resides in Alliance.

Phone: (330) 823-4878
E-mail: hessepr@muc.edu

Eric Bunnell

Assistant Coach

Eric Bunnell enters his fourth season as an assistant for the Raiders where he works with both the infielders and outfielders, while handling all aspects of team defense. Bunnell is the baseball recruiting coordinator and also serves as the Raiders’ first base coach.  Last season, the Raiders posted a .953 fielding percentage, their highest under Bunnell and the team’s highest since 1999 when they posted a .963 mark, ranking them among the nations best.

In addition to coaching with the Purple Raiders, Bunnell will spend his third straight summer with the Stark County Terriers in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League. This summer, he will be taking over managing responsibilities of the Terriers after spending the previous two summers as an assistant.

As a player at Mount Union College, Eric earned three letters as an outfielder for the Purple Raiders from 2001-03, serving as a team captain in 2002. During that time, Bunnell earned All-Tournament honors in 2002 when the Raiders earned a second-place finish. He earned All-OAC honors the following season after hitting .344 with 23 runs scored and committing only one error in the field. For his career, Bunnell hit .293 with four home runs and 50 runs batted in with 71 runs scored and a .372 on-base percentage, while committing only three errors in three years.   

Bunnell graduated from Mount Union in 2003 with a degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing. He is a native of Conneaut, Ohio and currently resides in Alliance.

Phone: (330) 829-6650
E-mail: bunneles@muc.edu

Joe Gilhousen

Assistant Coach

Joe Gilhousen enters his third season as the Raiders’ hitting coach after spending three decades at the high school level. In just his first season alone, the Raiders improved their team batting average 28 points, jumping from .286 to .308, good for fifth in the conference  From 1996-2006, Joe spent the summers as manager of the Stark County Terriers in the Great Lakes Collegiate Baseball League.

Gilhousen compiled a 575-305 record in 33 years as head coach at Oakwood and GlenOak High Schools. His 575 wins ranked him seventh all-time among Ohio high school baseball coaches at the time of his retirement in 2005. During his tenure, his teams won 17 Federal League championships, 21 Sectional championships, 10 District championships and back-to-back State Championships in 1995 and 1996. He is a seven-time Federal League and Stark County Coaches Association Coach of the Year. He was also named Ohio High School Division I Coach of the Year in 1995. In 1993, Gilhousen was inducted into the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Stark County Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame and was recently inducted into the Greater Akron Baseball Hall of Fame.

Gilhousen graduated in 1970 from Kent State University where he earned three letters playing outfield for the Golden Flashes. He graduated with a master’s degree in secondary education. Gilhousen currently resides in Canton with his wife Carolyn. The couple has two children, son Alan, and daughter Erica.

Phone: (330) 829-2802
E-maili: gilhoupj@muc.edu

Larry Grove
Assistant Coach

Larry Grove enters his second season as Raiders’ pitching coach. He spent two years as the pitching coach at GlenOak after thirteen seasons as pitching coach at North Canton Hoover (1992-2004). He spent the summer of 2006 as the pitching coach for the Stark County Terriers in the Canton Class A League with current Raider hitting coach Joe Gilhousen and infield/outfield coach Eric Bunnell.

Before entering into the coaching field, Grove spent his college years pitching at Bowling Green, graduating in 1972 with a degree in business administration. He also spent 16 years playing in the Canton Class A League and was inducted into the Canton Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990.

Grove is a native of North Canton where he resides with his wife Debbi. The couple has two daughters, Kirsten and Tess.