marshall thundering herd baseball recruiting...

Marshall thundering herd Baseball Recruiting Guide

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Record As A Head Coach:Year School W L T2007 Marshall 21 32 2008 Marshall 30 30 12009 Marshall 22 322010 Marshall 27 312011 Marshall 20 312012 Marshall 17 372013 Marshall 20 342014 Marshall 20 312015 Marshall 20 322016 Marshall 34 212017 Marshall 25 29

Coaching Career:Marshall University (2007-Present) Head CoachNorth Carolina State (2005-06) Assistant CoachKent State University (2003-04) Assistant CoachGeorge Washington University (2001-02) Assistant CoachCollege of St. Rose (2000) Assistant Coach

Waggoner By The Numbers:256 - Wins at Marshall34 - Most wins in School History (2016)34 - Marshall Players Selected in the MLB Amateur Draft28 - All-Conference USA Selections23 - Players selected in MLB Amateur Draft since 200821 - Most Conference USA Wins in School History (2016)15 - Ranked Teams Defeated14 - Conference USA Player of the Week Honorees7 - C-USA All-Academic Team Selections3 - C-USA All Freshmen Selections3 - Louisville Slugger National POW Selections2 - All-Mideast Team Player Picks1 - Keith LeClair C-USA Coach of the Year1 - C-USA Tournament Runner Up (2008)1 - Named All-Pavlovich Coach of the Year in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper1 - Freshman All-American1 - NCBWA Player of the Week Selection1 - NCBWA Preseason All-American Third Team Selection

Jeff Waggonerhead coach 2016 Keith leClair C-USA Coach of the Year

11th Seasoncleveland state

In 11 seasons, 34 Marshall players/signees have been given a chance to play at the professional level under Head Coach Waggoner, including major leaguers Dan Straily (2009, 24th round – Oakland A’s) and Aaron Blair (2013, first supplemental round – 36th overall – Arizona Diamondbacks). Waggoner has won 231 games in his coaching career.

2016 was a record season for Marshall under the instruction of Coach Waggoner. The Herd won a program record 34 wins, including a win over 17th-ranked Florida Atlantic. Marshall also set a program record 21 wins in Conference USA play. Marshall boasted its highest RPI of 60. Coach Waggoner received the Keith LeClair Coach of the Year award from C-USA. The Thundering Herd lineup featured three C-USA All-Conference first team players (Chase Boster, DJ Gee, Tommy Lane), one C-USA All-Conference second team player (Corey Bird) and a member to the All-Freshman team (Joshua Shapiro). Lane was selected as the Newcomer of the Year for Marshall. The Herd also found success in the classroom with a 3.01 GPA during the fall semester.

The 2016 MLB amatuer draft featured four players from the Herd, second most in a single draft. Corey Bird was drafted by the Miami Marlins in the seventh round with the 203rd overall pick. Burris Warner was the second player drafted in the 22nd round to the Detroit Tigers. JD Hammer followed in the 24th round to the Colorado Rockies. Parker Danciu rounded out the group in the 39th round to the Atlanta Braves.

Waggoner’s 2014 and 2015 seasons produced All-Conference performers, with Boster earning All-Conference USA second team honors in 2015. Bird was chosen to the All-Freshman team in 2014.

After the 2013 season, Waggoner saw two Thundering Herd players selected in the Major League Baseball Draft. A total of 12 players were selected over the last three seasons, while 26 of his student-athletes have received an opportunity to play professional baseball under his tutelage. Aaron Blair (first supplemental round - 36th overall - to the Arizona Diamondbacks) and Isaac Ballou (15th round to the Washington Nationals), the 2013 draftees, became the 14th and 15th members of the Herd to be selected after serving on one of Waggoner’s teams.

One year prior, pitchers Joe Church (17th round to the San Diego Padres) and Mike Mason (24th round to the Colo-rado Rockies) were selected.

