Jay Alexander.. Eastern Michigan Head Baseball Coach
Jay Alexander, the head baseball coach at Wayne State University from 2002-08, was named head baseball coach at Eastern Michigan University, EMU Director of Athletics Dr. Derrick Gragg announced Friday, Aug. 8, 2008.
"When we started the process of searching for a new head baseball coach, the name Jay Alexander was at the top of our list," Gragg said. "Coach Alexander had tremendous support from the entire baseball community and we are excited that he will be here to continue the strong legacy of success our baseball program has built under previous head coaches Ron Oestrike, Roger Coryell, and Jake Boss."
The 37-year-old Alexander (3-30-72) becomes the first African-American head coach in EMU baseball history.
In his first season at EMU, Alexander led the Eagles to a third place finish in the Mid-American Conference West Division, earning a No. 7 seed in the MAC Tournament. Alexander led the Eagles to a 5-4 record against the Big Ten Conference, including wins over regionally bound Ohio State and Indiana, as well as a three wins over in-state rivals Michigan and Michigan State. As a team, the 2009 Eagles hit 100 home runs – the most by any EMU team in a single season in school history. Alexander had three players earn All-MAC honors in his first year, one player earn National Player of the Week honors, and one player earn Academic All-American accolades. Alexander also had two players drafted in his first season, as junior Jim Gulliver was picked in the 20th round by the Detroit Tigers, while senior Kyle Rhoad was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 33rd round.
The eighth head coach in Wayne State history, Alexander saw his 2008 squad turn in one of the most memorable years in school history. The Warriors recorded a school-record 34 wins, against just 19 losses, won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) regular-season and made it all the way to the championship game of the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament. In addition, pitcher Anthony Bass and utility player Adam Kaminski were the first WSU players to earn All-American honors since the 1978 season.
During his six-year tenure, Alexander’s Wayne State teams averaged 27 wins a season. He was named GLIAC Coach of the Year twice, in both 2005 and 2008 and the Warriors qualified for the NCAA Division II Regional Championship in both of those seasons. He led the 2005 Warriors to the GLIAC regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the league tournament. That 2005 squad recorded 32 regular-season victories to earn its first-ever trip to the NCAA Regional Championship. In addition, shortstop Frank Jeney was named GLIAC Player of the Year.
In all, Alexander has coached 12 All-Region players, 37 All-GLIAC selections and has landed 71 on the GLIAC All-Academic squad. Under Alexander, Wayne State also had its first player sign a major league contract since 1999 when Randy Surratt joined the Chicago White Sox organization after WSU's 2003 season. Then in 2005, Steve Squires became the first Wayne State player to be selected in the Major League draft when the White Sox picked him in the 49th round. In 2008, Anthony Bass was selected by the San Diego Padres in the fifth round (165th pick overall).
A native of Detroit, Alexander was a standout shortstop and centerfielder at Wayne State from 1993-96. He led the Warriors in hits, runs scored, stolen bases and batting average while a senior and was nationally ranked in all of those categories. He was a first-team All-GLIAC and All-Regional player that season.
Alexander stayed at Wayne State to serve as a baseball assistant under legendary head coach Rod George for five seasons before becoming the head coach in December 2002 when George passed away.
Alexander and his wife, Kia, reside in Redford, Mich.
THE JAY ALEXANDER FILE Full Name: Jay Alexander Born: March 30, 1972 – Detroit, Mich. High School: Benedictine H.S. (Graduated in 1990) College: Wayne State University (Graduated in 1996 - bachelor’s in Interdisciplinary Technology) Marygrove College (Graduated in 2002 - master’s in human resource management) Family: Wife: Kia
COACHING ACCOMPLISHMENTS/AWARDS:
Eastern Michigan University - 2009 MAC Tournament qualifier - One Academic All-American - One National Player of the Week - Three All-MAC selections - Six MAC Players/Pitchers of the Week - Two MAC Scholar Athletes of the Week - Two Academic All-District selections - Two players drafted Wayne State University - Two-time GLIAC Coach of the Year (2005 & 2008) - Four-time GLIAC Tournament qualifier - Two-time NCAA Regional qualifier - Most wins (34) in school history in 2008 - Two All-Americans in 2008!
