Montreat College

Ben Payton joined the Montreat College baseball program as a volunteer assistant coach in the fall of 2019. He previously served as a hitting instructor at Raleigh Baseball Institute where he worked alongside Matt Raleigh, a former hitting coach in the Miami Marlins organization. While there, he instructed players of all levels ranging from the professional ranks to Division 1 all the way down to members of the 2016 Little League World Series Championship Team.

Payton’s first coaching gig came in the summer of 2017 when he was the hitting coach of the Snow Dogs in the Interstate Collegiate Baseball League. There, he helped lead the team to a divisional title and playoff birth. The following summer he was appointed head coach of the Deep River Mud Dogs of the Carolina Virginia Collegiate League. Payton led the team to its second playoff appearance in club history and saw two of his players go on to sign professional contracts.

The Oneonta, N.Y. native played at Keuka College under Rick Ferchen where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in management with a concentration in sports management.