CHARLOTTE – Charlotte Baseball hitting coach Phillip Cebuhar is leaving the 49ers to join the Washington Nationals organization as a hitting coordinator.
“Phillip Cebuhar has been a tremendous asset to Charlotte Baseball, and we are incredibly grateful for his relentless effort, professionalism, and dedication to our program,” head coach Robert Woodard said. “His daily commitment to developing our players and elevating our standards has made a lasting impact on this team and our culture. We are extremely proud of Phillip and thrilled for his opportunity to serve as the Hitting Coordinator for the Washington Nationals. It is a well-earned next step for a coach of his talent, integrity, and work ethic.”
Cebuhar heads to the professional ranks after four seasons in the Queen City as the team’s hitting coach. The 49ers totaled 346 home runs in the four seasons under Cebuhar’s tutelage, including crossing the 100-mark for just the second time in program history with 103 homers during the 2023 Conference USA Championship season. The Niners had two different stretches of at least one home run in 15 consecutive games under Cebuhar, which ties as the most consecutive games with a home run the Niners have had this century.
Not just capable of hitting the long ball, Charlotte’s offense also showed a marked improvement in taking walks under Cebuhar’s leadership, drawing at least 250 bases on balls in all four years he was with the team, a number that hadn’t been reached since the 2011 season. That included back-to-back seasons taking north of 350 free passes to first, including a program-record 371 walks at the plate in 2022 that had the Niners leading the country in walks per game heading into postseason play that year.
Cebuhar has overseen the drafting or signing of six professional players coming out of the 49ers’ program, including All-Americans David McCabe and Cam Fisher.
He is the third member of Woodard’s coaching tree to join the professional ranks since Woodard took over the team ahead of the 2020 season, joining Austin Meine (Baltimore Orioles to St. Louis Cardinals) and Michael Oh (St. Louis Cardinals), who are both pitching coordinators in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. Cebuhar already has some experience in the professional ranks, serving as a minor league coach for the Cleveland Guardians’ organization in the Dominican Summer League in 2019.
