Mitch Canham - Pat Casey Head Baseball Coach - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Mitch Canham

Title:
Pat Casey Head Baseball Coach

Two-time National Champion Mitch Canham was named the 21st head coach in Oregon State baseball’s history on June 13, 2019.
Canham, the Pat Casey Head Baseball Coach, was revered by Beaver Nation in four years as a student-athlete, and is one of the most popular players in school history. He was a 2007 All-American and guided the Beavers to three trips to Omaha, culminating in National Championships in 2006 and 2007.

• The 2025 Beavers advanced to Omaha for the first time under Canham’s tutelage as he and the club won 48 games. OSU lost its first game of the postseason and advanced to Omaha going 5-0 in elimination games in the Corvallis Regional Super Regionals.
• Seven Beavers were selected in the MLB Draft, including Aiva Arquette who went seventh overall and was the 14th player in school history to be chosen in the first round.
• Six Oregon State players were named All-Americans, one shy of the program’s single-season record in 2018.
• Oregon State accomplished all these feats, and more, while playing an independent schedule that saw the program host just 19 home games during the regular season.

• Canham and the Beavers advanced to their seventh consecutive NCAA postseason appearance in 2024. Oregon State ended the season with a 45-16 record, appearing in the team’s ninth NCAA Super Regional.
• Canham mentored Travis Bazzana, who was selected No. 1 overall in the MLB Draft, the second such selection in the program’s history. Bazzana was one of seven MLB Draft selections in 2024.
• Bazzana, who was a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy, was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year. He was a unanimous First-Team All-American. He was one of five All-Americans for the Beavers in Canham’s fifth season at the helm, being joined by Aiden May, Jacob Kmatz, Bridger Holmes and Gavin Turley.

• Canham guided OSU to its 22nd all-time NCAA appearance in 2023, winning two games at the Baton Rouge Regional.
• Oregon State went 41-20, reaching the 40-win plateau for the 11th time in school history, and the fifth with Canham as the head coach or as a player. The Beavers also went 18-12 in Pac-12 play, finshing second in the league.
• Bazzana was named an All-American, the seventh during Canham’s era. Bazzana and Garret Forrester were both named All-Pac-12 First-Team selections.

• Canham guided Oregon State to a 48-18 record and trip to the NCAA Super Regionals in 2022, his second full season as the program’s head coach. The Beavers finished 20-10 in Pac-12 play, second in the conference, and advanced to the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament title game.
• OSU hosted both an NCAA Regional and Super Regional. The Beavers won four games at the regional, and were just one run shy in the super from advancing to Omaha.
• Ten Beavers earned all-conference honors in 2022, seven of which were first-team selections. Four of those 10 honors - Justin Boyd, Ben Ferrer, Cooper Hjerpe and Jacob Melton - were named All-Americans.
• Hjerpe led the nation with an Oregon State single-season record 161 strikeouts. He was named the National Pitcher of the Year by multiple organizations.
• Melton, meanwhile, was named the Pac-12’s Player of the Year. He batted .360 and tallied 22 doubles with 17 home runs in addition to tying the OSU single-season record with 83 runs batted in.

• Canham led Oregon State to a 37-24 record in his first full season at the helm of the program in 2021. The Beavers finished with a 16-14 record in Pac-12 play.
• Canham guided OSU to the Fort Worth Regional, where the Beavers advanced to the championship game. OSU went 3-2 in Texas, advancing to the winner-take-all game seven.
• Three Beavers earned all-league honors in 2021; Troy Claunch, Will Frisch and Jake Mulholland. Mulholland was named an All-American by the NCBWA and Frisch was a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball.

Canham, a native of Richland, Wash., came back to the collegiate ranks after spending three-and-a-half seasons as a manager in the Seattle Mariners’ organization.
• He led the Double-A Arkansas Travelers to a North Division First-Half Title in the Texas League after defeating Tulsa on June 9, just four days before becoming Oregon State’s head coach. In nearly half a season at the Double-A level, Canham amassed a 42-22 record.
• Canham posted a .545 winning percentage at the professional level, going 264-220. He tallied winning seasons in three of the nearly four seasons, including 86 wins at Single-A Clinton in 2016.
• Canham followed his first managerial season by moving to high Single-A Modesto of the California League in 2017. In his first of two seasons with the Nuts, he led the club to a 74-68 record and California League Championship. He was also named the California League Manager of the Year.
• Ten players from the 2017 Modesto Nuts club have already reached the Major Leagues (as of May 2021).
• Canham served as MLBers Braden Bishop and Pablo Lopez’s manager at Clinton as well. There, he also helped advance the careers of Major Leaguers Alex Jackson, Zack Littell, Luiz Gohara and Osmer Morales.

