Long-time Georgia State baseball coach Mike Hurst, the winningest coach in school history, will be inducted into the Georgia Dugout Club Hall of Fame at the organization's annual coaches' clinic.
The induction ceremony will take place Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia (4355 Ashford-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody, GA 30346). The induction is open to the public, and Hurst's former players are encouraged to attend.
"I am more honored than I can put into words," said Hurst, who coached the Panthers from 1993 through 2006 and is credited with resurrecting the baseball program after a period of dormancy and steering it through challenging times to build the foundation for today's success.
Hurst will be introduced by former Georgia State player and assistant coach Tommy Barber, who was inducted into the Dugout Club Hall of Fame last year.
"I have to thank the Georgia Dugout Club," Hurst continued. "I've been involved with the Dugout Club since I was a player and made one of their All-Star teams. And I also have to thank Coach [Greg] Frady and Tommy Barber."
Frady, who served as Hurst's associate head coach before succeeding him as head coach, said, “We are all excited to see Coach Hurst honored for his outstanding contributions to Georgia State baseball and baseball in the state of Georgia. Any time a member of our Panther baseball family is recognized, it is a proud moment for all of us.”
Hurst has spent most of his life involved with baseball in the Atlanta area. He graduated from Cross Keys High School and then played collegiately at Mercer University-Atlanta, where he was an NAIA all-region selection. After a stint as a high school coach in Maryland, he returned to his native state in 1990 as an assistant coach at DeKalb Community College (now Georgia Perimeter) before joining the GSU staff.
"I played Little League baseball, high school baseball and college baseball right here in Atlanta, Georgia," Hurst said. "I coached high school in Maryland for a few years, and then I came home and coached junior college and college baseball in Atlanta. College baseball in Georgia has absolutely exploded, from the junior college level to Division I and everything in between."
Hurst came to Georgia State as an assistant coach under Kurt Seibert in 1992, when the university reinstated a baseball program that had been dormant for five years. He served as interim head coach for the final 12 games of the 1993 season and then was elevated to full-time head coach for the 1994 campaign.
Hurst grew the fledgling Panther program and compiled 293 victories in 13-plus seasons. He coached All-America players Mark Mortimer and Jason Glover, Freshman All-Americans Garrett Greer, Rusty Bennett and Brett Strickland and numerous all-conference and all-region standouts.
Hurst's No. 30 jersey was retired by Georgia State in 2008.
"I am truly proud of my relationship with Georgia State," Hurst said. "It's as important as anything that has happened to me in my life. I still feel like I represent Georgia State, and I take that as a great honor. Everything I do today with baseball is still a reflection of what Georgia State allowed me to do."
