June 30 marks the end of a storied career for Scott Carnahan.

“I felt like this was home,” Carnahan said. “I will miss the relationships more than anything.”

He said Linfield is a place where people make lifelong friends. “It seems like there’s a closeness here that’s been present for a long time,” Carnahan said.

“Carney will be greatly missed by the baseball team and by the whole Linfield community,” Brady Rediger, ’17, said. “He put endless amounts of time into the baseball program, the athletic department and all other aspects of Linfield.”

“We are sad to see Carnahan leave. He has meant so much to this program, this school, and all the players he has come in contact with,” Carter Buuck, ’17, said.

Carnahan said he has seen Linfield evolve, and the support from the community and Linfield donors is what made it happen. He was at Linfield to see Riley Hall transition from a bowling alley and gymnasium to a Starbucks and the Fred Meyer Lounge. Carnahan also oversaw major projects like the development of the Health, Human, Performance and Athletics building.

“This building made a big impact on the student-body because at first, there was no fitness center at all,” Carnahan said.

He was also part of the major upgrades to the football, track, tennis, soccer, baseball and softball venues as well as the development of the Rutschman Field House and Hewlett-Packard Park property.

Carnahan graduated from Linfield in 1973. He played football and baseball. He was hired at Linfield in 1983 and eventually became the athletic director and an extremely successful baseball coach. “My experience as a student-athlete is what drew me back.”

Carnahan was head coach of baseball for 26 seasons and eight seasons as the pitching coach.  As head coach, he was named NAIA District 2 Coach of the Year three times and Northwest Conference Coach of the Year 11 times. In addition his teams won NWC championships from1992 through 1996 and were NWC champions 11 times.

Carnahan will retire but will remain a member of the Linfield family. He said he is not sure what he will do, but he wants to “stay connected to Linfield in some way.”

In his free time, Carnahan said he will work on home projects and spend time with his grandchildren.

Second year assistant coach Stan Manley will lead the Wildcats next year as the head coach.

“I think things will transition well next year. Coach Manley has been with the program for a couple of years now, so I think things won’t change too much,” Rediger said. “I believe the baseball program will continue to be successful, just a slightly different coaching staff.”

“Coach Manley is a great leader and our team will return to campus next fall ready to give him our all, and work toward a national championship,” Buuck said.