- Men's Sports
Coaching Staff
Mike Goldschmidt
Head Coach
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(937) 484-1377
Mike Goldschmidt begins his third season at the helm of the Urbana University baseball program in 2010. Goldschmidt took over the Blue Knight baseball program on August 1, 2007 and in a span of 10 months, he guided Urbana University to a win over an NCAA Division I team, a ranking as high as No. 3 in Region IX, the first NAIA Region IX Tournament victory in the history of the program, and the first Blue Knight baseball player to sign with a major league baseball organization. Goldschmidt’s program accomplished all of this and finished with a 28-21 overall record during his first campaign in charge.
Urbana was picked to finish 8th in the preseason American Mideast Conference poll in 2008, but the Blue Knights surprised many, finishing fourth to earn a berth to the Region IX tournament where they shut out top-seeded Malone College, 4-0 – which happened to be the only shut out the Pioneers’ suffered all season. Urbana advanced to postseason play by sweeping the last two games against World Series qualifier Ohio Dominican University.
“I’m proud of the way we finished the 2008 season,” said Goldschmidt. “Sweeping ODU to make the tournament was the most rewarding. It was a culmination of the whole season; all the guys’ hard work and battling through adversity.
“Then we beat Malone to earn the first Region IX win in school history,” he added. “That was a proud win for this program.”
After a successful 2008, the Blue Knights baseball program had to completely start over from scratch with the transition to NCAA Division II in 2009. Facing a stronger schedule stacked with several games against top-30 competition, Goldschmidt guided the Blue Knights to another winning season, finishing 23-21-1. The team earned its second win in program history over a Division I team when they defeated Chicago State University on April 4, 2009. The win came exactly one year to the day after Goldschmidt's 200th career win (a 7-6 10-inning win over Walsh on April 4, 2008).
Goldschmidt enters 2010 with a 51-42-1 mark in his 2 seasons at Urbana. In 7 seasons coaching at the collegiate level, Goldschmidt is 240-134-1 for a .641 winning percentage. The team graduated three pitchers and three 2009, including the NCAA Division II Independent Co-Player of the Year Jordan Baker. Baker led the nation in D-I and D-II in batting average (.497) and set several school records after arguably the best season in school history. Replacing him and the other seniors will be difficult, but Goldschmidt has proven over and over again that he is more than capable of overcoming adversity. After the 2008 season, the Blue Knights unexpectedly lost AMC Pitcher of the Year Jaeson Hudnall when the junior signed a free agent contract with the Kansas City Royals in June of 2008.
With the move to NCAA Division II behind them, Goldschmidt's team is excited about raising the bar in 2010. After 4 straight winning seasons, the program appears primed and ready to have a breakout year and take off in 2010. In order to be the best, Goldschmidt is ready to take on the best in D-II, never shying away from the top competition in the country. The Blue Knights knocked off #30 Montevallo on Spring Break in 2009, and they showed they were capable of hanging with some of the other top caliber teams.
“Overall, I think it was a solid first year,” he said. “I really look forward to the move to NCAA Division II level. The competition is so strong in this region. But I really believe that this can be a great baseball program with the way things are set up here at Urbana University.”
The numbers on Coach Goldschmidt:
- 240-134-1 coaching record in 7 years at the collegiate level
- 23-21-1 Record in 2nd season at Urbana (1st season against NCAA D-II competition)
- 28-21 Record in 1st season at Urbana; 3rd place finish in NAIA Region IX Tournament
- 44-15 in 2007 and finished 3rd in the NJCAA Region 12 Tournament in Battle Creek, Michigan
- 2007 OCCAC Coach of the Year
- 2007 Spring OCCAC Conference Champions
- 43-12 in 2006 and finished 5th in the NJCAA Region 12 Tournament
- 2006 OCCAC Coach of the Year
- 2005-2006 OCCAC Conference Champions
- Coached the 2006-2007 Conference Player and Pitcher of the Year
- Coached the 2005-2006 Co-Conference Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year
- Coached a 10th round and 31st round major league draft pick the past three years
- Coached 7 former players who played professional baseball
- Coached 1 NJCAA All American
- Coached 2 NJCAA Academic All Americans
- Coached 18 First Team All-OCCAC members
- Teams have set almost every school record in his 7 years
- Sent numerous student-athletes on to every level of NCAA and NAIA baseball
- 44-15 in 2007 (Broke school record for wins)
- 43-12 in 2006 (Won OCCAC; Broke school record for wins)
- 38-14 in 2005 (Tied school record for wins)
- 28-22 in 2004
- 36-29 in 2003
Bret Miller
Pitching Coach
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Urbana University alum Bret Miller (2001), is in his sixth year of coaching at the collegiate level. This year marks his fifth season as an assistant at Urbana University. Prior to coming to Urbana, Miller served as the head assistant coach at Clark State Community College in their inaugural season. Coach Miller's duties includes directing the pitching staff, coordinating strength and conditioning, and acting as the team's academic coordinator.
Miller started his collegiate playing career at Georgia Tech before relocating back near his home at Urbana University. During his playing days for the Blue Knights, Coach Miller amassed many season and career pitching records while being voted team captain and pitcher of the year his senior season. Also, Miller was named an Academic All-American. He has also garnered much success as a pitcher for the multiple World Champion Ohio Warhawks and World Champion Springfield Giants over the past 12 years.
In addition to his success on the field, Coach Miller has also enjoyed great success in the classroom. He was named a National Merit Semi-Finalist in high school, and he graduated from Urbana Summa Cum Laude. In addition, he was a member of the Alpha Chi National Honor Society. Miller currently resides in Springfield with his wife, Liz, and their two children, Ali (9) and Nolan (4).
Tim King
Assistant Coach
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Urbana University alum Tim King (1994), is in his third year as a member of the Blue Knights coaching staff. Coach King is the Blue Knights' recruiting coordinator and first base coach. He also coaches the hitters and infielders. In 2008, Coach King worked primarily with the outfielders and base running.
Prior to returning to Urbana, King taught physical education and was the head baseball coach at Gibbs High School in Saint Petersburg, Florida from 2000-2007. He also spent some time teaching in Clearwater, Florida.
Coach King played his collegiate baseball at Urbana as an infielder for legendary coach Al Fulk. He earned his degree in psychology in 1994, before getting his teaching certificate in 1997. King began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Urbana High School in 1994. He remained with the Hillclimbers baseball program until 1996..
Currently, King resides in Springfield, Ohio and has one son, Levi (15).