Canham came to Oregon State from Lake Stevens, Wash., in 2004. He lettered three seasons for the Beavers - 2005-07 - and played in 183 games.
The Beavers won 46, 50 and 49 games, respectively, during his three on-the-field seasons, including 27 victories in the postseason. The 50 wins in 2006, at the time, marked an Oregon State single-season record.

• Canham batted .314 during his career, tallying 31 doubles, eight triples, 25 home runs and 152 runs batted in.
• The 152 RBI head into the 2021 season as the seventh-most in a career at Oregon State. The 25 home runs, meanwhile, rank ninth.
• He had an All-American season for the Beavers in 2007. He batted .326 as a redshirt junior, collecting 10 home runs and 59 RBI. He was also named an All-Pacific-10 Conference First-Team selection, a year after being named honorable mention.
• Canham was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2005 Corvallis Regional and was selected to the All-College World Series Team in 2007.
• He opened his postseason career by batting .353 with three doubles and nine RBI in 2005, helping Oregon State to a 5-3 record and the program’s first trip to Omaha since 1952.
• He followed that with a .289 batting average in 2006 and led the Beavers to their first of now three National Championships. Canham posted four doubles and 11 RBI in 13 games.
• Canham completed his career with a home run and six RBI in 2007 as the Beavers won their second title. Oregon State rolled to an 11-1 record en route to the championship.

As a business administration graduate, he excelled off the field while at OSU earning 2007 Academic All-America accolades and three-time membership on the Pac-10 Academic team. The five-time OSU Dean’s List member was also a leader on Oregon State’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was presented the Beavers’ Glenn Klein Award for his community service contributions.

Following his senior season, the Pac-10 honored Canham as OSU’s male recipient of the 2007 Tom Hansen Award, presented annually to the outstanding senior student-athlete based on exhibition of the greatest combination of performance, and achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership.

Canham’s contributions to local communities have continued during his professional career and include founding and serving as the CEO of BASE By Pros LLC, an organization that provides personalized baseball instruction and mentorship to kids across the country.

Following his stellar career at Oregon State, Canham was selected in the first round, 57th overall, by the San Diego Padres in the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft. He was the sixth first-round selection in Oregon State history.

He spent four seasons with the Padres’ organization, reaching as high as Triple-A Portland. He also spent time with the Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals and Washington Nationals’ organizations before ending his professional playing career with the independent Lincoln Saltdogs in 2015.

Canham’s business administration degree from Oregon State came in 2011. He and his wife, Marlis, have two childen, Mack and Mya.

College Education
Alma Mater: Oregon State, 2011
Degree: Business Administration

Playing Career
Collegiate: Oregon State (2004-07)
MLB Draft: 1st round of 2007 Draft (San Diego Padres)
Professional:
San Diego Padres system (2007-10)
Oakland Athletics system (2011)
St. Louis Cardinals system (2012)
Kansas City Royals system (2013)
Washington Nationals system (2014)

Eugene Emeralds, Northwest League (2007)
Lake Elsinore Storm, California League (2007-08)
San Antonio Missions, Texas League (2009-10)
Portland Beavers, Pacific Coast League (2010)
Midland RockHounds, Texas League (2011)
Sacramento River Cats, Pacific Coast League (2011)
Long Island Ducks, Atlantic League (2012)
Memphis Redbirds, Pacific Coast League (2012)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals, Texas League (2013)
Omaha Storm Chasers, Pacific Coast League (2013)
Harrisburg Senators, Eastern League (2014)
Lincoln Saltdogs, American Association (2015)

Personal
Hometown: Richland, Wash.
Wife: Marlis
Children: Mack, Mya