BUTLER TWP — A big part of Cody Herald's heart belongs to Butler.

The Butler graduate, former Golden Tornado baseball and basketball standout and baseball coach has left his hometown regardless.

Herald, 26, recently resigned his post as Golden Tornado baseball coach to join his fiancée, Alisha, in Buffalo, N.Y.

“You have no idea,” Herald said, his voice cracking as he spoke, when asked how difficult it is for him to leave Butler.

“I'm so proud of my hometown. I love it.” he said. “I don't even know how long I'll be gone. Maybe we'll be back here in a couple of years, who knows?

“We'll see how things work out (with baseball). All I know is, this is the next chapter in my life and I have to follow it.”

Herald is getting married Aug. 9. His fiancée is a law student at the University of Buffalo.

“Cody is one of those guys who is all Butler,” Butler athletic director Bill Mylan said. “He is all Gold and White.

“I always thought he'd be a fixture here, would get a teaching job in the district and would teach and coach here for a long time.

“But life changes things. He's making the decision he feels is best for his life and we wish him nothing but the best,” Mylan added.

Herald was head coach of the Butler varsity baseball team for two years, guiding the squad into the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs both years. His record was 19-21. He was also a Butler basketball coach at the youth level.

“Butler produces hard-nosed kids,” Herald said. “People outside of here refer to us as a bunch of farmers. Maybe that's true, but we have tough kids ... mentally tough kids.

“Our teams have often exceeded expectations.”

Mylan described Herald's baseball coaching job this past spring “as simply phenomenal.

“He took a inexperienced group, got to the playoffs and won. He did an exceptional job,” Mylan said.

Herald acknowledged that some people around town are “a little upset” that he's leaving the Butler program.

“Believe me, it is so hard to do this. But life happens,” he said.

Herald was also manager of the now-defunct Butler BlueSox, leading them to the Prospect League championship series a couple of years ago.

He hopes to get into coaching baseball in some form in Buffalo.

“It's in my blood,” Herald said of baseball. “It's already hard not being around it. I'm gonna see what's down the road for me.

“Obviously, I'd love to have a full-time job coaching baseball, but those are only the big-time college or professional jobs. Right now, I'm just hoping to stay in the game somehow, maybe keep working toward that.”

Herald played on WPIAL playoff Butler basketball teams as well as successful baseball teams in high school. He was a standout baseball player at Seton Hill University as well.

He played for the BlueSox before assuming the managerial reins.

“All of those teams I played on at Butler ... We never quite got over the hump, but the community always stood behind us,” he said. “Everybody always supported us.

“That's what I'll always remember about playing ball in Butler.”

Mylan said the Butler baseball coach opening has been posted for over a week. He expects interviews to begin in late August and a new head coach to be hired in September.