In just five years, Walton has gone from renowned pitching guru, to respected and ultra-successful skipper.

Walton, who is regarded as one the brightest minds in college baseball, was named the head coach of Team USA Baseball this past summer. Walton led Team USA to the Gold Medal after defeating Japan 1-0, marking the first time the National Team has gone undefeated (24-0). The pitching staff set a National Team record with an ERA of 0.88, and posted six shutouts while not allowing more than two earned runs in any of the 24 contests. The bullpen was a key part of that success, only allowing eight earned runs in 84.0 innings for an ERA of 0.87.

Last season, Walton led the Golden Eagles to their 11th-straight conference title and NCAA regional appearance. ORU moved into third place all-time in NCAA history for consecutive conference crowns, while also posting its 11th straight 40-win season (48-14).

Twelve Golden Eagles earned All-Summit League honors, and ORU captured player, pitcher and newcomer of the year awards for the fourth consecutive season.
Walton was named ORU’s eighth head coach on June 11, 2003, and it didn’t take long for him to make his mark.

All Walton did in his rookie season as the Golden Eagles’ skipper was lead ORU to its first 50-win season in 20 years, produce the nation’s best team winning percentage (50-11, .820), help the Golden Eagles to an end-of-season Top-20 ranking for the first time in 20 years, guide ORU to a No. 2 seed in regional play, it’s first such seed since 1986, direct the Golden Eagles to their record-breaking seventh straight Mid-Continent Conference crown, and earn Mid-Con Coach of the Year honors.

Under Walton’s guidance, the ORU pitching staff has become one of the nation’s finest, ranking among the NCAA Top-25 in team earned run average in five of the last six seasons. In Walton’s tenure at ORU, 16 pitchers have either been drafted or have signed professional contracts.

Walton has also coached eight All-Americans, seven Summit League Pitchers of the Year and 18 first-team all-conference pitching selections.