Ryan Kelly Wayne State Head Baseball Coach
... Ryan Kelley, who completed his sixth season on the Warriors' staff and third year as WSU's pitching coach in the spring of 2008, was named head coach on September 29, 2008, following the departure of Jay Alexander to Eastern Michigan. Kelley is the ninth head coach in the 68-year history of the Wayne State University baseball program. In his first year at the helm in 2009, Kelley guided the team to its fifth GLIAC Tournament appearance in the last six years. The Warriors finished with an overall record of 25-26, as Kelley broke Jay Alexander's record for most wins by a first-year coach in program history.
"I look forward to Ryan building on our successes in baseball," noted WSU Director of Athletics Rob Fournier. "The committee considered some outstanding candidates and there is no doubt that our program has risen in stature. In the end, Ryan's familiarity with our system, his strong work habits and active role in building our program the last six years, was a significant factor. I look forward to working with him to move our baseball team into an elite echelon."
Kelley has been with the athletic department full-time as academic coordinator since February 2006.
After earning a bachelor of science degree from the University of Michigan, Kelley graduated with his master's from Wayne State University in sports administration.
In the summer of 2004, Kelley became a community director within the WSU Office of Housing & Residential Life, a position he held until assuming his role as athletic academic coordinator.
Originally from Northville, Kelley was a four-year pitcher at Michigan (1996-1999). He would help the Wolverines win the 1997 Big Ten Championship and the 1999 Big Ten Tournament Championship. Following the 1997 season, Kelley was a pitcher in the Alaskan Central Collegiate baseball league for the Mat-Su Minors.
Kelley played high school ball at Dearborn Divine Child where he earned all-state and honorable mention preseason All-America honors.
He also completed a graduate assistant position with the Detroit Lions and has worked in Wayne State's sports information department. In addition, he completed a graduate assistantship with Stanford University's athletic department.
"I am very honored and humbled to be named the head baseball coach at Wayne State University," said Kelley. "I would like to thank Rob and the search committee for their efforts during this selection process. In addition, I would like to thank our former head coach Jay Alexander for giving me the opportunity to join the baseball staff six seasons ago. I look forward to continuing to build on the successful momentum that Coach Alexander initiated.
"Moving into the next chapter of WSU baseball we are eager for continued success. With the current players in place, our fantastic new dugouts, and the resources available to our student-athletes we look forward to an exciting future. We will continue to prepare to win both on and off the field. It is my goal that our Warrior baseball student-athletes will continue to serve as leaders in our community efforts, achieve academic prosperity, learn how to strive for and accomplish our goals on the diamond, while also preparing for a successful life after graduation. Ultimately, our student-athletes will come to realize the importance of working together as a team in a family environment and be proud to wear the name of Wayne State University across the front of our jerseys."
In his six seasons as an assistant coach at WSU, the Warriors compiled a 161-148 record (.521 winning percentage), won two GLIAC regular-season titles, made four GLIAC tournament appearances, and advanced to the NCAA Regional twice.
The 2008 squad set the WSU record for wins (34), while coming within one win of advancing to the NCAA Division II Championship round.
John Kostrzewa...
Head Varsity Baseball Coach Northville High School. 2004- Present
Scholarship University of Kentucky 1990-91 Pitcher/infielder
Scholarship Western Michigan Universtity 91-95 Catcher
Academic All MAC 93-94-95
Physical Education Teacher...Northville High School 1997 to present
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist from the National Strength and Conditioning Association
Head Strength Coach....Northville High School 1997 to present
Head Varsity baseball coach Northville High School. 2004- Present
Asst. Varsity Hockey coach Northville High School 2002-2006
Asst. Plymouth High School Freshman baseball coach. 2003-2004
Pitching coach Northville High School....98-99
Asst. Varsity Football coach Northville High School 97-98
· Accomplishments
Coach 78-22 overall record...Set school records for wins in each of the past 3 seasons with 21, 28, and 29 wins 27 game winning streak in 2007 Final
#1 regular season ranking by the MHSAA
District Champions 2006. District coach of the year 2006,2007 & 2009
WLAA Division and conference champs 2006 ,2007,2008 and 2009
14 Former players currently playing at various collegiate levels and 2 in the majors
Have coached 2 TPX High School All-Americans and 3 all state players in past 3 seasons.