Waggoner’s last three teams have produced All-Conference performers, with Blair and Ballou garnering All-Con-ference USA first team honors in 2013 after Blair and Sergio Leon were named All-Freshmen in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

The 2011 season featured eight players who would go on to be drafted by MLB teams and two players who were signed as free agents. Greg Willams (Texas Rangers), Mike Mason (Texas Rangers), Joe Church (Los Angeles An-gels), Isaac Ballou (Pittsburgh Pirates), Kenny Socorro (Chicago Cubs), Arik Sikula (Toronto Blue Jays), Shane Farell (Toronto Blue Jays), Rhett Stafford (Oakland Athletics) were each drafted in the 2011 MLB, marking the most drafted players in a season in Marshall baseball history. Victor Gomez (Atlanta Braves) and Ian Kadish (Toronto Blue Jays) were also picked up by big league teams as free agents.

Along with the most drafted players in a season, Waggoner’s club had four players earn Conference USA honors. Kenny Socorro was selected to the All-Conference USA team as an infielder and freshman, Aaron Blair, was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman team. Kyle Blank and Arik Sikula both earned academic recognition through the conference, after being picked to the Conference USA All-Academic team.

In the 2010 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, Kevin Shackelford, Ryan Kiel and Aaron Blair were selected. Other notable players drafted include Steven Blevins, Tommy Johnson and Nate Lape in 2008, while Eddie Rush and Dan Straily were picked in 2009.

In 2008, during his second season at Marshall, Waggoner led the Herd to 30 wins, the second most in program his-tory. The Herd notched a 30-30-1 overall record and finished sixth in C-USA, with a berth in the 2008 Entergy C-USA Baseball Championship tournament hosted by Tulane.

Prior to the 2010 campaign, the Herd placed three players (Blevins, Lape and Gomez) on All-C-USA teams, while two (Lape and Gomez) were named to all All-Mideast Region squads. Adam Yeager, Gomez and Lape all played summer ball in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League.



victor gomezAssistant coach

Second seasonmarshall

Marshall baseball’s all-time home run leader, Victor Gomez, has returned to accept an assistant coaching position for the Thundering Herd, head coach Jeff Waggoner announced in August of 2016. “Marshall baseball is very excited to have one of its greatest players of all time return to Huntington,” Herd coach Jeff Waggoner said. “I was very lucky to coach Victor. We had over 200 applicants apply for this job, but I chose Victor because I was very excited to work alongside of him as a coach. He has a coach’s mind and he was always an extension of the coaching staff here as a player. Victor is a perfect fit for the program and we are very excited and lucky to have him.” The Miami native rejoins the Herd after an impressive career from 2008-11. Gomez leads Marshall all-time in eight offensive categories, including games played (217), at bats (849), hits (294), doubles (48), home runs (52), RBIs (211), total bases (510) and sacrifice files (20). In his first season with the Herd, Gomez was named to the All-Conference USA Freshman Team and All-C-USA Second Team. He also was named to the Louisville Slugger’s Freshmen All-American team and ABCA All-Mideast Region Team. As a sophomore and junior, he was named to the All-C-USA First Team. Gomez signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves in 2011. In Aug. 2012, Gomez signed with the Florence Freedom of the Frontier League. “I’m very excited and grateful for this opportunity to be back with the Marshall baseball program,” Gomez said. “I’m thrilled to work with the hitters alongside Coach Waggoner who has overseen the hitters the last 10 seasons. Marshall and Huntington have always held a special place in my heart. I’m excited to come in and work hard so we can build off the success of last season.” Gomez graduated from Marshall University in 2013 with a regents Bachelor of Arts degree. He remained in Huntington from April-Aug. 2013 as he served as an assistant coach for Huntington High School and the 16U Huntington Hounds travel summer baseball team. Gomez returned to Miami in Aug. 2013 to become an assistant coach with LaSalle High School. He helped train student-athletes, provide staff support and coached fall teams. In January of 2014, Gomez accepted a job with Miami Dade College as an assistant baseball coach and recruitment coordinator. This past summer Gomez was the head baseball coach with the Front Royal Cardinals of the Summer Collegiate Valley Baseball League. He was responsible for recruitment of players, camp management, running practices and instructing players on baseball techniques.

Joe RennerAssistant coach

First seasonNorthern Kentucky

Marshall head baseball coach Jeff Waggoner announced in July 2017 that Joe Renner will return as the program’s pitching coach/recruiting coordina-tor.

