Justin McMurtrey enters his second season at the Pitching Coach/Co-Recruiting Coordinator of the SVSU baseball team.

In his first season on the Cardinals Coaching staff, his pitching staff set the school strikeout record for a single season, with 410 K’s. The Cardinal pitching staff also saw their ERA lower by over three runs per game as well as the batting average against dropping by 50 points. Under his guidance, the Cardinals had two pitchers earn All-GLIAC Honors (Tyler McLaren-1st Team & Hunter Merillat-2nd team), with McLaren also earning ABCA All-Region honors after his stellar season on the bump. Overall, ten Cardinals posted the lowest ERA’s and strikeout totals in their careers. The improvements by the pitching staff were a key factor in the quick program turnaround and the 2023 Cardinals having the most wins since 2007.

Prior to SVSU, McMurtrey served as the pitching coach for Culver Stockton College. While working on the Wildcats staff he was in charge of the pitching staff, played a major role in recruiting and oversaw day to day operations within the program.

McMurtrey played at Butte CC in Chico CA, before finishing his playing career at Eastern Michigan University. While at EMU, he was a weekend starter for the Eagles, who made the MAC Tournament in back-to-back years for the first time in over 20 season. In 2017, McMurtrey led the pitching staff with 25 appearances, serving as a swing man between the rotation & bullpen. He would follow that performance up with a full-time starting role in 2018. During his senior campaign, he finished 2nd in ERA, innings pitched & wins while carrying a team best K:BB ratio.

McMurtrey currently resides in Saginaw, MI with his wife Allison and newborn daughter, Madison.