Nate Breland

Nate Breland enters his tenth season as the Central Methodist head baseball coach in 2023.

Entering the 2023 season, Breland holds an overall record of 209-118. His 200th career win came courtesy of a 7-0 victory over Missouri Valley at Estes Field on April 13, 2019. Under his guidance, 50 Eagles have earned All-Conference honors, seven players have been named NAIA All-Americans, and three players have earned Player of the Year recognition by the Heart. Breland also coached Peyton Long, who became the first Eagle to get drafted since 2011 when the Milwaukee Brewers took him in the 30th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft.

In 2019, Central Methodist finished with a 35-15 record, including 19-8 in Heart play, narrowly missing out on a second straight regular-season conference championship. The Eagles did earn an at-large bid to the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round, traveling to Montgomery, Ala., as the No. 2 seed in their bracket. It marked the fourth straight season that the Eagles qualified for the national tournament. For their work in the classroom, the Eagles were named as an NAIA Scholar Team in 2019.

For his work in guiding the Eagles to a Heart regular season championship in 2018, Breland was honored as the Heart Coach of the Year. He also coached the Eagles to a Heart Tournament championship in 2016.

Since cracking the Top 25 for the first time in school history in March 2017, Central Methodist has not fallen out of the national rankings, reaching as high as No. 5 in 2017. The Eagles will enter the 2020 season ranked in 20 straight polls. Off the diamond, his program earned the highest increase in GPA among male teams at Central Methodist. Breland has coached 12 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes.

Breland's teams hold every team record in program history, including wins in a season with 44 in 2016. His teams consistently rank among the Top 25 nationally in team statistics.

Breland has been an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator with the program since 2007. He has assisted in the NAIA national ratings and conducted winter baseball camps. Breland is also a member of the America Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and MSHAA Umpire Association.

A former Central Methodist baseball player himself (2002-06), Breland earned All-Conference honors all four years, three times at catcher and once as an outfielder. Breland was also named First Team All-Region as a senior. Breland still owns the school's single-season record for most at-bats (203 in 2004) and career records for most hits (241) and at-bats (646).

Breland obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education in 2006 and a Master's degree in Education in 2008. Prior to his time with the baseball program, Breland served six years as the strength and conditioning coach at Central.