George Powell, recently finishing his 25th year at the helm of the Otterbein Baseball program, has become one of the most successful coaches in the Ohio Athletic Conference. He is one of just six managers in league history to reach 600 career wins.
The Cardinals have made the OAC postseason (top-four teams) 16 times under Powell, including three OAC regular-season titles (2006, 2016, 2018) and six OAC Tournament crowns (03, 05, 06, 07, 17, 19). The 6x OAC Coach of the Year has also led the Cards to seven NCAA Tournament appearances and currently holds a career record of
608-420-1.
Recently, his squads have combined to post 80 wins over the last three seasons. He and his assistants were voted OAC Staff of the Year in 2022.
Otterbein turned the corner
under Powell in 2003, winning the OAC Tournament and advancing back to the NCAA’s for the first time since 1989. His program then caught fire with three-straight 30-win seasons spanning 2005-07, falling one game shy of the Division III World Series twice.
In 2005, Otterbein dropped a tough 5-4 contest with Wooster in the Mideast Regional Final at Rose-Hulman. The 2006 club still holds the school record for single-season wins, at 34, ultimately enduring a nail-biting 8-7 loss (11 innings) to eventual national champion Marietta in the Regional Final once again. The 2007 team entered the season ranked No. 1 in the country, capturing a third-straight OAC Tournament before another one-run loss in an NCAA elimination game.
Powell won his 300th game against the University of Cincinnati and then his 400th midway through the 2016 campaign. He recently guided the Cards to another trio of 30-wins seasons from 2016-18, going a combined 93-41 in the stretch to rack up more rings.
His 2016 group became the first in program history to amass 30 victories prior to postseason play, and his resilient 2019 squad snuck into the OAC Tournament as the fourth seed before sweeping the bracket.
Perhaps most impressively, the program has compiled an NCAA Division III record streak (currently intact) of nine-straight years with at least one CoSIDA Academic All-America selection. Eight different players have made the national list in the time span.
A 1987 graduate of Westerville North High School, Powell played under Bob Haegele, and helped the Warriors finish second in the state championships in 1986. Continuing his playing career under Roger Ingles at Ohio Wesleyan, Powell was a 4x all-conference selection at three positions (first base, third base, DH) and a 1992 All-Mideast pick.
At Ohio Wesleyan, he helped lead the Battling Bishops to North Coast Athletic Conference titles in 1989 and 1992 as well as regional tournament berths from 1990-92. Powell was also named to the all-central region tournament team in Chicago in 1991. After college, Powell was an assistant coach under legendary Otterbein head coach Dick Fishbaugh from 1994-98. In 1999, he became pitching coach under Mike Florak for Youngstown State University.
Powell spent his summers coaching as well. From 1995-1998, he coached Kirkersville American Legion Post 107, and in 1999, he was the pitching coach for the Delaware Cows in the talent-laden Great Lakes Collegiate League.
After the passing of Coach Fishbaugh in August 1999, Powell was asked to return as head coach for the Cardinals. When asked, Powell said, “You can’t replace Fish, but I’m going to do the best job I can to carry on and uphold the tradition he created at Otterbein.”
Coach Powell's Record:
| Year |
Overall |
OAC |
OAC Tournament |
NCAA's |
| 2000 |
15-29 |
4-12 |
-- |
|
| 2001 |
22-23 |
10-8 |
2-2 |
|
| 2002 |
24-17 |
11-7 |
1-2 |
|
| 2003 |
24-24 |
10-8 |
3-1 |
2-2 |
| 2004 |
24-18 |
13-5 |
0-2 |
|
| 2005 |
31-17 |
13-5 |
3-0 |
3-2 |
| 2006 |
34-16 |
16-2 |
3-1 |
5-2 |
| 2007 |
32-13 |
12-6 |
4-1 |
1-2 |
| 2008 |
26-15 |
12-6 |
1-2 |
|
| 2009 |
23-17 |
12-6 |
1-2 |
|
| 2010 |
19-20 |
8-10 |
-- |
|
| 2011 |
19-20 |
9-9 |
-- |
|
| 2012 |
22-17 |
8-10 |
-- |
|
| 2013 |
26-17 |
10-8 |
2-2 |
|
| 2014 |
23-15 |
7-11 |
-- |
|
| 2015 |
23-15 |
9-9 |
-- |
|
| 2016 |
32-11 |
14-4 |
1-2 |
|
| 2017 |
31-14 |
11-7 |
3-0 |
0-2 |
| 2018 |
30-16 |
14-4 |
2-2 |
0-2 |
| 2019 |
26-18-1 |
10-8 |
3-0 |
0-2 |
| 2020 |
8-5 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
| 2021 |
14-20 |
11-19 |
-- |
|
| 2022 |
27-15 |
14-4 |
0-2 |
|
| 2023 |
27-13 |
11-7 |
-- |
|
| 2024 |
26-15 |
11-5 |
1-2 |
|
| Total |
608-420-1 |
260-180 |
30-23 |
11-14 |
