New Mexico State fires baseball coach Mike Kirby

LAS CRUCES - New Mexico State has fired head baseball coach Mike Kirby.

Kirby led the Aggies to the Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship last year, but the Aggies started this season 0-7, losing 9-3 at home to non Division I school Benedictine College this week.

"We would like to thank Coach Kirby for his hard work and dedication during his time at New Mexico State, however, we feel as though the trajectory of the program needed to be changed," stated Director of Athletics Mario Moccia in a school release. "We feel this change is in the best interest of the program and it will allow us to focus on the remainder of the season."

Assistant coach Keith Zuniga will move forward as interim coach. Zuniga has been the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for three years.

Kirby was 56-79 since he was hired as the 11th baseball coach in NMSU history in 2019. The Aggies were 26-40 in the Western Athletic Conference under Kirby, but he led the Aggies to the WAC Tournament championship last year for the program's fifth regional appearance.

Kirby was in the last year of his four-year contract that paid him $155,000 this year. Kirby will be paid through the rest of his contract, which expires after the 2023 season.

Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459 or jgroves@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on Twitter @jpgroves.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: New Mexico State fires baseball coach Mike Kirby