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Paul Menhart enters his third year on the Western Carolina staff and his second as pitching coach. While this is just his second year as a coach at Western, Menhart has long ties to the Catamount program. After 12 years away from Cullowhee, Paul Menhart returned to Western Carolina as an assistant coach for the 2002-03 academic year to complete his undergraduate degree and, this past year, he received his B.S. in Physical Education.
In his first year as pitching coach, Western was saddled with numerous injuries on the mound, including season-ending surgery to Brandon McDowell. However, at season's end, the staff came around to get some big performances from the likes of SoCon Pitcher of the Week Brian McCullen, Mike McGowan and Jeremy Ellenburg to finish fourth in the SoCon in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.294).
In 2003, Menhart helped the Catamount pitching staff post a 3.77 ERA, which ranked second in the Southern Conference, ranked 28th in the NCAA, was WCU's lowest since the 1994 season and the school's second-best average since becoming a Division I program in 1976. The low ERA was bolstered during the SoCon Tournament when the staff pitched a tourney-record 29.2 consecutive scoreless innings.
The Mystic, Conn., native left WCU after his junior season with the Catamounts as he was an eighth-round draft pick in 1990 by the Toronto Blue Jays, an organization he stayed with until 1995. He went on to be an All-Star at Dunedin, Toronto's A affiliate in 1991, and made his major league debut in April of 1995. He was traded to the Seattle Mariners in 1996 and stayed with the team until 1997. He was traded again midway through the 1997 season to San Diego and remained with the club through 1998. In 1999, he played with the California Angels, Cleveland Indians and Florida Marlins organizations. In 2000, he played for the Solano Steelheads before being picked up by the Colorado Rockies. After spending the 2001 spring training with the Boston Red Sox, he returned to the Steelheads, a member of the Western Baseball League, to manage the team.
Menhart spent three seasons at Western, compiling a 19-17 overall career record with 214 strikeouts. His 19 wins ranks 10th on the WCU all-time list, while his 214 strikeouts and his 266.1 innings pitched are eighth. Menhart, who led the Cats in strikeouts in each of his three seasons and innings pitched twice, was tabbed Southern Conference Tournament MVP in 1989 after tossing a five-hitter with 10 strikeouts in the semifinals versus Appalachian State. He additionally earned first team All-SoCon recognition in 1988 thanks to his 8-3 record and 3.55 ERA. He finished his three-year career with an 11-6 record in SoCon games.
Menhart is married to the former Elizabeth "Bitsy" Barnes, who is a WCU alum. The couple reside in Atlanta and have three children: Alison (10), Jamie (7) and Michael (5).
