DMACC Bears Athletics Program
Baseball Coaches
Head Coach: Dan Fitzgerald
515-433-5032
Head Baseball Coach
Before coming to DMACC, Fitzgerald coached at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida where he served as the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach for the Saints during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. In 2005, the Saints were 32-24 and ranked as high as 13th in the NAIA baseball poll. While at Flagler, Fitzgerald also coached New York Mets pick Todd Lietz.
Prior to arriving at Flagler, Fitzgerald served as an assistant coach at North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. During the summer of 2004 Fitzgerald managed the Athletes in Action baseball team in the Alaskan Summer League where he coached MLB Draftees Mike Penn (KC), Brad Canada (NYY), Roger Everson (CHC), Reid Price (STL), Ricky Sparks (NYM), and Drew Holder (HOU). Fitzgerald also spent time with the Minnesota Twin’s organization and attended the Major League Baseball Scout School in 2001.
Fitzgerald started his coaching career at the University of Iowa during the 2001 season where he and former DMACC Head Coach Travis Wyckoff worked on the same staff.
A native of Edina, MN, Fitzgerald attended and played baseball at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls before graduating with a degree in English from the University of Minnesota in 2000. Fitzgerald and wife Kelly live in Boone with their son Will (1) and are expecting their second child in January.
Drafted Players:
2008
Mitch Mormann: Cleveland Indians 17th round
Travis Meiners: Arizona Diamondbacks 29th round
2009
Mitch Mormann: San Fransico Giants 20th round
Patrick Cooper: Detroit Tigers 34th round
Travis Meiners: Texas Rangers 40th round
Cole Nelson: Tampa Rays 45th round
2010
Cole Nelson: Detroit Tigers 10th round
Patrick Cooper: Detroit Tigers 14th round
Scott Schebler: Los Angeles Dodgers 26th round
Austin Urban: Baltimore Orioles 27th round
George Jensen: Tampa Rays 46th round
2011
Mitch Mormann: Detroit Tigers 25th round
Austin Urban: 41st round
Following up the most successful season in school history, the 2009 DMACC Bears came into the season ranked #1 in the NJCAA Pre-Season Baseball Poll. Returning a veteran pitching staff and seven starters from the 2008 World Series Team, the Bears were picked unanimously as the early favorite. The Bears certainly lived up to the billing going 55-11 and making a second straight trip to the JUCO World Series. “We had a tremendous year,” said second year Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald, “I thought we did a great job of playing with a target on our back. . . I don’t care what league you’re in, winning 55 games is tough to do.”
The Bears featured a starting rotation of four NJCAA Division 1 players. Current LSU Tiger, Mitch Mormann anchored the staff going 10-3 with a 3.40 ERA. Mormann was also taken by the San Francisco Giants in the 20 round of the MLB First year Player Draft. Bradley University standout, Patrick Cooper picked up 1st Team All-American honors after going 8-1 with a school record 106 strikeouts in just 72.1 innings pitched. Cooper was selected in the 34th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Also at Bradley University, Eric Holmes became the DMACC all-time wins leader (18), after posting a 10-3 record. North Dakota State pitcher Mark Schroeder dominated in his starts going 8-0 with a 2.92 ERA. “Our pitching was incredible. Coach Scott does a tremendous job with our pitchers, and we all know that it starts with the guy on the mound. Those four guys gave us a chance to win every weekend,” said Coach Fitzgerald whose team rolled to another ICCAC Regular Season Championship going 20-4 in conference play.
The Bears bullpen was equally as tough. Current Auburn Tiger, Cole Nelson solidified the relief pitching with 28 appearances and 8 saves. Nelson was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 45th round of the MLB Draft. Freshman George Jensen was equally as tough in his 25 appearances, striking out 35 hitters in just 33 innings pitched.
