Former North Carolina standout and seven-year professional Josh Horton is in his first year as an assistant coach at Wagner in 2015 and is responsible for the Seahawk hitters and infielders while also serving as the program's recruiting coordinator.
Horton ascends on Grymes Hill after spending the 2014 season as an undergraduate assistant coach at UNC while finishing up his degree.
In his lone season as an assistant, he helped the Tar Heels to a 35-27 record and a spot in the Gainesville Regional while serving as the North Carolina Defensive/Infield coordinator and assistant hitting coach.
Prior to returning to Chapel Hill, Horton spent seven years in the minor leagues after being selected by the Oakland A’s in the Second Round of the 2007 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft. During his professional career, Horton hit .277 while reaching Triple-A with the A’s before finishing up his career in 2013 with the Baltimore Orioles’ organization.
Horton was one of the of the best shortstops in college baseball during his three seasons as a student-athlete for UNC from 2005-2007. A second-team All-America selection by Baseball America in 2006, Horton led Tar Heels to back-to-back College World Series Championship Series appearances in each of his final two seasons while garnering a pair of All-ACC accolades.
He capped his outstanding collegiate career by hitting safely in all six of North Carolina’s games in the 2007 College World Series en route to batting .370. In his first trip to Omaha, Horton hit .308 and was named to the 2006 All-College World Series Team (shortstop).
All told, over his three seasons he helped the Tar Heels to a 152-50-1 record, including a 60-27-1 mark during league play, and was the 2007 ACC Tournament MVP after leading UNC to its first conference title since the 1990 season. Additionally, his 264 hits in just three seasons are the ninth-most in program history.
Horton graduated from North Carolina in July of 2014 with a degree in communication studies with an emphasis in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication
A native of Hillsborough, NC, he and his wife Karyn live in Brooklyn, NY.
