HICKORY — Marshall McDonald is in the early stages of his career as a college baseball coach.
But the 28-year-old Red Springs native has an advantage in the form of his father, Bryan McDonald, a now-retired high school baseball coach who last season capped his prep career with a conference title at Purnell Swett.
“We just talk baseball,” said Marshall, who just completed his third season as an assistant baseball coach at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory.
“We’re baseball buddies. We’re father and son, but we’re baseball buddies. We don’t get to see each other much but we’re always talking and using each other to better ourselves.”
Bryan capped his coaching career by leading the Rams to their first conference championship in program history.
Marshall has experienced similar success over the past two years with a championship as the head coach of the Lenoir Oilers in the Carolina-Virginia Collegiate League and, as the hitting coach for CVCC, helped the Red Hawks set a program record for hits with 585 which led to regular season, region and district championships.
“I’m really proud of his success and watching him move up the ladder,” Bryan said. “He’s doing the correct things and putting in the time and work. I really enjoy watching all of this unfold for him.”
Prior to starting his coaching journey, Marshall was an all-conference and all-county performer at Red Springs. He went on to become a part of CVCC’s first baseball team in 2010, earning all-region honors before signing with Montreat College, where he earned all-academic honors in two seasons and an all-conference nod in his senior campaign.
His independent professional baseball career included stops across the nation, but a “lucky” encounter with Frank Pait, the former head coach at CVCC, changed Marshall’s course.
“Well, honestly I kind of got lucky. After my first year of pro ball, I got a call from Frank Pait at CVCC asking me to come down and train and live full-time in Hickory,” Marshall said. “It kind of parlayed itself into an actual coaching spot. Not even a full year into coaching (in 2015), he was gone and I was the assistant head coach.”
Bryan has been impressed with his son’s early success as an instructor.
“I couldn’t be more proud. I have watched him make that transition,” he said. “There are plenty of good players that haven’t been good coaches. I’m watching him climb up the ladder. I think you’ll see Marshall be a college head coach one day.”
Recently, Marshall was honored with a banner as the 2016 Carolina-Virginia Collegiate League Coach of the Year.
When he made the trip to Walker Stadium in Lenoir, which is roughly 30 minutes from Hickory, Marshall wasn’t sure what to expect.
“It was pretty cool. I definitely wasn’t expecting (the banner),” he said. “I had no idea I was getting that. I walked in and I saw three tarps on the wall and I knew what two of them were. After awhile, I kind of figured it out but it was cool to see.”
He credits much of the success to his “baseball buddy.” With hopes of one day becoming a head coach at the college level, Marshall welcomed the thought of having his father by his side in the dugout.
“I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t crossed my mind,” Marshall said with a laugh. “Me and pops would be an interesting coaching duo. If it happened it would be awesome. It would definitely be something I would run by him.”
Fresh off retirement, McDonald said he wouldn’t mind getting back in the game if it meant coaching with his son.
“We’ve actually sat back and laughed before about the possibility of coaching together,” Bryan said.
“He might see his old man down at the end of the bench one day. We’ll have to see.
