Mitch Canham

Mitch Canham

Canham playing for the Lake Elsinore Storm in 2008
Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	Oregon State
Conference	Independent
Record	176–87 (.669)
Biographical details
Born	(1984-09-25) September 25, 1984 (age 40) Richland, Washington, U.S.
Playing career
2004–2007	Oregon State
2007	Eugene Emeralds
2007–2008	Lake Elsinore Storm
2009–2010	San Antonio Missions
2010	Portland Beavers
2011	Midland RockHounds
2011	Sacramento River Cats
2012	Memphis Redbirds
2012	Long Island Ducks
2013	Northwest Arkansas Naturals
2013	Omaha Storm Chasers
2014	Harrisburg Senators
2015	Lincoln Saltdogs
Position(s)	Catcher
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2016	Clinton LumberKings
2017–2018	Modesto Nuts
2019	Arkansas Travelers
2020–present	Oregon State
Head coaching record
Overall	176–87 (.669)
Tournaments	NCAA: 12–9 (.571)

Mitchell Dean Canham (born September 25, 1984) is an American baseball coach and former catcher, who is the current head baseball coach of the Oregon State Beavers. He previously served as manager for the Clinton LumberKings, Modesto Nuts, and Arkansas Travelers.

Canham played college baseball for the Oregon State Beavers, coached by Pat Casey, and was a member of the 2006 and 2007 teams that won back-to-back national championships at the College World Series.^[1]

He was drafted by the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB) with the 57th overall pick in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft.^[2]

Amateur career

Canham played for the Lake Stevens Junior Athletic Association (LSJAA) Tigers from 1995-1996. Canham attended Lake Stevens High School in Lake Stevens, Washington, where he was a three-sport star and honor student.^[3]

Canham was named to the preseason All-American second team by the Collegiate Baseball newspaper and as a third team All-American by Baseball America. He ended the season as a third-team All-American selection by the Collegiate Baseball newspaper.^[4] In 2006, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League and was named a league all-star.^[5][6][7]

Professional career

Canham began his professional career in 2007 with the Short-Season Eugene Emeralds of the Northwest League and the Class-A Advanced Lake Elsinore Storm. With the Emeralds Canham batted .293 with two home runs, four doubles, one triple, 34 hits and 18 RBIs in 28 games. In just two games with the Storm Canham had no hits and one RBI.

In 2008 Canham spent the entire season with Lake Elsinore of the California League. He hit .285 with eight home runs, 28 doubles, five triples, 119 hits, 13 steals and 81 RBI in 113 games.

2009 saw Canham a promotion to the Double-A San Antonio Missions of the Texas League. He finished the '09 campaign batting .263 with six home runs, 20 doubles, three triples, 107 hits, five stolen bases and 53 RBI in 111 games.

Coaching career

Canham was named the manager of the Clinton LumberKings for the 2016 season. In 2017 and 2018, Canham was the manager of the Modesto Nuts. Canham managed the Arkansas Travelers for the first half of the 2019 season before resigning.

On June 13, 2019, Canham was named the head coach for the Oregon State Beavers.^[8] In July 2022, he signed a contract extension with the Beavers through the 2029 season.^[9]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Oregon State Beavers (Pac-12 Conference) (2020–2024)
2020	Oregon State	5–9	0–0		Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021	Oregon State	37–24	16–14	T–5th	NCAA Regional
2022	Oregon State	48–18	20–10	2nd	NCAA Super Regional
2023	Oregon State	41–20	18–12	2nd	NCAA Regional
2024	Oregon State	45–16	19–10	2nd	NCAA Super Regional
Oregon State:		176–87 (.669)	73–46 (.613)
Total:		176–87 (.669)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Personal life

Canham's mother died while he was a freshman in college.^[3] His younger brother, Dustin Canham, died in 2008 while serving with the United States Marines in Djibouti; the circumstances surrounding Dustin Canham's death received national attention based on a perceived cover up by the military and allegations that the death was due to hazing.^[3][10]

Canham's great uncle, Major General Charles D. W. Canham, commanded the 29th Infantry Division's 116th Infantry Regiment during its D-Day landing on Omaha Beach, earning the Distinguished Service Cross for valor in combat.^[3]

Canham and his wife, Marlis, have two children.^[11]

References

1. "Mitch Canham". OSUBeavers.com. Archived from the original on 2014-11-10. Retrieved 2006-06-21.
2. "2007 MLB.com Draft Tracker". MLB.com. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
3. "ESPN - A brother's burden: Baseball in a time of tribulation - MLB". 16 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
4. ""LOUISVILLE SLUGGER'S" ALL-AMERICAN BASEBALL TEAMS". Retrieved 2007-06-30.
5. "2006 Falmouth Commodores". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
6. Lauren Malone (August 1, 2006). "Behind the Eyes of the Major League Scouts". capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
7. "West All-Star Roster: All-Star Game 2006". capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
8. Steve Gress (June 13, 2019). "OSU baseball: Beavers set to hire Mitch Canham as new coach". www.gazettetimes.com. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
9. "Oregon State Extends Mitch Canham, Rich Dorman, Ryan Gipson". www.osubeavers.com. July 15, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
10. Johnson, Gene (2008-07-02). "Marine's death in Africa wasn't hazing, Corps says". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
11. "MITCH CANHAM". Retrieved 18 January 2022.

External links

• Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)