Renner held the same position with the Thundering Herd for four seasons (2010-2013).

Renner comes back to Huntington after four years as Mount St. Joseph University’s pitching coach, which was his second stint with that program as well (2008-09). The Lions steadily improved while Renner was on staff, posting a winning record last season (24-20) en route to a runner-up finish in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Tournament.

“My wife Julie and I are really excited to rejoin Marshall Baseball and to be coaching once again in Conference USA, one of the nation’s best baseball leagues,” said Renner. “I want to thank Coach Waggoner for bringing me back to a fine staff and I can’t wait to get started.”

During his first stint with Marshall, Renner helped built two top-50 recruiting classes, and recruited and developed pitcher Aaron Blair, who went on to become a supplemental, first round major league draft pick (the highest draft pick in Marshall history). Renner was also instrumental in aiding 2017 AAA All-Star Kevin Shackelford’s transition from catcher to pitcher during his first season. In November of 2012, Renner was promoted to Associate Head Coach at Marshall.

“I’m very excited to have Joe back because we have a great working rela-tionship,” said Waggoner. “When he was on staff previously, our pitching staff was the best it had ever been. Joe has a passion for teaching and de-veloping student-athletes and I know our guys will be excited to work him.”

Renner’s coaching experience also includes two years at NCAA Division I Miami University, two years at NKU, and eight years in the Midland baseball summer program where he helped lead teams to three national championships. He also spent numerous years at the Champions Baseball Academy as a pitching instructor.

Renner is 2000 graduate of Northern Kentucky University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology. He also played NCAA Division II baseball for the Norse four seasons and two seasons in the Great Lakes Summer League.



Shaun McKennaAssistant coach

First seasonSouthern Maine

Brian Karlet joined Marshall’s baseball staff in the fall of 2012.

Karlet works primarily with the outfield and assists with pitching and bullpen work. He is the liasion to the strength & conditioning staff.

Karlet graduated with a degree in communications from Georgetown College, where he was named to the Mid-South all-conference team at the end of his senior year.

Following graduation, Karlet earned a Master’s degree in athletic administration while serving as Director of Baseball Operations at Marshall University.

After two years with the Thundering Herd (2005-2007), Karlet returned to his alma mater as the top assistant coach for the Tigers. Karlet worked with the team for two seasons before receiving a promotion to head coach in 2009.

Under Karlet’s guidance, the Tigers never finished lower than third place in the Mid-South Conference. Karlet sported a 58-56 record at the helm of the Tigers’ baseball program and a 35-21 record in conference play.

Karlet resides in South Point, Ohio with his wife, Kelley, and two sons, Jaxson and Cooper.

brian karletDirector of Player Development

Sixth SeasonGeorgetown college

Shaun McKenna joined the Thundering Herd baseball staff in the summer of 2017.

McKenna brings over 15 years of coaching and developing players to the Herd. His first coaching experience came at his alma mater University of Southern Maine as an Assistant Coach.

He later held the same position with Castleton State College, Keene Swampbats of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NEC-BL), Saint Anselm College and Ranger Junior College.

McKenna served as the head coach of the Virginia Beach Waves, a collegiate summer league team in the Virginia Beach Collegiate Summer League (VBCBL). He also served as the team’s director of baseball operations.

McKenna graduated with a degree in media studies from the Univer-sity of Southern Maine in 2001. He was a four-year letter winner and helped lead the team to four Northeast Regional Bids and a Division III National Championship in 1997. As a senior, he was named a tri-captain and led the team to a seventh place finish in the Division III World Series.



About the weight room• Every fall the Marshall University baseball team trains in all aspects of the game- working on physical fitness, endurance and strength- so the team can stay in top shape both on and off the field.

• The Thundering Herd has one of the country’s premier weight rooms in which the baseball team works out in. The weight room was built in the summer of 2006 and sits directly next to Joan C. Edwards Stadium and the Shewey Athletic Complex. The weight room encompasses more than 13,000 square feet with nearly 50,000 lbs. of weight.

