Hall of Fame
Barry Kerr is one of the best shortstops to suit up for the Shippensburg University baseball team. He is the first player in school history with 10 or more home runs in a single season, achieving the honor in back-to-back years, and posted a .318 career batting average in 149 games with the Raiders. He was a co-captain in 1984 and 1985, a two-year span in which SU posted a sterling .710 winning percentage.
Kerr played for SU Hall of Fame coaches Art Fairchild and Bob Yocum and was known for his strong throwing arm. He finished as a three-time All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) performer who also earned All-Region honors and All-America honorable mention as a sophomore in 1983. Kerr is one of just three SU baseball players in school history to earn Academic All-America First Team honors, an achievement he received following his senior season in 1985.
After limited action as a freshman, Kerr broke into the starting lineup as a sophomore in 1983 and made an immediate impact. Kerr hit .350 at the plate with a school-record 10 home runs, led the team with 20 extra-base hits, and also tied for the team lead with 33 RBIs. His work resulted in his first of three consecutive All-PSAC designations, along with All-South Atlantic Region First Team and honorable mention All-America honors.
As a junior, Kerr hit 10 home runs for the second consecutive season and helped Shippensburg win the 1984 PSAC Championship. Kerr hit .315 and led the team with 44 RBIs. He was a key factor on an SU team that went 36-14-1 and competed at the NCAA South Atlantic Region Tournament in Columbus, Georgia.
In 1985, Kerr hit .317 as a senior. He only hit one home run but he drove in 39 runs, the second-best mark on the team. Kerr contributed to a squad that posted a 21-game winning streak during the season. Shippensburg ultimately finished second in the 1985 NCAA South Atlantic Region Tournament and posted a 35-14 overall record.
After his collegiate career, Kerr played for four years in the Eastern Shore Baseball League and participated in two Eastern Seaboard post-season tournaments.
Kerr has held various progressive finance positions for industry-leading manufacturers and has been a senior director with JLG Industries in Hagerstown, Maryland, for the past seven years. JLG Industries was founded by John L. Grove, a generous benefactor of Shippensburg University and the namesake of SU’s John L. Grove College of Business.
He has three sons: Luke, Cory and Noah, and currently resides in Greencastle with his life-partner, Cassandra Godbey.
