BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— Samford Head Baseball Coach Casey Dunn recently announced a few changes to his coaching staff for the 2015 season.
 
Tyler Shrout, who served during the 2014 season as a volunteer assistant, has been promoted to full-time assistant coach with the departure of Matthew Addison after two years on the staff. Former Georgia Tech All-American Luke Murton will join the staff as a volunteer assistant coach, and Matt Burns will serve the staff as the director of baseball operations.
 
"First off, I would like to thank Coach Addison for his time with us," Dunn said. "He was a tireless worker that left a positive impact on our program. I am really excited about the additions we have been able to make over the past couple of months with Coach Addison's departure. First, we have been able to promote Coach Shrout to a role that will allow him more access to the recruitment process in addition to his duties as pitching coach." 
 
Shrout, who works with the Bulldogs' pitching staff, came to Samford after spending three seasons on the coaching staff at Lipscomb. Shrout was the pitching coach at Lipscomb, and for his final year on staff, was the team's recruiting coordinator. His 2012 staff set the school Division I record for lowest ERA, and his 2011 staff set a school record for strikeouts and ranked 18^th in the nation in the category.
 
From 2006 to 2009, Shrout was on the coaching staff at Birmingham-Southern College. He worked with the pitching staff for the Panthers, helping to lead the team to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title in 2009. His 2009 pitching staff led the SCAC in ERA at 3.66, ranking 18^th in the country. At BSC, he was also in charge of summer camps, team travel, academic progress, and he assisted with recruiting.
 
In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Shrout was the head coach of the Alabama Bombers Summer Team (2008-09). He also worked as a skills instructor at the Birmingham Baseball Academy in 2007, and he was the pitching coach for the Kentucky Baseball Club in 2006.
 
Shrout played four seasons at Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky. He graduated from Transylvania in 2006 with a degree in business administration with a concentration in finance.
 
"Luke Murton brings a high level of success to our program as a player and he is fired up to get started in his collegiate coaching career," Dunn said. "He comes highly recommended by both Coach (Danny) Hall at Georgia Tech and Tommy Slater with the Yankees.  I first met Luke on a mission trip in the Dominican and was able to see him witness to young people through baseball. He is a man of strong character and faith who will be an asset to our players on and off the field." 
 
Murton played collegiately at Georgia Tech from 2005 to 2009, playing as a first baseman and outfielder. He currently ranks in the top 10 in Georgia Tech history in career doubles, home runs, total bases and RBI. He was named third team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball in 2009. Murton was also named All-ACC in 2009, and he made the All-ACC Tournament team in 2006.
 
From 2009 to 2013, Murton played in the New York Yankees organization. He earned a Spring Training invitation in 2013, and he was named an MILB Organizational All-Star and a South Atlantic League All-Star in 2010. He ranked second in home runs in the New York-Penn League in 2009 and in the Eastern League in 2012. Murton led his team in doubles and RBI in 2011.
 
Murton spent the 2013 and part of the 2014 season with the Sioux City Explorers. He also played for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in 2014.
 
Murton comes to Samford after working as a scouting/field manager at Perfect Game since September. From January to May of 2014, Murton was the head middle school baseball coach and varsity hitting coach at Excel Christian Academy.
 
From 2013 to 2014, Murton was the head coach of the Organizational Player Development and 11U Travel Baseball team for Parkway Sports in Cartersville, Ga.
 
From 2009 to 2010, Murton served as the hitting coach at Pointe University in West Pointe, Ga. During that same period, he was a Player Development Instructor at the Players Academy in McDonough, Ga.
 
Murton earned his bachelor's degree from Georgia Tech in management in 2009.
 
"Matt Burns has been with us full time since the fall," Dunn said. "He previously has worked several of our camps and he is someone we have had a relationship with for a while. He will be able take over a lot of the office duties that will allow me and our other coaches to focus on what takes place on the field. I'm excited to have Matt join our program and look forward to helping him progress in his coaching career."
 
Burns comes to Samford after serving as the hitting and third base coach at Christian Brothers University in 2013 and 2014. While at Christian Brothers, Burns worked with the team's catchers. He helped lead HBU to its first ever Gulf South Conference Tournament victory.
 
Burns coached at Paul W. Bryant High School in 2011-12 and at Enterprise High School in 2012-13.
 
Burns played collegiately at Wallace Community College. The Moody, Ala., native graduated from the University of Alabama in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in education with a concentration in exercise science.