With an 8-7 victory over Heart of America Athletic Conference rival Missouri Valley on Sunday, Central Methodist baseball coach Nate Breland reached a milestone 300th win. “These milestone win totals are only reached because a lot of people bought into the process, a commitment, and a championship vision, then implemented it every day,” said Breland. “I am very thankful to have been surrounded by successful people for the last nine years.

“I’ve had great support at home,” said Breland.  “I’ve had great assistants, administrators that want to win, great players, and great mentors that have made this program into what it is today. I am and will be forever grateful to all involved.” 

Currently in his ninth season at the helm of the Eagle baseball program, Breland took control of the team in 2014 after having served for six years as the strength and conditioning coach at Central.

Breland began his baseball career at Central in 2002 when he arrived in Fayette as a player. He earned All-Conference honors all four years as a player—three times as a catcher, and once as an outfielder. He was also named All-Region as a senior.

Breland became an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator with the program in 2007, then took over as head coach in 2014.

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. The Eagles entered the 2022 season ranked in 25 straight polls.

Following Sunday’s game-one victory, the Eagles tacked on another win to give Breland an overall record of 301-137. The Eagles are currently ranked No. 7 in the country with a 27-6 record this season. CMU’s conference record stands at 13-3 so far this season.

Coach Breland led the Eagles to their best season in program history in 2021. Central swept the Heart Regular Season and Heart Tournament Championships and won the Opening Round of the O'Fallon Bracket, sending CMU to their first-ever Avista NAIA World Series berth in school history.

In the World Series, the Eagles finished with a 3-2 record, finishing the year with a No.2 ranking.

Breland was named the Heart and NAIA Regional Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association.

In 2020, Breland led the Eagles to a then program-high No. 10 ranking with a 16-5 record in the pandemic-shortened season.

In 2019, Breland earned his 200th career victory, also at the expense of the Missouri Valley Vikings. Central finished that year at 35-15, missing out on the Heart regular-season conference championship, but earning an at-large bid to the NAIA opening round. That marked the fourth straight season the Eagles qualified for the national tournament.

After winning the Heart regular-season championship in 2018, Breland was named Heart Coach of the Year. The Eagles also won the Heart tournament championship in 2016.

Breland’s teams hold every team record in program history, including wins in a season with 49 in 2021. Under his guidance, 60 Eagles have earned All-Conference honors, 10 players have been named NAIA All-Americans, and five players have earned Player of the Year recognition by the Heart of America Athletic Conference.

In the classroom, the CMU baseball program has had 36 NAIA Scholar-Athletes under Breland’s guidance.

The Eagles will next see action on Saturday and Sunday at Mount Mercy.