Bill Flohr... Northville High School Varsity Assistant Head Baseball Coach
Coach Bill Flohr was a catcher for 4 years at Western Michigan University. Coach Flohr and Coach Kostrzewa played against each other every summer as youths then were teammates at WMU. Coach Flohr coached many youth travel teams until becoming an assistant at Plymouth Christian Academy. He stayed 3 years at PCA until he landed the Head Coaching position for the freshman squad at Plymouth High School. He stayed 1 year until coming to Northville High School as the Assistant Coach for the Varsity. His Wife is Terri and they have two boys , Evan and Billy.
Anthony Bass
Graduated from Trenton High School in 2005. Played in the 2005 "East" vs."West" high school All-Star game at Comerica Park. Earned a scholarship to play baseball at Wayne State University. Was named to the Rawlings/ABCA All-America 1st Team and the NCBWA All-America 3rd Team after his 2008 season while leading the Warriors to the Regional Championship game. Drafted June 5, 2008 by the San Diego Padres in the 5th round, making him the highest drafted Wayne State baseball player in school history. In 2009, he finished his first full season of professional baseball with a combined 12-3 record and 2.55 ERA in Low-A (Fort Wayne TinCaps) and Advanced-A (Lake Elsinore Storm). He lead all San Diego Padres minor league starting pitchers in ERA. Voted to the 2009 Midwest League (Low-A) All-Star game in Clinton, Iowa. He is currently working on his bachelors degree in Business at Wayne State University.
Aaron Hepner enters his second season as a member of Jay Alexander's staff.
In his first season with EMU, Hepner helped the EMU pitching staff develop into one of the top staffs in the MAC. Hepner helped EMU claimed three MAC Pitcher of the Week awards during the regular season, while helping pitcher Corey Chaffins earn second-team All-MAC accolades after coming off Tommy John surgery in 2008.
A three-year letterman at the University of Dayton, Hepner served as an assistant coach for the Southern Ohio Copperheads in the Great Lakes Collegiate Summer League in the summer of 2006 before heading to UM.
Noted for his defense, Hepner made more than 150 starts at catcher while earning his three letters at Dayton (2003-05) and helped lead the Flyers to a school record 36 wins as a senior in 2005.
Hepner, who led the Atlantic 10 Conference in pickoffs twice, started his college career playing first base and catching at Edmonds Community College in the state of Washington. He transferred to Dayton after his team captured the NWACC championship during his freshman campaign.
After finishing his final year of eligibility at Dayton he played in the Frontier League for the Richmond Roosters in 2005.
A native of Woodinville, Wash., Hepner played football and baseball graduating from Woodinville High School in 2001. He graduated from Dayton with a degree in sports management in 2006, and served as a student assistant coach for one season.
Hepner spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach at Michigan, where the Wolverines posted an 131-54 record, including a 70-21 mark in the Big Ten Conference, while also claiming the conference’s regular season and tournament title last season.
Andrew Maki Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
Andrew Maki enters his second season as a member of Jay Alexander's staff.
In his first season as the hitting coach at EMU, Maki helped the Eagles hit 100 home runs as a team – the most by any EMU team in a single season in school history. Under Maki’s tutelage the 2009 Eagles finished the season averaging nearly seven runs per-game. In 15 games, EMU scored 10 or more runs, including a 27-run performance against Bowling Green, April 8, the most runs any EMU baseball team has ever scored against a Division I opponent.
As a player, Maki earned all-league honors as a first baseman and pitcher for Henry Ford C.C. and finished his collegiate playing career at Grand Valley State University in 1999 and 2000. He was a member of the 1999 Great Lakes Collegiate League Champion Michigan Monarchs that advanced to the World Championships in Australia. Maki was also a three-time All-Catholic League and All-Downriver selection, and earned All-State honors in high school.
Maki is a 1996 graduate of Wyandotte Mt. Carmel High School and holds a bachelor's degree from Grand Valley State University.
Prior to joining the Eagles staff in 2009, Andrew Maki spent three years as the recruiting coordinator for Wayne State University and two years as hitting coach. In 2008, WSU batted .311 with a .397 on base percentage. He helped the 2007 Warriors raise their team batting average 36 points to .325, with an on base percentage of .414. Prior to joining the Warrior staff, Maki served as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for Henry Ford Community College. He contributed to the teams’ remarkable 15-win improvement from the previous season. The 2005 Hawks had a 3.90 ERA.
Jay Alexander.. Eastern Michigan Head Baseball Coach
Ryan Kelly Wayne State Head Baseball Coach
Anthony Bass
Andrew Maki