Head Coach - Bryan Faulds
Faulds comes to Akron with two decades of coaching experience at the collegiate level. He spent the last two seasons as head coach at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, where he led the Hilltoppers to a 72-43 overall record and 34-13 mark in the Lone Star Conference, advancing to the NCAA DII South Central Regional in both campaigns.
In 2023, St. Edward’s completed the season ranked No. 20 in the NCAA Division II National Rankings by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. The Hilltoppers finished third in the region and second in league play on the strength of a 40-17 overall record and 34-13 LSC ledger, while producing an All-American in Luke Short.
In his first season at the helm, Faulds led St. Edward’s to a 32-25 record, including a 27-21 mark in conference play. The Hilltoppers advanced to the LSC semifinals and earned an NCAA South Central Regional bid, falling one game short of the NCAA Super Regionals. The season produced three All-Region players, including South Central Region Pitcher of the Year and All-American Wesley Gafford.
Prior to being named head coach at SEU he served as the Hilltoppers’ pitching coach for four seasons. During his time as pitching coach, St. Edward’s produced two MLB draft picks, two All-America selections, two South Central Region Pitcher of the Year awards, four All-Region selections, seven All-Conference selections, including a conference Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards.
Prior to his time at St. Edwards, Faulds spent two seasons in the Mid-American Conference at Ohio University. From 2015-17, he was the pitching coach at Ohio, where the Bobcats’ staff set the single-season school record for strikeouts (483) in 2017. In addition, Ohio won the 2017 MAC Tournament, earning an NCAA Tournament bid behind two all-conference pitchers and three MAC all-tournament pitchers.
A native of San Ramon, Calif., Faulds began his coaching career at the College of San Mateo in California. He started his collegiate playing career there and later coached for six years, working his way up to associate head coach and interim coach in 2013. Faulds helped lead San Mateo to three conference championships, six regional appearances, and four super-regional appearances while developing numerous all-conference pitchers and NCAA Division I transfers.
As a player at San Mateo, Faulds pitched from 2004-2006 before transferring to Western Illinois University. At San Mateo, Faulds helped the program to an overall record of 64-19 in two years as the captain of the pitching staff. Faulds led the team in saves (six) at Western Illinois and had the second-most appearances (17).
Faulds earned his bachelor of arts degree in recreation, park, and tourism administration in 2009 and a master of arts degree in kinesiology from Saint Mary’s College (Calif.) in 2012. He resides in Copley, Ohio.
Recruiting Coordinator - Brian Valentine
Brian Valentine joins the Zips as a Recruiting Coordinator.
Prior to joining the Zips, Valentine was hired to be the head coach at Eastern Oregon University before arriving at Akron.
Before Eastern Oregon, Valentine served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Lower Columbia College, where he helped guide the Red Devils to a 79-29 overall record over two seasons, winning the Northwest Athletic Conference Championship in 2023.
Before joining Lower Columbia, Valentine spent five seasons as an assistant baseball coach at Linfield University. During his tenure, he was instrumental in working with hitters and outfielders and served as the recruiting coordinator for two years. His efforts contributed to the Wildcats reaching the Northwest Conference tournament twice and sharing the regular-season conference championship in 2022.
Valentine's baseball journey began at Yakima Valley College and continued at Linfield University, where he graduated with a degree in marketing. A native of Vancouver, Washington, he graduated from Skyview High School, where he was a two-time all-league player and played a key role in securing the program's only state championship.
In the summer of 2018, Valentine was a member of the West Coast League's Kelowna Falcons coaching staff. He helped guide the Falcons to the West Coast League Championship Series where he primarily worked with hitters.
Assistant Coach/Pitching Coach - Harry Estep
Estep joins the Zips as the Pitching Coach.
Harry Estep is entering his ninth year as a collegiate coach with stops as the head coach at New Mexico Highlands University and Luna Community College. He was also the pitching coach at Luna Community College for 6 years and began his career at New Mexico Highlands University as a graduate assistant pitching coach. Estep also managed in the Palm Springs Collegiate League for two summers, winning a league championship.
A former player at the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, Estep earned his degree in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation before completing a master’s in Human Performance and Sport from New Mexico Highlands.
Volunteer Assistant/Infield Coach - Jack Van Remortel
Van Remortel was hired as the third assistant at the University of Akron in July of 2024.
Van Remortel spent the 2024 season at the University of Michigan as a student assistant coach. He spent four seasons as a player with the Wolverines and played in 106 career games.
In his four seasons, he hit .264 with 70 hits and seven home runs. He played in 52 games in his final season and was third on the team in home runs. Van Remortel helped the Wolverines with a walk-off home run against Central Michigan in 2023. He also spent one season Umpqua Community College where he played in all 37 games for the team and led Umpqua in most batting categories.
Van Remortel earned a bachelor’s degree in sport’s management in 2023 and a Real Estate Development Certificate in 2024. He resides in Akron, Ohio.
Director of Player Development - Mike Eversole
Eversole comes to Akron after serving as the Head Coach at Lake Erie College in 2025.
In 2025, Eversole led the Storm to its best season in 6 years with the 3rd most wins in school history, first all-conference players since 2022 in Alex Caudill and Jaxson Christ, multiple school records, and were ranked #9 in the Midwest Region by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association - The programs first ranking since 2014.
Eversole’s pitching staff in 2025 was atop of the GMAC in opponent batting average (.246) and 2nd in strikeouts (427). Their 5.64 ERA was the best since 2015.
Prior to being named the head coach in 2025, Eversole served as the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach for the Storm for two seasons where he assisted in nearly tripling the winning total with the arrival of his first recruiting class being on campus. The Storm saw dramatic improvements throughout every offense statistic and secured the programs first top 10 win over #5 University of Indianapolis and #10 Ashland.
Prior to his time at Lake Erie, Eversole spent two seasons at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, New Mexico, where he assisted the program to the most Lone Star Conference wins in program history. Eversole assisted with Spencer Roach being awarded LSC Hitter of the Week and NCBWA South Central Hitter of the Week. Roach was the first all-conference player for ENMU in four years.
A native of Navarre, Ohio, Eversole attended and played at Hiram College from 2016-2020
Eversole earned his Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Hiram College in 2020 and a Master’s of Science in Health & Physical Education from Eastern New Mexico University.
Eversole currently resides in Akron with his wife Kennedy.
All freshmen student athletes live in the Spicer Residence Hall for their first year on campus. Following this year, student-athletes may elect to return to the dorms or live in any of the luxury living spaces offered in the city of Akron.
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