SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State head baseball coach Joey Hawkins announced two additions to his staff Tuesday, with Kyle Cliff coming on board as Director of Pitching and Keith Guttin returning as Director of Special Projects.
 
Kyle Cliff – Director of Pitching
As Director of Pitching, Kyle Cliff will work alongside pitching coach Deck McGuire in the development of the Bears' hurlers.
 
Cliff comes to Missouri State after a three-year stint as an assistant coach at Emory & Henry College in Virginia, where he served as the Wasps' pitching coach and recruiting coordinator as well as numerous other duties.
 
As the pitching coach at Southeastern Oklahoma State for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Cliff mentored four conference pitcher of the week award winners in two years. Prior to his time in Oklahoma, Cliff spent a season at NAIA University of Rio Grande in Ohio, where he helped the pitching staff break the school record for strikeouts in a season and improve its statistical production across the board with two All-Americans, the conference pitcher of the year and one draft pick.
 
Cliff played collegiately at Limestone University and Elgin Community College before ending his career at UNC Greensboro, where he graduated with an economics degree in 2018.
 
Keith Guttin – Director of Special Projects
Keith Guttin, who retired as head coach after 42 seasons this spring, takes on a part-time role to aid in the program's fundraising and special events efforts. Guttin, who finished his career ranked 12^th in NCAA Division I history and second among active coaches with 1,396 wins, will take the lead in organizing Missouri State's Step Up to the Plate and First Pitch events, alumni golf tournament, and other projects that help the program as a whole.