Jul 07, 2014 04:22 AM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

Chris Curry has been named head baseball coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Former professional catcher with the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants organizations, Curry joins the Trojans program after serving as an assistant and pitching coach at the Northwestern State for two years.

Curry also worked on the baseball staffs at Arkansas, Arkansas Tech, Hendrix and Meridian Community College.

"I think UALR baseball has great potential and I'm excited about what we can accomplish. I'm excited to connect with the Central Arkansas community and look forward to great things in the future," Curry said in a statement.

Under Curry's leadership at Northwestern State, the Demons won 33 games in the second season and posted a Southland Conference record 14-win increase in league play.

Plus, the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year was awarded to NSU and right-handed pitcher Adam Oller was named the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American; and Centerfielder Bret Underwood was recruited by the San Francisco Giants in the 20th round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Among Curry's other achievements, Demons was associated with a team GPA of 3.0 or higher in each of the four semesters.

"A high-quality individual with strong recruiting ties to the Southeastern region of the United States. The fact he played professionally for seven years and is a native of Central Arkansas is a bonus," said UALR Director of Athletics Chris Peterson

Prior to Northwestern State, Curry served as the head coach at Meridian CC from 2011-12. He led the team to Miss-Lou Conference Championship; produced NJCAA national home, run leader in both seasons and earned Coach of the Year honors in 2012. Two of his players got recruited in the 2012 Major League Baseball Player's Draft and overall the team posted a cumulative GPA of 3.30.

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