Beloved Charlotte Christian baseball coach passes away after battle with cancer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - A legendary Charlotte-area high school baseball coach has passed away after a battle with cancer, Charlotte Christian School announced on Saturday morning.

“It is with great sadness that we share that Varsity Baseball Head Coach Greg Simmons has passed away after a battle with lung cancer,” the school said in a press release.

Simmons coached at the school for 30 years, tallying 733 wins along with 16 NCISAA state titles and 22 CISAA conference titles.

A whopping 95 of Simmons’ former players went on to play baseball in college, and 10 were drafted by Major League Baseball (MLB) clubs.

Simmons had the most wins by any coach of any sport in Charlotte Christian School history along with the most wins in NCISAA baseball history.

In 2016, the North Carolina Baseball Coaches Association (NCBCA) inducted Simmons into the NCBCA Hall of Fame.

“Though this news is extremely difficult to comprehend and brings much weeping, we rejoice knowing that Greg has joy today as He sees his Savior’s face,” Head of School Barry Giller said. “Greg achieved unprecedented success as a baseball coach but it was his unwavering commitment to excellence in the name of Christ that set him apart. Please join me in praying for Coach’s family in this difficult season.”

Simmons played baseball at Liberty University from 1986-88 under New York Yankees great Bobby Richardson before later serving as a graduate assistant coach during the 1989 season.

He moved to Charlotte and began teaching and coaching at Charlotte Christian in 1989. He took over as head coach over the varsity program three years later in 1992.