'He's a baseball dude': St. Vincent-St. Mary hires proven winner Ben Shepherd as baseball coach
St. Vincent-St. Mary High School wanted a baseball guy to take over its program next spring and the Fighting Irish definitely found that.
Athletic director Kyle Sasala announced the hiring of Ben Shepherd and its safe to say he’s probably got a set of cleats in his trunk right now.
He takes over for interim co-coaches Don Coughlin and Lou Kolasky. The duo replaced Bryce Fordyce late in the 2023 season after the first-year head coach's dismissal. STVM finished 7-15 this past season.
“I’m beyond excited,” Sasala said. “He’s a baseball dude. I wanted to bring somebody in with a lot of baseball experience and wealth of knowledge. He had almost two decades of varsity experience as an assistant at Tallmadge and had a small head coaching stint at Beachwood.”
Shepherd is a 1998 graduate of Ellet where he earned MVP and All-City honors before heading off to Akron where he was named Mid-American Conference Pitcher of the Week multiple times.
After Shepherd’s playing days were over, he learned under one of the best in Tallmadge coach Kenny Linn as the Blue Devils pitching coach.
During his tenure, Shepherd helped guide the Blue Devils to a state title in 2017.
Tallmadge won two regional titles, six district titles and had more than 250 wins during his tenure. The squad also played in nine district championships.
In 2022, he took over Beachwood’s baseball program and led the Bison to back-to-back Chagrin Valley Conference titles.
He earned Cleveland Baseball Coaches Association Coach of the Year honors in his first season and broke school records for longest winning streak (9) and season wins (20) in 2023.
The two-time CVC Coach of the Year compiled a 35-18 mark in his two-season career at Beachwood.
“He’s going to bring a lot of expectations with him in setting the tone for what our baseball program needs,” Sasala said. “Our program has been solid in the past. This year was a little hiccup, but I think he can get us to where we were in the past and be even better than that. He has the potential to bring championships with his wealth of knowledge in baseball. He’s just that guy that will take us to the next stage.”
Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival
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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: St. Vincent-St. Mary hires Ben Shepherd as baseball coach
