TOWSON, Md. – Towson University head baseball coach Liam Bowen has named Phil Disher the team's associate head coach, a move announced on Tuesday. Chris Kahler and Brendan McGowan join the staff as assistant coaches. Kahler will assume the role of pitching coach while McGowan will coach the defense.
 
"I'm thrilled to be able to keep the staff together. That was a major objective of ours in making this move to Towson. I've been doing this for a long time, and I've worked with a lot of different people, and this is an elite college baseball staff. These are guys who can teach the game, who care about players and who I can trust will be fun to take the journey with. I'm over the moon that we're still together and still doing this work," said Coach Bowen.
 
Disher joins the Black & Gold staff after spending the past five seasons at UMBC. He began his tenure there as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator before being elevated to associate head coach after the 2022 season.
 
Prior to his time with UMBC, Disher served as an assistant at the Naval Academy in 2021. He assisted Navy to a 17-15 overall record and an 11-12 record in the Patriot League. The Midshipmen finished fourth in the Patriot League and earned a spot in the Patriot League Semifinals.
 
Before Navy, Coach Disher was an assistant coach at Georgetown, where he served as the team's hitting and offensive coach. Disher first joined the Hoyas in 2012 and spent a total of six seasons with Georgetown over two stints (2013-15 and 2018-20).
 
In between his two stints at Georgetown, Disher was the recruiting coordinator for South Carolina Aiken. During his two seasons with USC Aiken, he also managed the team's offense and strength and conditioning program.
 
Disher started his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Wofford, where he worked with the hitters, catchers and first basemen for two seasons. He assisted with the program's recruiting efforts while also running the Wofford summer and prospect camps. Disher was also the head coach of the Forest City Owls in the Coastal Plains League during the 2012 season.
 
Professionally, Disher was drafted in the 2007 and 2008 MLB Drafts. He was first selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 45th round and then picked in the 15th round of the 2008 draft by the Houston Astros. Disher was selected as the Astros' short-season team MVP en route to leading the New York Penn League in RBIs and was the top prospect in the league before retiring due to an injury.
 
Disher played collegiately at South Carolina, where he earned All-SEC honors in 2006 and 2007. During his senior season, he was also selected as an NCBWA Third Team All-American. Disher was named the MVP of the 2007 Virginia Regional, was selected to a pair of NCAA All-Regional Teams and to two All-SEC Tournament Teams. Following his time in Columbia, he was named to the South Carolina All-Decade Team.
 
Disher graduated from South Carolina with a degree in exercise science and a minor in coaching.
 
"Dish [Disher] is somebody I had known for a long time before we worked together at UMBC," added Coach Bowen. "I knew him from his time as the recruiting coordinator at Georgetown, and we were both on the road quite a bit and saw each other a lot then, and I knew he was a great guy. When there was an opening at UMBC, he was a natural fit, and I very quickly figured out we were going to be a great partnership."
 
Brendan McGowan joins the TU staff after spending the last three seasons at UMBC. There, he was primarily responsible for coaching the infielders and outfielders.
 
McGowan made an immediate impact with the Retrievers during the team's 2024 America East runner-up season. He inherited an infield with four returning starters and guided them to a .969 fielding percentage, a 15-point improvement from 2023.
 
Prior to UMBC, McGowan spent two years at Navy, also as an assistant coach.
 
Graduating from Catholic University in 2011, McGowan was a two-year letterwinner on the mound for the Cardinals' baseball team and made 32 appearances across his two campaigns in the Red and Black from 2007-08.
 
Previously, McGowan served as the pitching coordinator and Vice President of Baseball Operations for the Rawlings A's Prospects organization.
 
"Mac [McGowan] is somebody who's paid his dues in college baseball. He can coach any position on the field because of his background. He was a pitcher and has a pitching background, but he's coached our defense and been phenomenal at that," stated Coach Bowen.  "He's a guy who's always adding value to the program. The combination of his versatility, his motor and his character make him a special coach."
 
Chris Kahler joins the Tigers' staff as the pitching coach after serving in the same role with UMBC during the 2025 season. In his lone season at the helm of the Retrievers' arms, Kahler's pitching staff posted a 5.58 ERA, a 1.74-run improvement from 2024. Prior to that, he served as the team's director of player development in the summer of 2025 after finishing his collegiate playing career at East Carolina in 2024.
 
Kahler amassed 39 innings with the Pirates during his senior season, starting six of his 21 appearances. Kahler was a part of several key games throughout his time at ECU, pitching in the Greenville Regional and against teams such as North Carolina, Duke, Campbell, and Tulane. He was a part of a combined no-hitter against Elon during the year, which was the first since 2000 for the Pirates. Kahler helped the Pirates bring an AAC Regular Season Championship back to Greenville. He was also a member of the Pirates' 2024 team that hosted an NCAA Regional as the 16th seed in the country.
 
Prior to his time at ECU, Kahler played for three years at George Washington. While at GW, he pitched to a 4.61 ERA in 52 appearances. During the 2023 season, Kahler was a staple for the Colonials' pitching staff. He earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 (A-10) honors, led the conference in WHIP, stood third in the nation with three complete games and yielded hitters to a .241 BAA.
 
Kahler studied Interpersonal Communications and graduated Magna Cum Laude from East Carolina in 2024.
 
"Kahler did a super job elevating our guys on the mound. We had a bunch of guys who had career years. We pitched it at a much higher level than we had the previous year," noted Coach Bowen. "Being a pitching coach is a young man's game. There are so many things that have happened in the last ten years or so that guys who have first-hand experience can do a better job of getting across to our players. So, he's been a phenomenal fit in that way, and he has a bright future as a pitching coach."