Greg Bauer Named New Pitching Coach at Wake Forest
10/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Oct. 12, 2006
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Former minor-league pitcher and Wichita State standout Greg Bauer has been named as Wake Forest's new pitching coach.
"Greg has been a very successful pitcher in both the collegiate and professional ranks and has accumulated an expansive base of pitching knowledge," said Wake Forest head coach Rick Rembielak. "I feel that his philosophy fits extremely well into our program.
"Hiring Greg wasn't much different than how we recruit a student-athlete. We want an individual who has the talent to succeed in the ACC, who has a winning background and who has the ideals that we are looking for at Wake Forest. We feel we found those characteristics in Greg," added Rembielak.
Bauer comes to Wake Forest after pitching for six seasons in the minor league ranks.
He was drafted three times before finally signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers after being selected in the 22nd round of the 2000 amateur draft.
Bauer spent five seasons in the Dodgers organization, pitching his way up to the Double-A level with the Jacksonville Suns.
Primarily used as a relief pitcher, he was a Rolaids Relief finalist for the South Atlantic League in 2001. He led all Dodger farmhands in ERA and appearances for relief pitchers in 2002 and 2003.
In 2004, Bauer was picked up by the St. Louis Cardinals and attended Major League Spring Training with the team. He pitched for the Cardinals' Double-A affiliate, the Tennessee Smokies, during the 2004 season.
In his final season of professional baseball in 2005, Bauer pitched for the Reading Phillies, the Double-A affilliate of the Philadelphia Phillies.
He spent a season in each the Panamanian Winter League (2001), the Arizona Fall League (2002) and the Dominican Winter League (2003). Bauer was an All-Star in the Panamanian League and posted a 0.00 ERA for Arizona Fall League champion Peoria.
Bauer was also a member of the U.S. Olympic Baseball Team that competed in the World Baseball Cup in Europe in 2005.
While at Wichita State, Bauer was a part of four consecutive Missouri Valley Conference titles from 1997-2000. He was a Collegiate Baseball All-American in 2000 and a three-time Academic All-American from 1998-2000.
Bauer was also a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American in 1997 and the MVC Pitcher of the Year in 2000.
During his college days, Bauer also spent two summers pitching for the Falmouth Commodores in the Cape Cod Summer Collegiate League in 1997 and 1998. He was a Cape Cod All-Star in 1997.
He received his bachelor's degree in exercise science and kinesiology with an emphasis in chemistry and physics in 2006.
Bauer inherits a Wake Forest pitching staff that returns 12 players from last year's group. The Demon Deacons also welcome in a pair of freshman pitchers, bringing the total number of the staff to 14.
"I'm excited to be a part of the Wake Forest baseball program. We have a lot of hard-nosed guys--guys that will buckle down and get after it," said Bauer. "I'm looking forward to the opportunity to help them get better and succeed."