Cody Semler enters his first season at Old Dominion in 2023 following a short coaching stint at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Florida. He will work with the Monarchs' hitters and catchers and share base running duties.
Prior to his time in Tampa, Semler spent two years at Howard Junior College in Texas, helping the Hawks win the 2021 WJCAC Conference championship following a 37-11 record in the regular season with a 20-4 mark in conference play. That year saw the team finish the regular season ranked eighth in all of NJCAA and host a regional. While at Howard, Semler ran the No. 1 run scoring offense in all of junior college baseball in the spring of 2021, an offense that scored more than 10 runs a game in 35 of 48 regular season contests and amassing over 600 runs in total. Fifteen players on the roster hit over .300, with eight of them named All-Conference and one earning an All-American nod. First baseman Hunter Simmons was tabbed as the conference MVP and Kris Anglin (selected in the 16th round by the Atlanta Braves) was named the conference Pitcher of the Year. Fifteen members of that 2021 team moved on to play Division I baseball.
From 2016-2019, Semler was a graduate assistant coach at Oklahoma State University. During his time at OSU, the Cowboys put together an impressive resume, which included two Big 12 Conference Championships, three NCAA Regionals appearances, and one appearance in a Super Regional. Semler helped develop a multitude of pitchers and hitters that were eventually drafted by Major League Baseball teams.
While at OSU, Semler spent his summers coaching and recruiting for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Collegiate Baseball League. In his first year with Chatham, the Anglers went on to win the Eastern Division Championship. That 2018 team produced 29 MLB draft picks, with included three taken in the first round.
In his second year with Chatham, the Anglers finished with the best record in the Eastern Division. That 2019 team produced 13 MLB draft signees, including the first overall pick in third baseman Spencer Torkelson.
Semler was drafted by the San Diego Padres as a shortstop out of high school, but chose to attend junior college instead. From there, he went on to play at West Virginia and Angelo State. Following his senior year at ASU, he played one season for the Tampa Bay Rays.