Former Major League Baseball draft pick Austin Upshaw joined the Bellarmine University baseball staff as an assistant prior to the 2021 season.
The 2021 campaign marked Bellarmine's first in Division I and the ASUN Conference. The Knights earned three All-Conference awards in Upshaw's first season with the program, and following the year, senior right-hander Deylen Miley signed a free-agent deal with the Houston Astros.
In 2019, after his time in the Chicago Cubs’ minor league organization ended, Upshaw returned to alma mater Kennesaw State to complete his bachelor’s degree in sports management and serve the baseball team as a student assistant coach working primarily with hitters and infielders. Kennesaw State finished 10-8 in the shortened 2020 season and had several hitters leading the ASUN Conference in hitting before the remainder of the year was canceled due to the coronavirus.
From 2017-2019, Upshaw was as an infielder in the Cubs’ organization. After being drafted 405th overall in the 13th round of the 2017 MLB draft, he spent his first season in Low-A with the South Bend Cubs. In 2018, he was promoted to High-A Myrtle Beach, which was the highest level he would achieve. He appeared in 163 games with 657 plate appearances and 36 extra-base hits in his career.
From 2016-2017, Upshaw spent his sophomore and junior years at Kennesaw State as a middle of the lineup threat and first baseman. Over the span of two seasons, he played 109 games, hitting .339 with 15 home runs, 30 doubles, 77 RBIs and 79 runs. Upshaw was a crucial part of Kennesaw’s 2016 ASUN Conference championship, when the team went 17-4 in league play. He was named first-team All-ASUN in 2017 and second-team All-ASUN in 2016. In 2016, he was acknowledged as a Louisville Slugger Player of the Week.
In 2015, Upshaw played his freshman year at Georgia Perimeter College, a junior college in Georgia. He led the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association with a .417 batting average and garnered first-team All-GCAA honors.
Upshaw was a three-year starter at Buford High School in his hometown of Buford, Georgia. He led the Wolves to two league championships and three consecutive playoff appearances, including a Final Four and Sweet 16 appearance.
