Oregon State will go outside its immediate baseball staff and hire former Beaver catcher Mitch Canham as its next baseball coach.
The Oregonian/OregonLive confirmed the news through a source. The school made the news official early Thursday evening.
The 34-year-old Canham, currently manager of the Seattle Mariners’ Class AA minor league affiliate Arkansas Travelers, replaces Pat Casey, who retired as coach in September after a 24-year run. Pat Bailey was the Beavers’ interim coach this past season.
Canham will be introduced as Oregon State baseball coach during a press conference at 10 a.m. Friday. The school will livestream the press conference (link).
Canham interviewed with Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes and others Thursday. Oregon State’s coaching search moved into high gear on June 4 when Casey told Barnes he wasn’t interested in returning as the Beavers coach.
Canham grew up in Washington and played catcher for Oregon State from 2004-07. Canham was a regular on Oregon State’s 2006 and 2007 national championship teams, hitting .326 as a senior. He was the 57th overall pick of the 2007 major league first-year player draft by San Diego.
Canham spent eight years in minor league baseball, playing in Class AAA from 2010-13. His last playing stint was with the Lincoln Saltdogs, an independent team.
Canham has been a manager in the Mariners’ organization since 2016, the first three years in Class A. Last year, Modesto won the California League championship under Canham, who was the Mariners’ organization manager of the year. He was promoted to Class AA Arkansas this past winter.
Others who interviewed for the Oregon State job include pitching coach Nate Yeskie and Bailey. It is unknown as to whether Yeskie or Bailey will remain on Oregon State’s staff under Canham. Bailey joined OSU’s staff in 2008, just after Canham’s playing days ended. Oregon State hired Yeskie in 2009.
--Nick Daschel | ndaschel@oregonian.com | @nickdaschel
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