• Training programs are designed to increase an athlete’s explosive power, strength, speed, agility, flexibility, and conditioning, which is required by all collegiate athletes to be successful. Through a wide range of training protocols such as Olympic lifting, power lifting, strong man training, and accommodating resistance training such as with bands and chains, the strength staff’s programs are always challenging the athlete to become faster, stronger and more explosive.

Billy brownStrength and Conditioning CoachBilly Brown is in his fourth season as the assistant strength and conditioning coach at Marshall where he works closely with football, baseball and softball.

Brown comes to Marshall after working at The Citadel as a graduate assistant of strength and condition-ing since January 2012. There he coordinated all aspects of the baseball and cross country programs and assisted year round with football and wrestling.

Prior to The Citadel, Brown was a part time strength and condition-ing coach at UCF in 2011 from August to December. He implement-ed workouts with football and assisted with men’s and women’s tennis, baseball, track and all other Olympic sports.

He did an internship at UCF from 2010-11 while completing a Bach-elor of Science in Sports and Fitness in May 2011. Brown earned a Masters of Science in Health and Exercise and Sports Science in December 2013.



ABOUT CONFERENCE USA BASEBALL• Conference USA will field 12 teams in 2018, as the league begins its 23rd season: Charlotte, FIU, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Miss, UAB, UTSA and WKU.• Conference USA finished the 2017 season ranked No. 6 in the RPI as a league. The league has been ranked among the top five baseball confer-ences in eight of the last 12 seasons. • C-USA has placed at least four teams in the NCAA Championship 10 times in the past 16 years, producing five teams on two occasions. The league placed regular season champion Southern Miss and tournament champion Rice in the 2017 NCAA Field.• Six C-USA teams ranked in the top 58 of the final 2017 RPI rankings, with eight in the top 100.• The top six C-USA teams in the RPI combined for an average ranking of 44.1• Eight Conference USA teams won at least one game against a nationally ranked opponent during the 2017 season.• C-USA teams posted a total of 17 wins over nationally ranked, non-conference opponents during the 2017 season, including six against top eight foes.• C-USA played 18 of the teams ranked among the top 30 in the final NCAA RPI rankings, posting wins vs. 23 (as well as 13 wins vs. seven of the top 20). C-USA wins included: UTSA over No. 7 Texas Tech, Charlotte over No. 10 Wake Forest, Louisiana Tech over No. 12 Arkansas, Rice twice over No. 13 Stanford, Rice twice over No. 17 Texas, Rice twice over No. 19 Houston, Charlotte twice and Old Dominion twice over No. 20 West Virginia, FIU, Louisiana Tech and Southern Miss each over No. 21 Mississippi State, Florida Atlantic over No. 26 UCF, UTSA over No. 24 Baylor, Florida Atlantic over No. 25 Indiana, Charlotte over No. 27 NC State, Rice twice and Southern Miss once over No. 30 Southeastern Louisiana. League members also defeated No. 32 South Alabama (Southern Miss twice), No. 34 Indiana (Florida Atlantic), No. 35 Florida Gulf Coast (FIU and Florida Atlantic), No. 38 Sam Houston State (Rice), No. 39 Auburn (UAB), No. 43 Miami (FIU twice), No. 45 McNeese State (Louisiana Tech).• Conference USA had 32 players chosen in the June Major League Baseball Draft, including 10 picks in the first nine rounds. Ten C-USA schools had at least one player selected.• Eight players from current C-USA schools appeared on the 2017 opening day rosters of Major League Baseball teams, including three former MLB All-Stars.

Jesse Fernandez (2012)

Corey Bird (2016-)

Skeeter Shelton (1915)Aaron Bossi (2016)

Wilbur McCullough Fisher (1916)Archer Reilly (1917)

Carl Hewlett (1970-71)Terry Adkins (1983)

Rick Reed (1986-91)Rick Paugh (1994-98)Matt Spade (1994-96)

Jack Wesley Harper (1915)Dan Straily (2009-14)

Rhett Stafford (2011-12)

Fred Middleton Bailey (1916-18)Victor Gomez (2011-12)

Aaron Blair (2016-)Parker Danciu (2016)

Johnson “Jay” Fry (1923)

Jim Spotts (1930)John Zontini (1939-40)

