Merrill Morgan enters his 22nd season in 2025 as Head Baseball Coach at Virginia State University. During his tenure, he has compiled more than 375 victories. He has guided VSU to four CIAA Championships, including three consecutive championships in 2007, 2008, and 2009 and was named CIAA Coach of the Year in 2004, 2006, and 2007. Under his leadership, the Trojans have also been runner-up in the CIAA five times.
In 2024 VSU went 15-33 and advanced all the way to the semifinals of the NSAC Tournament. The Trojans landed seven players on the ALL-NSAC team. Jimmyll Williams was a standout player for the Trojans hitting .350 with a .937 OPS. Williams played in alomst every position for the Trojans and was selected to play for the Tr-City Chili Peppers.
In 2023, the Trojans improved to 21-29 and appeared in the NSAC Championship Tournament. Under the guidance of Coach Morgan, the Trojans' Tahraun Hammond was named 2023 NSAC Offensive Player of the Year. Hammond, along with teammates Joseph Hastings and Jody Morris were selected to play for the Tri-City Chili Peppers of the Coastal Plain League in the summer of 2023.
In 2022, Coach Morgan and the Trojans went 18-28 and played a record-setting four games in one day to win the inaugural New South Athletic Conference Championship Tournament.
In 2007, Coach Morgan became the first VSU coach to lead his team to the NCAA regional tournament. During the tournament, the Trojans turned the first and only triple play in the NCAA Regionals. In 2010, Coach Morgan had his first Student-Athlete selected in the Major League Draft when outfielder John Bivens was selected in the 12th round by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Coach Morgan coached under Herbert Wheat for two seasons ('02 and '03) when the Trojans won the CIAA title in 2002.
Coach Morgan is an alum of Mount Olive University (1984) and Virginia Commonwealth University (1986). He earned All-Conference honors in 1984 and was a member of the NJCAA District Championship Team in 1983. In his first season with the Rams in 1985, Morgan batted .308 while manning centerfield. On November 17, 2012, Morgan was inducted into the Mount Olive University Hall of Fame.
A Dinwiddie, VA native, Coach Morgan and his wife Angela have two sons, Marcus and Merrill Jr. (ML).
