Veteran baseball head coach Hank Banner will enter the 2010 season needing 26 wins to eclipse the 300 win plateau.  Meanwhile, the program needs 23 victories to reach 500 wins since 1986.  Throughout his tenure, Banner's squads have been known for consistency.  The Highland Cavaliers have posted at least 20 victories in five consecutive seasons.  Over that period UVa-Wise has posted two 30 win seasons to go along with back to back thrid places finishes in the NAIA Region XII Tournament.
    Highlighting Banner's tenure are the teams produced during the 2006-2008 seasons.  Over those three seasons the team combined for a 91-59-1 mark (.606).  The 2007 team finished fourth in the AAC regular season, fourth in the conference tournament, and returned the Highland Cavaliers to the NAIA Region XII Tournament for the first time in five years.  The 2007 Cavs' hold the school record for most wins in a season at 32.
    The 14th year head coach became the winningest coach in school history when UVa-Wise defeated Alderson-Broaddus on March 21, 2007 by the score of 5-0.  Banner currently stands at 274 victories over 13 seasons, averaging over 21 wins per campaign.
    The 2010 season will provide Banner with a challenging schedule as UVa-Wise will face four ranked or receiving votes squads in the national poll.  All AAC players Brad Robbins (Sr.), Luis Roa (Jr.), and three more seniors which include catcher Adam Skoranski, third baseman Dusty Haigler, and utility Billy Thompson will lead this years team.
    Banner is a 1992 graduate of UVa-Wise.  While a student, the coach was a four-year member of the Cavaliers' baseball team and started at second base on the 1989 and 1990 conference championship teams.
    His wife, Bridgette, also graduated from UVa-Wise.  The couple and their daughter, Brooke, live in nearby Castlewood, Virginia.

Erik Lemley begins his second season as an assistant
coach at UVa-Wise.  Lemley serves as the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator for the Highland Cavalier baseball team.
    Lemley returned to UVa-Wise after spending two years away from the campus.  The former Cavs' catcher has brought a tireless work eithic to the coaching staff and recruiting trail.  Last season, UVa-Wise hitters posted a .329 batting average under Lemley's leadership.
    The Chantilly, Virginia native previously taught World History while coaching high school baseball at Notre Dame Academy in Middleburg, Virginia.  While at Notre Dame he served as an assistant on their 2007 squad that posted a 32-4 record on the way to a VISBA State Championship.  In 2008, Lemley took over the head coaching duties, leading the school to a 15-13 record.
    The four year UVa-Wise catcher had a solid career for the Highland Cavaliers.  Lemley recorded a .281 career average over 121 at bats while lining nine doubles and two home runs with 24 rbi.  Lemley earned his bachelor's degree in history education in May of 2006 from UVa-Wise.

For the tenth season, Doug Bates will handle the duties of the Highland Cavaliers' pitching coach duties.  
    The former standout hurler for J.J. Kelly High School in Wise, Virginia brings a wealth of experience to the coaching staff.  Bates was selected in the 12th-round by the Atlanta Braves.  He played four seasons in the Braves and St. Louis Cardinals minor league organizations.
    He and his wife, Tammy, and their daughter, Brianna, live in Wise.  The couple's son Brandon (2003-06) pitched four years for the Cavs and recorded 12 wins.