Paul Hesse enters his 16th season as head baseball coach at Mount Union.  Three years ago, Hesse's Purple Raiders tied the school record for Ohio Athletic Conference wins in a season and made the four-team OAC Tournament.

Since taking over in 1997, Hesse has posted a career record of 267-258-3 (.509), placing him second in wins, games coached (528) and winning percentage behind only long-time Raider head coach Jack Rafeld. Hesse is one of only 11 coaches in the history of the OAC to have won more than 200 games.

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 years of coaching and contributions to the high school summer league and collegiate programs.

Hesse earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1982 and received a master’s degree in sport administration with a collegiate focus in 1986 from Kent State University. 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.

Evan Agona is in his third season as an assistant baseball coach at Mount Union. Agona currently serves as Pitching Coach while coordinating the Purple Raiders recruiting and camp efforts. 

Agona was a four-year letterwinner, part of two North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championship teams at The College of Wooster and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business economics in 2004. He earned a master’s degree in sport management from Slippery Rock (Pa.) University in 2008.

He began his coaching career at Thiel (Pa.) College where he served as an assistant coach from 2004-2007.  He served the 2007-08 season as a junior college head coach at Mercyhurst-North East in North East, Pa. and was the head coach at Slippery Rock (Pa.) Area High School in 2009. Additionally, he has spent time as an AAU coach in Columbus, Ohio and has also coached the Great Lakes Regional Team in Keystone State Games. Agona has worked in numerous instructional roles at camps all over the region and currently runs an instructional camp series in conjunction with Premier Scouting Service.

Ryan Armstrong is in his third season in his second stint as an assistant baseball coach at Mount Union.

Armstrong served as an assistant coach at Mount Union in 2003 then as an assistant coach for three seasons at Massillon Perry High School and since 2008 has also served as the manager of the Walther's Cafe Baseball Team in the Canton Class “A” League.

As a player, Armstrong was a starter on a Canton GlenOak High School team that won the 1995 OHSAA Division I title and was ranked 8th in the nation by USA Today.  He then came to Mount Union where he was a four-year starter, two-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection and team captain in 1999 who still holds records for career triples along with runs scored in a season and career.  After graduating with a bachelor's degree in business administration, he played one year of professional baseball with the Canton Crocodiles of the Frontier League.

Armstrong also holds a master's degree in Finance from The University of Florida.

Tim Lake is in his second season in his second stint as an assistant baseball coach at Mount Union.

Lake spent six seasons as an assistant coach at Mount Union from 1997-2003 before going on to spend two years as a graduate assistant coach at fellow OAC member Muskingum University.  After earning his master's degree at Muskingum, he returned to northeast Ohio and became the head coach of the Ohio Thunder youth team in Akron.

He was a four-year letterwinner as a player at The College of Wooster who was a three-time All-Mideast selection and played in the 1994 NCAA Division III World Series.  He went on to play professionally in the Frontier League.

When not on the field he works Wally Armour Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Alliance.

Mike Craven is in his first season as an assistant baseball coach at Mount Union.

Craven is no stranger to baseball in Northeast Ohio as he has spent the last 17 seasons as a high school assistant coach at Alliance, Columbiana, West Branch and St. Thomas Aquinas high schools.  He also spent 15 years on the Board of Directors for both the Alliance Hot Stove League and the Ohio State Hot Stove Association where he served as a tournament director, rules committee member and league commissioner.