For the better part of two decades, Casey Burcham has given his all to Carroll County athletics — coaching football, basketball and baseball at the high school, including 11 seasons in which he coached all three in the same year. Having patiently waited for 18 years, Burcham finally got the call May 14 he’s been waiting for all his career — the one informing him he’s been named the new varsity head baseball coach at Carroll County High School.
“I kind of got emotional about it because we have been here for a while but there has not been very many of us,” Burcham said on becoming just the fifth head varsity baseball coach in the 55-year history of the school. “The guy that started it off (Bill Worrell), his name is on the field. He was here 25 years and obviously did a great job. Coach (Greg) Nelson was here a couple of years and I played for Joe (Tompkins) my entire high school career. I have been an assistant since 2016 for (current head coach) Kevin DeHaven, so just to be with those guys is humbling.”
Burcham’s promotion won’t officially begin until July 1. He will remain an assistant to DeHaven for the remainder of the baseball season. DeHaven is leaving the baseball program after this year to replace the retiring Darrin Matthews as Carroll County’s athletic director
“It’s kind of been a process with it and I am not going to try to do anything to stop what we are trying to do this year. We are having a pretty good year and Kevin does a good job,” Burcham said. “He texted me last night and congratulated me and I told him I appreciated it. Then my next text was, ‘Well, this is what we’ve got for Radford,’ so we kind of went into that, the next game. It has kind of been business as usual today. I think the intention was for it not to be an interruption during baseball season, not trying to take anything away from Kevin and his last year. We are going to try to win.”
A 2001 graduate of Carroll County High School, Burcham is a member of the CCHS Sports Hall of Fame. A three-sport star at Carroll, baseball was Burcham’s main passion and he still ranks second all-time at CCHS with 125 career base hits. After graduating and completing his college baseball career at Emory & Henry College in 2006, Burcham began coaching at Carroll during the 2006-2007 year as a varsity football assistant and as an 8th grade baseball coach.
Burcham continued to coach football, but moved up to the JV baseball program in 2009. During that time he started coaching three sports at Carroll. In 2016, Burcham moved up to the varsity baseball program when DeHaven was hired for the position at that time. He also served as interim head football coach most of the 2019 season after then-head coach Jack Turner resigned early in the season.
“I enjoyed that stint as the football coach, but when that came to be hired, that wasn’t where I wanted to be. I have jokingly told people I have waited 20 years for the head baseball job,” Burcham said. “And the reason I say that is that has been the goal since I came back, to hopefully end up getting this. Luckily it has worked out and I am super excited about it.”
Now that the job is his going forward, Burcham, 41, does not intend to go anywhere or do anything else.
“I have at least 15 years in education left and I have no intention of doing anything else,” Burcham said. “This was the goal since 2006 when I came back, and hopefully we can make it last that long.”
Burcham is proud of the improvements he and DeHaven have made to the Cavalier baseball program. As of Friday morning, the Cavaliers hold a 14-4 mark this season and are a lock for the upcoming regional playoffs.
“That is kind of how you want to leave it. You want people to a part of it and the program means something to a lot of people,” Burcham said. “Kevin and I have worked really well together and I know this week has been an emotional week for Kevin on a lot of levels. Thursday may have been our last home game because right now we are a five seed in the regionals. It kind of gets to you a little bit because he is passionate about it and he knows I am passionate about it so it will be different, but it will be good. Kevin made the comment the other day, ‘Two more and we are at 75,’ and I think he meant 75 wins over seven years, which averaging roughly 11 a year, we are doing okay. Hopefully we can expand on that and keep it going.”
Burcham’s phone was ringing off the hook from family members once the news starting spreading Tuesday night after the Carroll County School Board met.
“They have always supported me. Dad (Jimmy Burcham) has been gone now six years and he knew that this was the goal. I am sure this would have been a proud moment for him. And thinking about him gets to you a little it,” Burcham said. “Mom (Lynn Burcham), I called her and she was emotional. It was funny because I had a few people call me that had no idea what was going on but you kind of get led into it. Like I talked to Murdock (David Meredith), he called me about something completely random and I mentioned it to him. He is the one that got me to Emory, he was the one that talked to the coaches and everything. Mom is pretty fired up. I was getting beeped in all night, like my grandmother would call, ‘Hey, I will call you back. Congratulations.’ Somebody else would call. Then my aunt called. They have known this has been a goal for quite a while and I think they are just happy it finally came to a conclusion.”
Allen Worrell can be reached at (276) 779-4062 or on X@AWorrellTCN
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