University of Montevallo Athletics

Montevallo Highlights at a Glance

• Earned 400th career win against West Florida in the GSC Tournament (5/6/25)
• Program's first NCAA Regional win since 2007
• Been nationally ranked in seven different seasons
• Two NCAA Division II South Region Tournament appearances (2018, 2023)
• NCAA Division II South Region Tournament appearance in 2018
• Four Peach Belt Conference Tournament appearances
• Seven Gulf South Conference Tournament appearances
• 12 players drafted or signed professionally
• Seven NCAA Division II All-American selections
• Eight NCAA Division II All-Southeast Region selections and 17 NCAA Division II All-South Region selections
• Three NCAA Division II South Region Players of the Year
• 13 All-Peach Belt Conference selections and 22 All-Gulf South Conference selections
• Four NCAA Division II Academic All-American selections
• Three NCAA Division II Academic All-Region selections
• 33 Peach Belt Conference All-Academic Team selections and six Gulf South Conference All-Academic Team selections
• Alabama Baseball Coaches Association Small College Coach of the Year (2018)

Chandler Rose enters his 16th season as head coach of the Montevallo baseball program in 2026. Since taking over in 2011, Rose has transformed Montevallo into a consistent contender, leading the Falcons to two NCAA Division II Regional appearances (2018, 2023).

Under Rose’s leadership, Montevallo has recorded five 30-win seasons, highlighted by back-to-back historic campaigns in 2022 and 2023. The Falcons won 36 games in 2022 before following with a 39-16 record in 2023, reaching as high as No. 4 in the national rankings and finishing No. 20 in the final polls, the program’s highest final ranking since 2007.

Rose led the Falcons to their first NCAA Regional win since 2007 with a 10-5 victory over Florida Southern on May 19, 2023. On May 6, 2025, Rose secured his 400th career win with a victory over West Florida in the GSC Tournament. Under his direction, the Falcons have been ranked inside the Top 25 in seven different seasons and won as many as 39 games in 2023, the most since 2007.

In 2026, Montevallo finished the season with 27 victories after closing the year on a 19-7 run over its final 26 games. The Falcons earned five wins over nationally ranked opponents, including four against top-10 teams. Jack Fitzgerald and Zach Wyatt were named All-GSC First Team and All-South Region selections, while Hudson Allen earned All-GSC Second Team honors. Offensively, Montevallo ranked third in the GSC with 54 home runs, scored double-digit runs in 12 contests, and led the conference with 95 hit-by-pitches. On the mound, the Falcons posted the fourth-lowest ERA in the league (5.14) and ranked fifth in strikeouts with 387, the seventh-highest total in the program’s NCAA Division II era.

In 2025, the Falcons climbed as high as No. 17 in the ABCA national rankings and secured marquee series victories over Embry-Riddle, West Florida, and Mississippi College. Montevallo also recorded the highest-ranked win in program history with a victory over No. 1 Tampa. Adiel Melendez earned All-GSC First Team honors, while three additional Falcons received All-GSC Second Team recognition. The Falcons launched 73 home runs, the sixth-most in school history, and recorded 404 strikeouts on the mound, marking the sixth 400-strikeout season in the program’s NCAA Division II era. Montevallo also tied a program record with 15 saves and captured four victories in the GSC Tournament, the most in school history. Following the season, Melendez signed a professional free-agent contract with the Atlanta Braves.

In 2024, Montevallo earned a national ranking at No. 24 in the NCBWA poll and won eight consecutive games during the month of February en route to a 29-win season, the sixth-highest total during Rose’s tenure. That year, pitcher Logan Samuels became the highest MLB Draft selection in program history when he was chosen in the eighth round (251st overall) by the Atlanta Braves.

The 2023 campaign marked one of the finest seasons in modern program history. Montevallo finished 39-16, earned an NCAA South Regional berth, and captured its first NCAA Regional victory since 2007 with a 10-5 win over Florida Southern on May 19. The Falcons spent the entire season ranked in the national polls, while Sam Kuchinski became the first player in program history to earn back-to-back Gulf South Conference Player of the Year honors and multiple South Region Player of the Year awards.

Rose guided Montevallo to a 36-15 record in 2022, including a 24-7 mark at home and an 18-11 conference record. The Falcons finished third in the GSC and established the foundation for the program’s record-setting success in 2023.

Throughout his tenure, Rose has mentored 31 All-Conference selections and seven All-Americans while developing numerous professional players. His former players selected in the MLB Draft include Will Fulmer (New York Mets, 2014), Dane Hutcheon (Minnesota Twins, 2016), Tyler Krabbe (Houston Astros, 2019), and Logan Samuels (Atlanta Braves, 2024). Rose has also coached professional free-agent signees Devon Davis, Aron McRee, Michael Shreves, Austin Dubberly, Jackson Slaid, Mathew Haskins, and Adiel Melendez. McRee later earned Pioneer League Pitcher of the Year honors during his professional career.

Beyond Montevallo, Rose has coached six players who reached Major League Baseball, including Casey Coleman of the Chicago Cubs, Danny Worth of the Detroit Tigers, Lucas Duda of the New York Mets, Jermaine Curtis of the St. Louis Cardinals, Richard Bleier of the New York Yankees, and Blake Smith of the Chicago White Sox.

Rose has also emphasized success in the classroom. Under his leadership, his players have earned four NCAA Division II Academic All-American selections, three Academic All-Region honors, and 39 conference academic recognitions, including 33 Peach Belt Conference and six Gulf South Conference All-Academic Team selections.

Prior to Montevallo, Rose served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the United States Air Force Academy from 2007-10 after spending the 2006 season as an assistant coach at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Rose was a two-year letterwinner at the University of Central Florida from 2003-04, earning All-Atlantic Sun Conference honors while helping the Knights win an Atlantic Sun Championship and advance to an NCAA Regional final. He began his collegiate career at the University of New Orleans, where he played during the 2001 and 2002 seasons.

A respected figure in the coaching profession, Rose was named the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association Small College Coach of the Year in 2018 and previously served on the association’s committee.

A native of Fort Myers, Florida, Rose graduated from UCF in 2004. He and his wife, Sara, reside in Helena with their children, Levi, Alayna, and Dalton.

ROSE'S YEAR-BY-YEAR RECORD