The Bears offense was led by two-time 1st Team All-American, 2009 ICCAC Player of the Year, and 2009 NJCAA Player of the Year, Jake Astor. Astor, who signed with Southern Arkansas, hit .444 with 84 hits, 14 HRs, 51 BBs, and an astounding .574 on-base percentage. “Jake was the best player in country. His offensive production was nothing short of amazing, “said Coach Fitzgerald as he talked about his teams .451 on-base percentage. “We had a total of 371 walks and hit by pitches to only 291 strikeouts. We really pressured teams and forced them to pitch to us up and down the lineup.” 2008 1st Team All-American and current Dallas Baptist Patriot Tyler Robbins had another big year for the Bears, hitting .379 with 25 2Bs and a .500 on-base percentage. “Tyler and Jake were two of best JUCO hitters in the country for two years. They combined for over 350 hits in their two years at DMACC,” remarked Fitzgerald.
Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne standout Matt Keys became the DMACC homerun record holder (32) with his 13 HRs and also picked up 1st Team All-Region honors for the second time. Freshman Joel Hutter started all 66 games for the Bears and also received 1st Team All-Region honors after hitting .385 with a team high 89 hits. North Dakota State catcher Tanner Adam also had a big year for the Bears hitting .328 while handling a tough pitching staff. “Tanner is the toughest catcher I’ve ever coached. His maturity behind the plate won us more games than he will ever get credit for,” said Fitzgerald. “He was arguably our most important player day in and day out.”
Defensively the Bears also excelled with a .958 fielding percentage. Robbins was honored with the Rawlings Gold Glove Award as one of the nation’s top fielders after committing just 5 errors in 60 games. Freshman Brashad Johnson started 64 games at SS while racking up a team high 142 attempts. “We really played solid defense all year. When you pitch like we do, you’ve got to be able to pick up the baseball. We put a lot of emphasis on making plays and it really paid off for us in tight games. A lot of the credit needs to go to Coach Goliber. He runs our defense and does a tremendous job,” said Fitzgerald.
The Bears rolled to their second straight ICCAC Regular Season Championship with a 20-4 conference record. They also won their second straight Region 11 Championship defeating Ellsworth, Iowa Central, and Kirkwood twice in four straight wins at the regional in Carroll, Iowa. The Bears then went on to the North Plains District tournament where they defeated Miles Community College and Madison Area Technical College in three straight wins to advance to the 2009 NJCAA World Series in Enid, Oklahoma.
The Bears lost the opener of the Series to Western Oklahoma 9-1 and then rebounded to beat Monroe Community College 13-5. The Bears were then eliminated by Kankakee Community College 8-2. “It was disappointing and leaves a bad taste in your mouth, “said Fitzgerald. “But losses like that also fire you up to do things even better. Seasons like that don’t happen by accident and staying on top is even tougher than getting there.”
The Bears finished the season with the nation’s best record at 55-11, and Fitzgerald was honored for their success being named the 2009 Region 11 Coach of the Year and the 2009 North Plains District Coach of the Year. “I have the two best assistants in the country in Brandon Scott and Matt Goliber and had the best student assistant in the country in Jeremy Brokaw,” said Fitzgerald. “We are blessed with some phenomenal baseball players. DMACC is a special place; our administration is top notch and supports us in every way. I really mean it when I say that I am really blessed to run this program.”
Student assistant Jeremy Brokaw is continuing his education at LSU where he received a scholarship to continue as one of the Tiger’s student managers. “Jeremy was our right hand man for two years. He did everything for us and will be big-time missed this season,” said Fitzgerald. “He has an incredible future in this profession, and his impact on this program was nothing short of amazing.”
Fitzgerald reached a head coaching milestone with his 100th career win on May 16th with an 8-7 victory over Miles Community College. In just two seasons as a head coach, Fitzgerald’s career record stands at 103-29. “You think about the 29 way more than the other number,” commented Fitzgerald. “I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish in a short period of time. Everything we do here is a team effort. There are no individuals in this program – it truly is a team deal in everything we do.”
