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In mid-August of 2007, Grant Achilles was added to WCU first-year head baseball coach Bobby Moranda's coaching staff as an assistant coach. He was promoted to Assistant Head Coach during fall 2008 practice prior to the 2009 season. Achilles coordinates and oversees everything with team travel including hotel, meals and coordinating practice times.
Achilles joins the Catamount coaching staff from Charlotte where he spent one season working with the 49er catchers, assisting with the defense and hitters, as well as coaching first base. He worked with Kris Rochelle, who was named first team All-Atlantic-10 and to the all-tournament team at catcher, and was later drafted in the 22nd round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Detroit Tigers. With Achilles on staff, Charlotte enjoyed one of its most successful seasons in history finishing with a school-record 49 wins and ranked as high as 19th in the country. The 49ers advanced to the NCAA Baseball Regional in Columbia, S.C., breaking 11 school seasonal records.
A native of Lynchburg, Va., Achilles has coached in the summer wooden bat leagues. As an assistant coach in 2006, he helped the Thunder Bay Border Cats to a Northwoods League runner-up finish and last season was the associate head coach of the Wilmington Sharks of the Coastal Plains League (CPL) coaching defense and hitting, and third base. Two Sharks were named CPL All-Stars under the tutelage of Achilles.
An infielder by trade, the versatile Achilles played a host of positions with the Demon Deacons including first base, second base, right field and even worked out behind the plate. He appeared in 56 games during his five-year career - which included a medical redshirt in 2004 - making 19 starts. Achilles hit around .220 for his career with a pair of doubles and two home runs with 11 walks and a dozen RBI. A tri-captain of the 2006 squad, Achilles was best remembered at WFU for his hard-work ethic and team mentality.
Achilles was a first team All-Region and All-State selection as a junior and senior at Heritage High, helping to lead his team to a Region III Championship and berth in the Virginia state title game. He was also an Academic All-State selection for three years. During American Legion play, he batted .495 for Post 16 with 27 stolen bases in 2001, the same year he was named MVP of the World Youth Classic Championship.
Moranda is very familiar with the Achilles family as he recruited both Grant and his older brother, Todd, to Wake Forest while an assistant coach.
