Michael Thorne is entering his first season as an assistant baseball coach for Evangel University. His old-school approach to baseball and competitive nature will provide his players with the tools they need to grow and develop as ball players and as young men. Coach Thorne was born and raised in Denver, Colorado and attended high school at Faith Christian Academy.
In his freshman year of high school in 2016, Michael’s team won the Colorado 3A State Championship. As a sophomore and junior, his teams finished in the final four. Tragically, Michael missed his senior baseball season after having ankle surgery in early March of 2019. In his three active high school seasons, he played under coaches Jim Polson and Jeremy Lustik, compiling a career pitching record of 13-2 with a 1.74 ERA. He finished with 157 strikeouts and only 28 walks in 108 2/3 innings. As a junior in 2018, he went 7-0 with a 1.27 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 55 innings.
After high school, Coach Thorne pitched two seasons at Garden City Community College in 2020 and 2021, compiling 56 strikeouts in 48 innings.
Following his 2021 season with the Garden City Broncbusters, he transferred to Metropolitan State University (Denver). In both 2022 and 2023, Michael pitched in relief and his MSU Roadrunners teams made it to the NCAA Division II Tournament in back-to-back seasons.
Coach Thorne first joined forces with Sam Jones in the summers of 2022 and 2023 as a starting pitcher for the Denver Generals in the Mile High Collegiate Baseball League. Michael finished his baseball career as an MHCBL All Star in 2023. Michael would then join Sam Jones once again in 2024 at Denver Christian High School as a Varsity assistant and JV Baseball Head Coach. Denver Christian would go on to win the 2A State Championship in the spring of 2024.
