We’re joined on the ABCA Podcast by Tennessee Wesleyan head baseball coach Billy Berry, 2026 ABCA/ATEC NAIA Coach of the Year following a championship season that added another chapter to the Bulldogs’ storied tradition.

Berry led Tennessee Wesleyan to a 49-15 record and a 6-1 run at the 69th Avista NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, where the Bulldogs capped off the season with a dominant 21-3 victory over No. 1 seed Taylor University. That victory delivered Tennessee Wesleyan its third NAIA National Championship and set a World Series championship-game record for largest margin of victory.

And the numbers behind this team were just as impressive. The Bulldogs led the NAIA with 735 hits and 170 doubles, ranked fifth nationally with a .349 team batting average, and finished fourth in the country with 538 RBIs. On the mound, Tennessee Wesleyan posted a 4.40 team ERA, led by Justin Jackson, who won 13 games, posted a 2.82 ERA, and led the nation with 108.1 innings pitched.

Over nearly two decades leading the Bulldogs, Berry has built Tennessee Wesleyan into one of the premier programs in NAIA baseball. He enters this season with more than 900 career victories at Tennessee Wesleyan, multiple national championships, numerous conference championships, and a résumé that includes previous ABCA/NAIA Coach of the Year honors in 2012 and 2019.

Today, we’ll talk about that incredible 2026 championship run, what makes Tennessee Wesleyan baseball so successful year after year, the evolution of recruiting and player development, the lessons that come from nearly two decades in the dugout, and what it takes to build a program that can sustain excellence across generations of players.

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The ABCA Podcast is presented by Netting Pros. Netting Professionals are improving programs one facility at a time, specializing in the design, fabrication and installation of custom netting for backstops, batting cages, dugouts, bp screens and ball carts. They also design and install digital graphic wall padding windscreen, turf, turf protectors, dugout benches, dugout cubbies and more.

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