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The Longwood baseball program has a new head coach. In a statement issued Wednesday, June 26, Athletics Director Tim Hall named Ray Noe to fill the seat left vacant by Chad Oxendine’s resignation earlier this month. 

Noe becomes the fifth head coach in program history after building a resume of success that made him one of the top assistant coaches in mid-major college baseball.

“I am so excited to announce Ray Noe as our new head baseball coach,” said Hall. “He is equipped for this opportunity through training, preparedness, and temperament. (Noe) has a wide array of experience in and around the game that will pay dividends.

“He is laser-focused on comprehensive student-athlete welfare, developing young men on and off the field, and competing for championships. We welcome Ray, his wife Mary, and their daughter Emilia to the Longwood and Farmville community.”

Background on Longwood baseball coach  

Over the past five seasons, Noe has worked his way up the bench at the Virginia Military Institute, serving last year as lead assistant and recruiting coordinator. In that role he built a powerful, record-setting offense that featured threats up and down the lineup.

“I couldn’t be more excited to become the next Head Baseball Coach at Longwood University,” Noe said. “The commitment to winning, furthering of the program, and providing our student-athletes with the best possible experience was apparent when I spoke with administration and others throughout the process.

“I want to personally thank Athletic Director Tim Hall for trusting in me and believing in my vision for the baseball program. My family and I are excited to immerse ourselves in the Lancer community and get to work!”

In 2024, he guided a VMI offense that posted 73 home runs, with Grayson Fitzwater breaking the program record for home runs in a single season. As a team, the Keydets batted .292, the fourth-best average in the Southern Conference, and they led the nation with 178 stolen bases. In addition, the team ranked 36th in the nation with a .410 on base percentage.

As the team’s hitting coach in 2023, he helped guide VMI to a historic season on offense. The Keydets finished fifth in the nation with a .322 batting average, tied for 44th in hits and tied for 49th in runs. In addition, the squad ranked 16th in slugging percentage (.529) and 25th in on base percentage (.409).

More on Noe’s career

Noe started his collegiate career as an assistant at VMI in 2019, working his way up to the lead assistant and recruiting coordinator role in the fall of 2023.

A four-year starter on the baseball team at Wittenberg University from 2007-11, he was an all-conference and all-state selection as a senior. He served as a team captain for his final two seasons as well.

Even while he played, Noe began to lay the foundation for his coaching career, working with Ohio Elite Baseball in Dublin, Ohio throughout his four years at Wittenberg. After obtaining his degree in early education/intervention specialist in 2011, he served as a coach at the high school level for the next seven years.

He posted a 52-32 record in his last stop at Pickerington High School Central before moving to IMG Academy, where he worked from 2018-19. While at IMG, he worked with the outfielders on the top-ranked team in the country and dove into analytics before moving to VMI.

In addition to his undergraduate degree from Wittenburg, Noe obtained a Master’s of Sports Coaching from The Ohio State University in 2018.

He and his wife, Mary, have one daughter, Emilia.