Ford Pemberton - Assistant Coach (Hitting, Infield), Recruiting Coordinator - Baseball Coaches

Ford Pemberton

Title:
Assistant Coach (Hitting, Infield), Recruiting Coordinator
Email:
ftpmbrtn@memphis.edu

A native of Bossier City, Louisiana, Pemberton joined the Memphis staff prior to the 2024 season after spending two seasons in the same roles under head coach Matt Riser at Southeastern Louisiana.

In year one under Pemberton’s instruction, the Tigers slugged 68 home runs (fifth most in program history) and walked 284 times to rank second in the AAC (third most in program history).

Memphis slugged a program-record seven home runs in a 14-4, run-rule home win over Central Arkansas on Feb. 21. The Tigers tallied 43 total bases in the win – good for second most in a single game in program history. In addition to the seven-home-run outburst, Memphis boasted its power with a pair of five-home-run games. Jacob Compton led the squad and ranked third in the AAC with 14 big flies. The Tigers lit up the scoreboard, posting 10-plus runs in 13 contests, and 13-plus runs on 10 occasions.

The Tigers were aggressive on the base paths all season long, successfully swiping 89 bags to lead The American and rank 43^rd nationally. Defensively, Memphis turned 54 double plays to rank 12^th in the nation. Daunte Stuart became just the fourth Tiger since 2001 to hit for the cycle with a 5-for-5 effort in the season’s conference-opening game at South Florida on March 22 – a 16-7 win.

Under Pemberton’s guidance, JUCO transfer Pierre Seals made an immediate impact in the AAC and led the Tigers offensively in batting (.327), OPS (.989), OBP (.436), stolen bases (16) and ranked second in total bases (110) and home runs (10).

Pemberton also handles recruiting coordinator duties for the Tigers where he helped piece together JBB’s No. 5 JUCO recruiting class in the country for 2024.

The Tigers have created positive momentum within the program and fan base which was evident with a pair of top-five all-time crowds at FedExPark during the 2024 season. Memphis defeated Ole Miss at home on April 2 in front the fifth-largest FedExPark crowd (1,426) in program history and drew another 1,612 spectators (third-largest FedExPark attendance in history) on April 23 when they hosted Mississippi State.

As recruiting coordinator at SLU, Pemberton helped piece together JBB's No. 2 ranked JUCO recruiting class in the country for 2023.

Pemberton helped the Lions’ 2022 offense to program top-10 totals in doubles, triples and home runs in his first season. The 70 home runs hit by Southeastern were the fourth-most in program history and the most in over twenty years.

Four players slugged double-digit home runs for the first time in school history in 2022 under Pemberton’s guidance. In addition, the Lions logged over 100 doubles for the first time since 2010.

SLU led the nation in batters getting hit by pitch, led by Rhett Rosevear who tied the DI single-season record for HBPs. In addition, Southeastern led the Southland Conference in home runs and walks. The Lions set or tied more than 14 Southland Conference Tournament offensive records during its run to the 2022 championship.

Under his tutelage, Southeastern infielders also showed a marked improvement defensively as they helped the Lions produce a program-best .978 fielding percentage during the 2022 season.

He has served as a board member of the Louisiana Baseball Coaches Association since 2022 and was a featured speaker at the 2023 LBCA Convention. In addition, Pemberton is a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association. He served as a speaker at both the Bayou/River Coaches Clinic in 2017 and the LHSAA Coaches Clinic in 2019.

Pemberton made the leap to the collegiate level in July of 2016, joining the Nicholls staff as Director of Baseball Operations and Camp Coordinator before moving onto the coaching staff a year later. A second promotion followed in August 2019 with Pemberton taking over as the Colonels' hitting coach along with a focus on base-running, the squad’s catchers and serving as the program's academic liaison.

Pemberton also played a major role in Nicholls’ recruiting efforts, practice organization and scheduling.

Prior to Nicholls, Pemberton served as an assistant at C.E. Byrd High School in Shreveport from 2014 to 2016. While at Byrd, he served as an associate scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

He attended Haughton High School and graduated from Louisiana State University in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and from Arkansas State in 2019 with a Master of Science in Sport Administration.

Pemberton and his wife, Sarah, have a son, John Ford, and a daughter, Cate.