East Carolina University has announced that head baseball coach Cliff Godwin will be taking a leave of absence from the team due to “personal matters that must take priority right now,” he said in a media release on Wednesday.
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Photo and story by ECU Sports Information
East Carolina head baseball coach Cliff Godwin will take an immediate leave of absence from his coaching duties to address personal matters, ECU Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert announced Wednesday (Sept. 16). In Godwin’s absence, associate head coach Jeff Palumbo and assistant to the head coach Jason Dietrich will oversee the program.
“Coach Godwin is an important part of the Pirate family, and we fully support his decision to take time away from the program to focus on personal matters,” Gilbert said. “We look forward to him returning at the appropriate time, and we respect his need for privacy.”
“I have some personal matters that must take priority right now,” Godwin said. “I look forward to getting back on the field with our team. I really appreciate the support of the University, Jon Gilbert, and the ECU family in the interim.”
Palumbo is in his 12th year as a member of the Pirates coaching staff and seventh as an associate head coach – a position he was elevated to on July 22, 2019. Dietrich returned to Greenville in 2026 as assistant to the head coach after five seasons as head coach at his alma mater, Cal State Fullerton. He spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons as pitching coach for the Pirates.