ThunderHawks Baseball Coaching Staff

Head Coach

Mark Adams brings decades of experience in rebuilding collegiate athletics teams to the baseball program at Miami University Middletown. Adams is known for playing “fast break” baseball. His teams play with an aggressive edge and a positive approach that breeds confidence based on a “Culture of  WE!” Adams has established an expectation of accountability while playing hard, having fun, and concentrating on the next successful play.

In his first season at the helm, Coach Adams led the youngest college baseball roster in the country to its' most successful season in 25 years (16-16).  The young ThunderHawks were ranked in the Top 15 of the USCAA poll for 6 weeks and defeated the #1 team in the country.  Off the field the team earned a collective 3.0 GPA!

Mark Adams brings a deep and diverse college coaching resume to Miami University Middletown. He has won championships at the collegiate level as a college basketball coach for 17 seasons and 10 of those years at the NCAA Division I level. He was known as a program rebuilder who inherited teams that won only 32% of their games prior to his arrival. In his final season as head coach at those same three universities, his teams won 65% of their games including two regional championships and national rankings at the small college level. He was inducted into the Rocky Mountain College Hall of Fame as a coach in 2019.

Adams just completed his 25th season broadcasting national college basketball games on ESPN. Mark is also the author of numerous books including "The Coach and the Geek - Building a Kick-Butt Culture."

He was a college baseball and basketball dual athlete. He received his Master's degree in Athletic Administration from Idaho State University in 1980.

Mark lives in Springboro, Ohio with his wife, Judy. They have four sons: Luke, Patrick(Miami University Middletown Alum), Jimmy, and Robby (who plays left field for the ThunderHawks).

937-626-9959
adamsm3@miamioh.edu

Assistant Coach

Tyree Foster has been a coach of youth and high school baseball for the last 12 years. Most recently he served as the head JV coach and assistant varsity coach for 4 years at Bishop Fenwick High School in Franklin, OH. He is also currently the head coach and manager for a 14U travel baseball team with the nationally recognized Canes Baseball organization in Miamisburg, OH.

Along with his coaching duties, Coach Foster, or Coach T as he’s known by most, is a private lessons instructor. He specializes in infield and hitting instruction for players of all ages. Coach T is also an OHSAA certified umpire, allowing him to continue to stay engaged with baseball by umpiring local games at the youth and high school levels.  

Tyree served for four years in the US Army. He was originally born and raised in the Philadelphia area, and has been an Ohioan for over 20 years. He has lived in the Cincinnati area for the last 13 years, and currently resides in Middletown with his girlfriend, Fawn. Tyree has 5 children: Tyra, Kobe, Danicah, Garrison, and Donovan.

Assistant Coach

Mitchell Lawson begins his first season as an Assistant Coach with the Miami-Middletown baseball program in 2023. Coach Lawson will be responsible for the Thunderhawk Pitching Staff.

As a collegiate pitcher, Lawson was a member of a Vincennes University team that advanced to the NJCAA World Series. He then played two seasons with the Urbana (OH) University baseball program, ranking among the team leaders in innings pitched and appearances as a junior. He played summer collegiate baseball with the Virginia Marlins and Richmond River Rats.

After college Lawson began his coaching career with the Indiana Twins (now Canes Indiana) where he was a pitching instructor and team coach. He then moved to Ohio in 2019 where he became a volunteer assistant coach for Wilmington College 2020. Lawson has since coached the Dayton Thunderbirds collegiate team. Assistant and Pitching Coach in 2020-2021 now Head Coach of the organization 2022-present.

A native of New Palestine, IN, Coach Lawson currently resides in Middletown, OH. with his family, Jacquelyn and their son Ezra./p>