Lou Packer (1976)John McKinney (1985-86)

JD Hammer (2017-)

Johnny Watson (1930)John Zontini (1935-37)

Tony Whiteman (1994-95)Eddie Rush (2009)

Burris Warner (2016-)

Lefty Belcher (1934-36)Frank Bess (1935-36, 39)

Carl Edmonds (1936)

Otto Patrick (1936)John Zontini (1938)John Chafin (1991)Ryan Roush (1998)

John Zontini (1941-47)Larry Berkery (1978)

Kenny Socorro (2011-13)Dan Straily (2014)

Bob Lemley (1968-69)Steve Miller (1969-71)

Jeff Montomery (1983-87)Rick Reed (1994-95)

Ryan Kiel (2012)Kevin Shackelford (2015-)

Dan Straily (2016)Greg Williams (2016)

Joe Goddard (1971-76)Joe Church (2012-15)

Mark “Tim” Murphy (1973-74)Rick Reed (1993-94)

Greg Williams (2011-14)Tyler Ratliff (2017-)

Jeff Montomery (1988-99)Rick Reed (1992-93)Tyler Gatrell (2010)

Steve Verrone (1983-85)Dan Straily (2015)

Greg Hill (1984-85)Rick Reed (2001-03)

Steve Blevins (2008-10)

Rick Reed (1996-99)

John Chafin (1988-89)

Tommy Johnson (2008-10)Ryan Kiel (2010-11)

Nate Lape (2008)Mike Mason (2012-13)JD Hammer (2016-17)

Kevin Shackelford (2010-14)

Shane Farrell (2011-12)Ian Kadish (2011-12)Arik Sikula (2011-15)

Thor Meeks (2013-14)Isaac Ballou (2013-)

Aaron Blair (2013-15)

american league

national league

marshall IN THE majors



marshall IN THE majors

DAN STRAILY AARON BLAIR KEVIN SHACKELFORD ISAAC BALLOU

COREY BIRD J.D. HAMMER BURRIS WARNER TYLER RATLIFF



MARSHALL BASEBALL PROGRAM DRIVEN BY PLAYER DEVELOPMENT

In the summer of 2013, Marshall baseball made history in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. Pitcher Aaron Blair and center fielder Isaac Ballou were selected in the first and fifteenth rounds. Blair was the highest draft pick ever in school history after being taken 36th overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ballou was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 15th round, marking the second time he had been selected in the MLB draft. The Herd led Conference-USA in the number of draft picks in 2011. It was also one of the high-est numbers of players drafted in all of Division I baseball and the highest in a single season in school history. Since taking over the Marshall program, Coach Waggoner has had 27 players get the opportuni-ty to play professionally starting with the 2007 season. This is a vast departure from the thirteen years prior to Waggoner’s arrival, when not a single player was drafted. In his eight years at Mar-shall, Waggoner has made the tournament three times, with a second place finish in the C-USA tournament in 2008 and a third place finish in the C-USA regular season in 2010.

I recently had a chance to sit down with Coach Waggoner and get his thoughts on why Marshall has become successful developing players to play at the professional level.

Why do you think so many players are getting drafted out of your program?“I think first it starts with God-given talent, we are recruiting better athletes. You have to look at our system; we feel we have to develop players at Marshall. My coaches and support staff believe in teaching. A lot of the bigger schools will bring in three or four players in every position and whoever wins the job is the starter. We can’t do that at Marshall. We have to develop our players.”

Who are the key members of your development team?“It obviously starts with the coaches. We have Victor Gomez and Joe Renner, who are my two full time assistant coaches. We have a great strength and con-ditioning staff led by Billy Brown and our academic advisor, AJ Hubbard, does a great job as well.”

What is strength coach Billy Brown’s role in the development of your players?“Coach Brown believes in building a better athlete, protecting the throwing arm and teaching the kids how to compete. Our number one goal in the weight room is to make sure the players stay healthy. Coach Brown teaches the right lifting techniques and they follow a program that will help them become better players.”

What roles do the assistant coaches fill in the development system?“When I came to this program, I wanted to surround myself with coaches and a support staff that were very passionate about the success and well-being of our players. I believe the best thing our coaches can do is to teach proper fundamental skills and then recreate appropriate game specific situations in which the players can learn. I hired excellent teachers of the game.”

