UT Southern Vice Chancellor/Athletic Director Brandie Paul has announced the hiring of Braxton Morris to lead the Firehawks' as baseball head coach.

"I am elated to announce the hiring of Coach Morris," said Coach Paul. "He brings an incredibly unique, high-level perspective to UT Southern, and elevates that perspective with unmatched energy. We are confident in Coach Morris and thrilled with his ability to enhance the baseball program and to contribute immediately to our athletic department."

Morris comes to UT Southern with multi-sport collegiate coaching experience, most recently coaching baseball as an assistant at NCAA Division I High Point University, where he helped the team to a 39-16 season.  Prior to HPU, Morris was the Director of Player Development at University of South Carolina-Upstate.

His resume additionally includes three seasons in collegiate football as a defensive analyst on Billy Napier's staffs at the University of Florida (2022) and University of Louisiana at Lafayette (2020-21), working primarily with defensive backs. While at Louisiana, the Ragin' Cajuns won back-to-back Sun Belt championships, going 23-2 over two seasons and concluding the 2021 season ranked No. 15 following 13 straight victories to close the season.
 
Before working in college football, Morris began his collegiate coaching career at Daytona State College as an assistant men's basketball coach. He helped the Falcons to a 25-7 record—the program's highest win total in 18 years—and an NJCAA Region 8 Mid-Florida Conference Championship.

"I'm extremely grateful to Dr. Arnold, AD Paul, Dr. Wren, and the entire administration for the opportunity to lead this program," said Coach Morris. "I'm excited about the future of Firehawk baseball and the chance to build something special at UT Southern."
 
As a player, Morris was a career .333 hitter at Morehead State University, where he helped lead his team to two Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championships, and the NCAA Louisville Regional in 2015 and the NCAA Clemson Regional in 2018.
 
Following his Morehead State career, Morris played one season of professional baseball, playing for the Washington Wild Things and the Birmingham Bloomfield Beavers in 2018. During his time in Birmingham, the Beavers won the United Shore Professional Baseball League championship. He also spent two seasons overseas playing football, leading his team to a No. 1 national ranking and a conference championship.

Morris is a native of Albertville, Alabama where he was a standout multi-sport athlete, and holds a bachelor's degree in Sports Management from Morehead State University.