The Coaching Staff
As for leadership, the team’s Skipper, Tim Scannell finished the season with the Skip Bertman National Coach of the Year, elected by the National College Baseball Hall of Fame. He also received recognition as the NCAA Division III American Baseball Coaches Association/Diamond National Coach of the Year, and the ABCA West Region Coach of the Year. Scannell considers himself a “macro-manager” and left a considerable amount of accountability to his staff and his seniors. He facilitated four-hour practices and offered guidance and leadership, but he expected the same from the players themselves. Freshman, right-hand pitcher, Holden Nix said, “Obviously our coaches led the way, but at a certain point they almost just turned the team over to the guys and relied on internal leadership to take us through the end of the season”. Chris Tate also commented appreciatively on the coaching style: “The coaches understood that at the end of the day it was the players who won or lost games". The coaching staff for the 2016 year included Head Coach, Tim Scannell, Pitching Coach, David Smith, and Jon-Cody Bunch.