When asked about his team prior to the 2008 season, DMACC Head Baseball Coach Dan Fitzgerald said, “On paper we had a very successful recruiting class, and most of our returning sophomores made a huge impact as freshmen. We’re deep on the mound and pretty balanced offensively…I’m optimistic.” Optimism paid off for the first year head coach as his Bears shattered almost every DMACC record on their way the 2008 JUCO World Series.
The Bears won the 2008 ICCAC Regular Season Championship and led the league in hitting with a .360 batting average which also ranked in the Top Ten Nationally in 2008. The Bears then went on to win the Region 11 Championship and advanced to the Northwest District Championship where they captured the title with three wins against Miles CC of Montana and Madison Area Tech of Wisconsin. For their efforts, the Bears placed 6 players on the 1st Team All-Region Team which included SO SS Travis Meiners (Dallas Baptist), FR RHP Mitch Mormann, FR LHP Eric Holmes, FR CF Matt Keys, FR 1B Jake Astor, and ICCAC Player of the Year FR 2B Tyler Robbins.
After winning the Northwest District Championship the Bears traveled to Millington, TN where they played in the National JUCO World Series losing to eventual champion LSU-Eunice 7-4. Robbins and Astor were both named 1st Team NJCAA All-Americans.
Offensively, the 2008 rendition of the Bears hit 98 HRs in 66 games, hit .360 as a team, and set school marks in Wins (48), runs, hits, doubles, triples, HRs, BBs, HBPs, and RBI. On the mound, the Bears set school records in wins, K’s (434Ks to 188BBs), IP, and saves while limiting teams to almost 4 runs/game less than in 2007.
Sophomore Travis Meiners signed with DI Dallas Baptist and left as one of the most decorated players in DMACC history, ranking amongst the leaders in every statistical category including games played, hits, doubles, triples, RBI and HRs. Meiners was also drafted in the 29th round of the 2008 MLB First Year Player Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Freshman Mitch Mormann also garnered national attention as one of the top closers in JUCO Baseball saving 12 games on his way to becoming a 17th round selection of the Cleveland Indians in the 2008 MLB First Year Player Draft.
In his first year as the Head Baseball Coach at DMACC, Fitzgerald was named the Northwest District JUCO Coach of the Year, and the Region 11 JUCO Coach of the Year. “It’s humbling,” said Fitzgerald, who will be among the honorees at the 2009 American Baseball Coaches Association Region Coach of the Year Awards Banquet, “I can’t say enough about the 29 young men we had on our team. They made the commitment to be great and it paid off. I am also blessed with having two of the best assistants in collegiate baseball in Brandon Scott and Matt Goliber.”
Widely regarded for his ability to recruit and evaluate talent, Fitzgerald came to DMACC in June of 2006 to serve as the assistant to his long time colleague and former DMACC Coach Travis Wyckoff. Fitzgerald spent the 2007 season as the top assistant/recruiting coordinator for the DMACC Bears where he led the offense to a .325 batting average.
Before coming to DMACC, Fitzgerald coached at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida where he served as the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach for the Saints during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. In 2005, the Saints were 32-24 and ranked as high as 13th in the NAIA baseball poll. While at Flagler, Fitzgerald also coached New York Mets pick Todd Lietz.
Prior to arriving at Flagler, Fitzgerald served as an assistant coach at North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. During the summer of 2004 Fitzgerald managed the Athletes in Action baseball team in the Alaskan Summer League where he coached MLB Draftees Mike Penn (KC), Brad Canada (NYY), Roger Everson (CHC), Reid Price (STL), Ricky Sparks (NYM), and Drew Holder (HOU). Fitzgerald also spent time with the Minnesota Twin’s organization and attended the Major League Baseball Scout School in 2001.
Fitzgerald started his coaching career at the University of Iowa during the 2001 season where he and former DMACC Head Coach Travis Wyckoff worked on the same staff.
A native of Edina, MN, Fitzgerald attended and played baseball at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls before graduating with a degree in English from the University of Minnesota in 2000. Fitzgerald and wife Kelly live in Boone with their son Will (1) and are expecting their second child in January.