Charles Bolden enters his third season as head baseball coach in 2022-23 at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
The Blugolds showed marked improvement in 2022, Bolden's second season at the helm. They increased their win total from five to 14 and the team stole 101 bases, which is believed to be a school record. The Blugolds improved their collective batting average from .231 to .292 in that span, a 61-point increase. They also nearly doubled their home run tally, going from 16 in 2021 to 30 in 2022.
Bolden has coached two first team All-WIAC selections and one who earned an honorable mention on the all-conference team.
Bolden comes to Eau Claire from NCAA Division III Illinois Tech where he was the associate coach. In addition to serving as the hitting, outfield and third base coach, Bolden coordinated recruiting and organized and ran team camps and clinics. Under his tutelage, the Scarlet Hawks offense set school single season records for homeruns and stolen bases and were ranked in the top four in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) for every offensive category.
Prior to coaching at Illinois Tech, Bolden was an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Chicago State University where he served as the hitting, outfield and first base coach while also managing camps and recruiting. During his time with the Cougars, Bolden's team had more home runs, RBI's, and a better slugging % than the year prior and the year after he left.
In addition, Bolden founded and was president of the Midwest Havoc Travel Baseball Organization where he was the head pitching and hitting instructor while also served as the director of player development and baseball operations.
Bolden played in the Pacific Southwest Collegiate Baseball League (PSWL) for the Las Vegas Desert Devils in 2007, where he recorded a .338 batting average in the span of one summer. Prior to his time in the PSWL, Bolden played at the University of St. Francis. He later played for the Frontier League’s Rockford River Hawks (currently Rockford Aviators) and the Big Bend Cowboys (currently Alpine Cowboys of the Pecos League).
Before his collegiate years, Bolden played at Oak Park and River Forest High School where hit a career batting average of .408 for the Huskies.
In the Spring of 2021, Coach Bolden was named as a scout and coach for USA Baseball’s Midwest Region and National Team Identification Series. He also serves on the American Baseball Coaches Association committee for the Lefty Gomez Award.
The native of Oak Park, Ill. and his wife Claire, have two children, Charlotte and Cai.
Updated: 2/28/23
