BUTLER TWP — Josh Forbes was approved as Butler High School's new varsity baseball coach by unanimous vote at Monday night's school board meeting.

He succeeds Cody Herald, a Butler graduate who resigned after two years as head coach. Forbes, a teammate of Herald's at Seton Hill University, was an assistant coach on his staff at Butler and with the Butler BlueSox.

“We want to continue the direction the program's been going in under Cody,” Butler athletic director Bill Mylan said. “A lot of our baseball players have gone on to play in college the past couple of years and we want to keep that trend going.

“Hiring Josh gives us that continuity.”

Forbes, 27, is a Greenville High School graduate and played prep baseball for Commodore Perry. He graduated from Seton Hill in 2015 with a degree in communications.

He played for the Butler BlueSox in 2013 and broke into coaching as a pitching coach under Jason Radwan with the BlueSox in 2015.

“I never figured on going into coaching,” Forbes said. “I knew the game, could talk about the game and could help teammates with their problems in baseball.

“I've always had some leadership qualities that way.”

A catcher as a player, Forbes coached that position for a year at Division III Wittenberg University in Ohio. He returned to Butler as Herald's pitching coach.

“Being a catcher, I always knew something about pitchers,” he said. “When I saw I'd be a pitching coach, I studied the position more. Now I can help develop pitchers and help them with their mechanics.”

Mylan said six individuals applied for the position.

Herald was 19-21 with two WPIAL 6A playoff appearances in his two seasons at Butler. He resigned after last season and relocated to New York.

The Golden Tornado won a playoff game in both years under Herald.

“Josh's philosophies are very similar to Cody's,” Mylan said. “He coached for a year at the college level as well, so the experience is there.”

Forbes admitted that “I'd be pretty dumb if I didn't continue the culture Cody and I developed together with Butler baseball.

“I want to continue developing young student athletes. College baseball is a dream for a lot of these guys. A big part of my job is preparing them to get to the next level.

“If we continue to compete and continue to win, college coaches will recruit our players even more,” Forbes added.

Employed as a sales representative in the area, Forbes lives in Butler.

Forbes