TU Athletics welcomes two new coaches to the family

Towson University Athletics has had a busy couple of weeks, as the senior Tiger staff has been working tirelessly to fill head coaching vacancies in baseball and women's basketball. But after a pair of national searches, it looks like Towson truly has hit a home run, or a slam dunk, or both!

Towson University is proud to introduce Diane Richardson as the new women's basketball coach, while Matt Tyner will take the helm of the Tiger baseball program.

Richardson introduced as TU women's basketball coach 

Richardson, who brings 16 years of women's basketball coaching experience, has been named the Towson University women's basketball head coach. Richardson will become the 10th head coach in program history.

"I'm extremely excited to welcome Diane to Towson," said Tim Leonard, Director of Athletics at Towson University. "She has deep ties to the area (time at George Washington, Maryland, American and Riverdale Baptist H.S.) and I believe that will go a long way to help us further our vision to become Greater Baltimore's premier collegiate brand.  Her ability to recruit and develop talent, particularly in the DMV area, will help her build a winning program at Towson.”

"It is an honor to be named the new head coach of the Towson University women's basketball program," Richardson said. "I've lived in this community most of my life and witnessed the tremendous growth in the university and the athletics program. I've celebrated with teams in the past years as a community supporter, but I am now proud to call this 'my university'. I look forward to adding to the tradition of community and championships."

Richardson was most recently an assistant coach and the recruiting coordinator at West Virginia University during the 2016-17 season. There she helped with player development, scouting, game strategies and preparation. In her role as the recruiting coordinator, she implemented and supervised recruiting strategies which led the Mountaineers' 2017 recruiting class being ranked No. 17 by ESPNW. She also helped lead West Virginia to its first Big 12 Conference Championship this past season.

Prior to her time in Morgantown, Richardson spent four years as an assistant coach at George Washington University, helping improve their win total from 11 wins to a school record 29 wins after just two seasons. George Washington captured a pair of Atlantic 10 regular season and conference tournament championships and made a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.

Richardson also had two successful stints as the head coach at Riverdale Baptist High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. She served as the head coach from 2001-06 and again from 2009-12 and won five National Championships during her tenure and was ranked among the USA Today Top 10 in five of her eight years.

In between her stints at Riverdale Baptist, Richardson spent time as an assistant coach at the University of Maryland and American University.

Richardson earned her master's degree in management from Central Michigan in 1984. She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and sociology from Frostburg State. Richardson was the NCAA regional field goal percentage leader as a freshman in 1976. She also ran track at Frostburg and was the 1979 NCAA regional champion in the 200 and 400 meter races. She earned a spot on the 1980 US Olympic team, which did not compete in the games.

Richardson will be formally introduced at a press conference in the hospitality room on the third floor of SECU Arena on Friday, June 30 at 11 a.m.

Tyner named new TU Baseball Coach

A new era of college baseball is on the horizon at Towson University welcomed Tyner as the new head baseball coach on Friday, June 23 inside the Unitas Stadium Field House.

"We are very excited for Matt to be our next head coach," Leonard said.  "We had a very talented candidate pool and Matt stood out with his vision of turning this program into a contender.  His success as a player and coach, as well as in the business sector, made him the ideal person to be the next head coach at Towson."

"First off, I want to thank God for this opportunity," Tyner said. "Secondly, I want to thank President Kim Schatzel and Athletic Director Tim Leonard for having the faith and the trust in me to guide the Towson University baseball program.  I am very excited for this opportunity as it fulfills a life-long dream. 

"I fully understand the responsibility that has been given to me and I will promise to uphold the Towson University values and mission statement to the best of my ability," he added.  "I look forward to meeting everyone, including the members of my new team, the alumni, the administration and staff, and all of those fans of Tiger Athletics.”

Tyner comes to Towson after spending the previous four seasons as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Richmond. In his tenure as the team's hitting coach, the Spiders ranked at or near the top of the Atlantic 10 in several offensive categories. 

In 2016, Richmond ranked in the top 20 in the country with a .308 average, its highest in over a decade.  The team also ranked 15th nationally in doubles (127), fourth in doubles per game (2.44) and 32nd in slugging percentage (.454).

Prior to his time in Richmond, Tyner spent two seasons as the head coach at Bellarmine University in Kentucky.  He posted a 60-46 overall record and led the Knights to the GLVC championship in his second season.

He took over the program at Bellarmine after completing two different stints as the top assistant at Butler.  During his seven years in Indianapolis, Tyner also coached several youth teams, winning back-to-back under-17 national titles as an assistant for the Indiana Bulls.

A highly successful collegiate player in his own right, Tyner was a four-year starter for the University of Miami, where he helped lead the Hurricanes to three College World Series. A power hitting outfielder, Tyner was named the 1980 Baskin Robbins Player of the Year and tied the Miami home run record.

Tyner was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the ninth round of the 1980 Major League Baseball Draft. He spent three years in the Orioles system, leading the entire organization in home runs in 1981 with 33, while hitting .301. His professional career came to a halt in 1983 after multiple surgeries for bone chips in his right elbow.

A native of Decatur, Illinois, Tyner completed his bachelor's degree in business communications at Concordia University's Indianapolis campus.

To keep up to date with Towson University Athletics, visit TowsonTigers.com.