What type of players do you recruit?“We want to recruit student-athletes who have a strong desire to play at the next level. Hard-working, blue collar, coachable kids. Guys that really love and have a passion for the game.

What geographic areas do you mainly find players?“We recruit players nation-wide. C-USA schools are spread out over a vast part of the country. We’ve had players on our rosters from the North-east states like New Jersey and Connecticut. We also had players as far south as Florida and as far west as Nevada. Since I’ve been here, we have also had kids in the program from as far west as Oregon and California and as far north as Canada. To us it doesn’t matter how far away they are, as long as they are the type of person and player we feel will be a fit in this program; we will recruit them.”



What has been your primary tactics in recruiting players in recent years?“I just tell them the facts about the program. We are gradu-ating everyone. A lot of our kids are playing at the next level and C-USA is at the top of college baseball. Obviously we preach the development part of our program. Not only do they have an opportunity to come in and play early, but they will come into an environment where they can become better players.”

How important is C-USA to your recruiting effort?“Conference USA was one of the top conferences this past year for draft picks. I think a total of 37 players from C-USA were drafted this year. Professional scouts have a tenden-cy of following good pitchers. As we started getting pro prospects on the mound more scouts followed us and that helped our position players to be seen. For instance, when I first took over we had one scout show up for our fall scout day. Now, every team in Major League Baseball sends a scout to come see us play. The pro scouts being around watching our players has allowed us to build relationships with them that benefit our players. Conference USA pre-pares players a lot better than other conferences. Not only by how competitive it is, but also the atmosphere in which we play our games.”

Can you give me your thoughts on pitch counts and the factors that you look at in regards to pitch count?“As a coaching staff, we have strong feelings not only about developing pitchers, but also about protecting them as much as possible. Our pitch count is tailored to each pitcher and is based on three factors. The first factor is the physical maturity of the player. A pitcher that has been in our program for two or three years is much more likely to be able to physically handle a higher throwing load than a freshman just out of high school. The guys that have been in the program a couple years have had the opportunity to develop their bodies through our strength and conditioning program. They have also had the time to work on their pitching mechanics and develop a delivery that is both game effective and mechanically efficient. The second factor, and it’s closely related to the first factor, is the player’s age. As a player gets older their bodies will mature naturally. Most of the research we have seen suggests that the average male body continues to mature until about the age of 24. The third factor that determines how many pitches a player will throw in a game is related to the amount of stressful innings they have in that particular game. For example, if a kid goes out and has a 30 pitch first inning, that is extremely taxing on the body and arm. We know that if that kid is usually good for a hundred pitches a game on average, he will probably be good that day for 70-80 pitches total. We define a high stress inning as 24 or more pitches in one inning. If one of our pitchers has a second high-stress inning, they will be done for the day regard-less of where their total pitch count is. Our goal as a staff is to average between 12 and 15 pitches per inning. If we can do that, our starters will be able to go deeper into games with less overall stress on their arms and bodies.”

Tell me a little about Coach Renner and his plan for developing top talent on the mound year after year?“Coach Renner is tremendous asset to this program. He has an exceptional ability to communicate and relate with his pitchers. This program is very fortunate to have a pitching coach of his caliber that brings passion and energy when developing top talent on the mound. He knows what it takes and he demands that from his pitchers daily.”

As the hitting coach, what do you do to prepare them for the next level?“I am a huge believer in helping players develop a routine. I feel it’s important to develop a routine to work on specific drills that are going to help each player. Again this gets back to individual style. I want to take what a hitter does well, and refine it. There is no perfect mechanical model. I believe ultimately the player plays the biggest role in their own development, based on how much work they’re willing to put into it.”

What is the most enjoyable aspect of your job?“It’s very gratifying to know that you helped a young man grow as a player and most importantly as a person. We want them to get the oppor-tunity to play professionally, but most importantly we want them to get their degrees and be successful members of society.”

What is the one thing players should know entering the program?“That the coaches and support staff will work extremely hard for them.”

marshall thundering herd baseball recruiting...

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