August 19, 2012

Lineup Card

Lineup Card is a feature highlighting notes from around college baseball.

August 13-19, 2012

Mike Clement (left) has been hired as hitting coach at Kansas State. He replaces John Szefc, who became head coach at Maryland. Clement was an assistant for the past three seasons at Texas A&M, helping the Aggies reach the College World Series in 2011. Clement also spent four years at UTSA. Clement played two seasons at Kirkwood Junior College before finishing at Morningside College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education/secondary education in 2002.

Billy Burgess of Utah Valley was named one of two Great West Conference Scholar-Athletes for 2011-12. It honors the outstanding academic achievement, athletic achievement, attitude and leadership of one male and one female student-athlete. Burgess, an All-American and Academic All-American outfielder, has a 3.85 cumulative GPA with a major in exercise science. He batted .396 this past season with 16 doubles, seven home runs, 88 hits and 65 RBI.

Jason Kelly is the new pitching coach at Washington. Kelly spent the past six seasons at Cal Poly. Kelly worked with Huskies head coach Lindsay Meggs for two years at Chico State, helping the Wildcats earn a pair of Division II College World Series appearances.

Joe Hastings has been named assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Coastal Carolina. He was an assistant for the past two seasons at Notre Dame. Hastings also coached at Boston College, VMI and Virginia. Hastings was an All-American first baseman at East Carolina and was drafted in the 24th round of the 2001 MLB Draft by San Diego. He spent four years in the Padres organization.

Jason Kuhn has returned to James Madison as a volunteer assistant. Kuhn graduated from JMU in 2010 and spent the past two years coaching at St. Andrews in Laurinburg, N.C. He was a volunteer assistant for the 2011 campaign while serving as a full-time assistant and pitching coach this past season.

Brian Murphy has been added to the staff at William and Mary. Murphy was an assistant at Brown for the past three years, serving as recruiting coordinator and hitting coach. Murphy was also an assistant at Bryant and Wheaton. He played at Merrimack and was a team captain in 2003.

Pitcher Karim Gonzalez of Maryland-Eastern Shore was the runner-up for the inaugural MEAC Man of the Year. Gonzalez pitched in 19 games with 42.2 innings this past season. Gonzalez finished with a 3.96 GPA in his four-year collegiate career. He earned a degree in history this past May and was chosen as a graduation speaker at the Spring 2012 Commencement. Jared Baldwin, a member of the track & field team at North Carolina A&T, was the first recipient of the award.

Bethune-Cookman will have a meeting for walk-on tryouts on August 27 in the B-CU Athletic Department lobby at 4 p.m. The actual tryouts will be held at a later date.

Nicholls will hold walk-on tryouts on Aug. 29. Fall practice will begin in September and conclude in October with the Fall World Series.

Joe Pennucci was promoted to associate head coach at Stony Brook. Pennucci has been with the Seawolves for the past six seasons, helping SBU reach three NCAA Tournaments. The Seawolves won a school record and NCAA-best 52 games this past season, reaching the College World Series for the first time. Pennucci is hitting coach and recruiting coordinator for SBU. Prior to his arrival at Stony Brook, Pennucci was associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for two seasons at Dominican College.

James Belanger has been named pitching coach at Maryland. He was an assistant at Monmouth for the past three seasons. Belanger pitched at Louisville and began his coaching career with the Cardinals in 2009 as an undergraduate assistant.

Former volunteer assistant Sam Flamont has returned to the staff at Central Michigan. He will work with hitters and infielders, while coordinating all CMU camps and clinics. Flamont was a volunteer assistant in 2010 before becoming an assistant at Davenport University, serving as hitting coach while working with infielders and outfielders. Flamont was an All-Mid-American Conference performer at Western Michigan in 2002.

Former VMI volunteer assistant Nachion Moore will be a full-time assistant at Trevecca Nazarene University. Moore played four years at Radford before spending two seasons with the Keydets. He worked with the outfielders and assisted in base-running at VMI.

ULM head coach Jeff Schexnaider will serve as Head Coach of the Muscular Dystrophy Association Muscle Team, consisting of athletes who are paired with an MDA buddy. Schexnaider will receive the 2012 MDA Champion of Spirit Award.

Former Arizona State infielder Jake Elmore has been called up by the Arizona Diamondbacks and made his Major League debut on August 11. The Sun Devils have had 101 alums reach the Major Leagues, joining USC and Texas with more than 100 players. Elmore played at SAU in 2008 and was selected to the 2012 Triple-A All-Star Game.