North Allegheny grad finds success as baseball coach in West Virginia

By: Amani Clark-Bey
Saturday, June 17, 2023 | 11:01 AM

Brad Comport, a 2009 North Allegheny graduate, is coaching one of the up-and-coming programs in West Virginia high school baseball.

Comport is wrapping up his second season as head coach at University High School near Morgantown. Comport led the Hawks to their first playoff appearance since 2004, reaching the state semifinals before falling to Hedgesville, 3-1, on June 2.

At North Allegheny, Comport played football and baseball. In his senior year, the Tigers beat Pine-Richland, 6-3, to win the WPIAL Class 4A championship. He knew his career in baseball was just getting started.

“Baseball has always been a huge part of my life,” he said. “I knew in high school I wanted to be in education and coaching.”

After graduating from North Allegheny, Comport committed to Seton Hill to continue his baseball career as a first baseman. In 2013, he hit .253 with 25 runs scored and 22 RBIs in 55 games as Seton Hill reached the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional.

“I was fortunate to play on really good programs and with really good coaches and learned a lot,” Comport said.

After a successful college career, Comport graduated in 2013 with a bachelor’s in history and secondary education, along with a master’s in special education.

Shortly after, Comport began coaching at his alma mater at North Allegheny Middle School and later moved up to be a varsity assistant at the high school level, where he began to gain experience as a coach.

Comport coached under Andy Maddix and Andrew Heck.

Maddix was also Comport’s coach at North Allegheny for the 2009 WPIAL championship season.

After the 2017 season, Comport sought out a teaching opportunity in West Virginia and decided to make the move to accomplish his goals.

“I made the transition and moved down to West Virginia, where I saw a great teaching and coaching opportunity there,” Comport said.

In the fall of 2017, Comport began teaching at University High School in special education. He wanted to coach baseball too.

Comport started as a volunteer coach his first year. In 2022, he was offered the head coaching position to lead the Hawks.

Comport learned a lot from his players in his first year as head coach.

“It was really critical to get to know the guys and familiarize ourselves with our players and what their strengths were,” he said. “We were a young team that learned a lot from our failures.”

The Hawks finished the season 14-15 and lost in the sectional championship to Bridgeport.

“We were young,” said Comport, who, when he is not coaching, enjoys spending time with his wife, Morgan, and 2-year-old daughter, Emerson.

The Hawks took advantage of their offseason to continue to get better and gain a greater understanding of the game.

“Our guys bought in in terms of the weight room and offseason training,” Comport said. “We also came into the 2023 season with 10 seniors. That was a major jump from year one to year two.”

In Comport’s two seasons, the Hawks are 25-12.

The loss in the state semifinals this season was devastating, but the team’s future looks bright.

Tags: North Allegheny