Butler hires Ball State assistant Blake Beemer as baseball coach
INDIANAPOLIS -- Blake Beemer, who has been an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Ball State, was chosen head baseball coach at Butler.
Beemer, a 31-year-old native of Dayton, Ohio, was previously an assistant at Eastern Illinois and Penn State.
“For the last four years, he served as my right-hand man, recruiting coordinator, outfield coach, and catcher coach, assisting me with our hitters, defensive positioning, etc.,” Ball State coach Rich Maloney said. “No task was too small or too large for him to handle. He would always ask me, ‘Is there anything else I could do for you, coach?’
“Blake always wanted me to give him more. He is a continual learner, always wanting to improve himself. He is an outstanding recruiter and tireless worker.”
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Beemer helped the Cardinals to this year’s Mid-American Conference regular-season championship and the third 40-win season in school history. Ball State had the MAC pitcher of the year, Tyler Schweitzer, and freshman pitcher of the year, Ryan Brown.
Before that, Beemer was at Eastern Illinois from 2016-18. The team was fourth nationally in 2017 with 83 home runs. Two players Beemer recruited, Trey Sweeney and Will Klein, were selected in the first and fifth rounds, respectively, of the Major League Baseball draft.
Beemer was a four-time letterman at Ball State, batting .286, and team captain in each of his final three seasons. He was one of 30 finalists for the 2013 Senior CLASS Award.
He succeeds Dave Schrage, who retired last month after a 38-year coaching career, including six seasons at Butler. He won 863 games. Schrage was also head coach at South Dakota State, Notre Dame, Evansville, Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa and Waldorf.
Contact IndyStar reporter David Woods at david.woods@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Butler baseball: Hires Ball State assistant Blake Beemer as coach
