Gannon University baseball head coach DJ Cannon enters his fifth season at the helm in 2026. In his first three campaigns Cannon has compiled a 79-102 record.
After an injury-filled and discouraging 2024 campaign the 2025 Gannon edition doubled its win total, finishing at 22-25 and just missing out on the PSAC Tournament while finishing at the .500 mark in conference play with a 14-14 ledger. The record would have been ever better if not for eight losses by a run.
Cannon rebuilt the squad with a young roster that shows great promise for the future. The Golden Knights served notice that they were a much-improved team during the spring trip. They won four of five games in Florida including an 11-7 win at Rollins and a 14-4 triumph over a Point Park squad that won the Mountain East Conference championship and finished with a 40-14 record.
Gannon was rewarded with four players on the All-PSAC West team. Alex Bemis (3B/OF) and Wes Parker (1B) earned first team honors while Jake Boynar (P) and Connor Smith (OF) were awarded spots on the second team.
In his inaugural season, Cannon led Gannon to a 2022 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division regular-season title, a 29-17 overall record, and Gannon’s second appearance in the NCAA Division II tournament in the past three seasons. (There was not an NCAA tournament in 2020).
After Gannon hired him as the head coach on August 6, 2021, Cannon guided the Golden Knights to a 20-8 record in the PSAC, which led the PSAC West and gave Gannon the West’s top seed going into the PSAC Tournament. The Knights lost in the first round of the tournament but still landed a berth in the NCAA Tournament and claimed the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Regional.
Under Cannon’s watch, three Gannon players earned PSAC West All-Star status: pitchers Eric Sapp and Deven Judy, and infielder Ian Hess. Sapp was named PSAC West Pitcher of the Year and went on to earn Atlantic Region and All-America honors.
The 2023 campaign saw the Golden Knights finish at 17-26 overall and 12-16 in the PSAC West, good for fifth place in the division. A pair of Golden Knights were accorded All-PSAC West honors, with first baseman Hess becoming a three-time All-PSAC West honoree after earning first team honors. Outfielder Brandon Wetherholt was also named to the first team.
In addition, five players were named to the CSC Academic All-District Team. They included Kieran Gagnon, Brandon Myers, Corey Shields, Jake Visha, and Wetherholt.
The 2024 season was filled with numerous injuries and late-inning losses. But the season also saw a young team continuously battle back. The end result was an 11-34 finish with 10 losses by one run and two by two runs.
Cannon previously worked at Chatham University, where he was the head baseball coach from 2019-21. He coached the Cougars to program records in overall victories and conference wins in 2021. In addition, he helped his Chatham team set a program record with a 3.45 grade-point average.
The Valencia, Pa., native also worked as head coach of the 17U Pittsburgh Spikes Baseball, a premier travel baseball organization in Pittsburgh, where he coached top players from western Pennsylvania.
Cannon began his coaching career at his alma mater, Seton Hill University, as a full-time assistant coach and recruiting coordinator in 2012. He helped Seton Hill to four straight 40-plus win seasons, including one West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) North Division championship in 2013, two PSAC West titles, two PSAC Tournament championships, six NCAA Division II Regional appearances, and a trip to the NCAA Division II World Series in 2014.
Cannon received his bachelor's degree in Business from Seton Hill in 2011 and his Master of Business Administration in 2014.
During his collegiate career at Seton Hill, Cannon was a four-year regular as a pitcher, posting 12 wins and 113 strikeouts in 159 innings over 48 appearances. Cannon still ranks eighth in school history with a career 3.78 earned run average.
As a player, Cannon helped his team secure four straight playoff appearances, including three NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional berths. He was also part of leading Seton Hill to its first-ever WVIAC championship in 2010.
Cannon lives in Millcreek Township.
