Goshen, IN — The Goshen College athletic
department announced Tuesday that Josh Keister has been appointed
as the Leafs’ head baseball coach, taking over the program after
serving as the head assistant coach for one season. A standout
player for Goshen from 2001-2004, Keister becomes the program’s
ninth head coach in its 49-year history.
“We were very fortunate to have Josh already serving in an assistant
coaching role within our baseball program, and we were very impressed
with his enthusiasm and knowledge of the game,” said Ken Pletcher,
Goshen College athletic director. “We see him as an outstanding
young coach, and feel that the program will continue to grow
under his leadership.”
Keister replaces first-year coach Jayson Best, who resigned shortly
after the conclusion of the 2005 season. Best led Goshen to a 20-14 overall
record in its 2005 campaign, and was instrumental in helping turn around
the program in five seasons as an assistant coach (2000-2004). Best resigned
due to personal reasons, according to Pletcher.
“Jayson Best’s resignation came due to extreme time constraints
in trying to raise a young family and hold another job outside
of the college,” Pletcher
said. “He found it difficult to keep up with the ever-changing weather
schedule and recruiting as a result. We feel he did an outstanding
job with our program, as is evidenced by the level of success
we have attained,
and we will miss him as a part of our coaching staff.”
Keister has been a large part of that success, both as a player
and as a coach. Goshen’s 24-20 win-loss record during Keister’s
senior 2004 season was the first 20-win effort since 1995, and Keister
made a firm stamp on the program’s record books: The 24-year old
Goshen native still holds the Leafs’ single-season records for batting
average, hits, doubles, runs and RBI, and is the school’s all-time
leader in runs scored (133) and doubles (44). His name appears as second-best
in career batting average, hits, home runs and RBI. He now will have the
opportunity to carry that on-field success to Goshen’s head coaching
ranks.
“I’m excited to take over a program that has been heading
in such a positive direction over the last two years,” Keister said
at a Tuesday press conference. “I really enjoyed my four years as
a student at Goshen College, and it is my goal that future Goshen College
baseball
players will have as good of an experience.”
As an assistant coach Keister was a major part of the Leafs’ success
in 2004, heading the team’s hitting instruction as well as recruiting
and scheduling duties. The team narrowly missed out on its first post-season
berth since the ’95 season in the process, and captured just the
sixth 20-win season in program history. Keister said his immediate goal
is to increase the team’s depth through recruiting this spring.
“We’ve had a relatively small roster size for the last four
or five years,” Keister said. “While we’ve had some
really talented players, we haven’t had the depth to make an extended
run into the post-season or compete at the highest level possible over
a 50-game schedule
in about two months time. We’d like to get the roster up to about
20-plus, with about nine to 10 pitchers on the staff.”
The appointment of Keister continues the Brent Hoober line of
coaching for the Leafs, as Hoober guided the team from 2001-2004 before
stepping down to pursue other interests. Best then took the reins after
serving as the head assistant in all four of Hoober’s years at the
helm, and now Keister follows the same path. Keister played all four years
under Hoober prior to serving as Best’s head assistant this season.
“I learned a lot from Coach Hoober about how a college program
is run,” Keister said. “Coach Best had such an incredible
knowledge of the game. I’d like to take a bit of what I’ve
learned from both, along with some experiences of my own, and
mesh them together. My goal is to keep this program headed in the same
direction
that Coach Hoober and Best did.”
Keister said he has already been busy on the recruiting trail
this spring, assembling a large pool of prospective athletes
for the 2006 season. He said he hopes to announce several signings
in the near future.
And though he will have five players returning to the 2006 roster
that actually played alongside him for at least one season,
Keister said there would be no problems coaching former teammates.
“That was something that I was nervous about at the start of this
past season as our head assistant coach, but the transition has
already been made,” Keister said. “There is a clear line between
coach and player now.”
Keister has elected to continue the youth movement with the appointment
of his assistant coach, naming 2005 Goshen College graduate and standout
Erik Hisner to his staff. Hisner, who led the team in nearly every offensive
category this season, finished as the Leafs’ career leader in batting
average (.428), hits (211), RBI (161) and homers (31).
“Erik Hisner obviously had a very successful career here, and
the knowledge he has accumulated from that success will be a
great asset to our players,” Keister said. “I am really blessed
to have Erik on board.”
A 2000 Goshen High School graduate, Keister graduated from Goshen
College in 2004 with a degree in social studies education. He
was a two-time All-Mid-Central Conference performer, and was an honorable
mention NAIA
All-American selection following his junior year. He and his
wife of one year, Nina, reside in Goshen.
Check back to this website often
for up-to-date off-season news, including recruiting information and team
events. To contact Coach Keister, call him at (574) 535-7748 or click
here to send him an email.
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