FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Marty Lees has been promoted to the position of associate head coach with the Oregon State baseball team, Beavers’ head coach Pat Casey announced on Thursday.
"It’s an honor and privilege to be here at Oregon State and I am excited about this promotion," Lees said. "Over the past nine years, it has been a great opportunity and I’ve been fortunate to work with other great coaches. I want to thank Coach Casey and Bob De Carolis for this opportunity. Oregon State and the Corvallis community have been great to me."
"Marty has been a big part of this program," Casey said. "He’s hard-working, has a great knowledge of the sport and has been an excellent recruiter. He has been key in helping make this program successful in the Pac-10 and nationally."
Lees is entering his ninth season with the Beavers, and in his first eight years, has been integral in the program’s success. He came to Corvallis prior to the 2002 season as the club’s volunteer assistant and became a full-time assistant coach in 2004. In 2005, the Beavers made their first of three trips to the College World Series in Omaha, winning the Pacific-10 Conference that season as well as in 2006.
Of course, in 2006 and in 2007, Lees helped guide the Beavers to back-to-back national titles.
Lees has overseen the team’s defense since coming to the program, and specifically works with the Beavers’ infielders and catchers, in addition to coaching third base when OSU is at the plate. Oregon State finished in the top 20 in fielding percentage nationally for the fourth straight year in 2009. OSU accumulated a fielding percentage of .977 this past season, placing the Beavers in a tie for sixth nationally while tying a program single-season record. Oregon State finished Pacific-10 Conference play with a .978 fielding percentage, good for second in the league.
He is also the team’s recruiting coordinator and has established a level of excellence in less than three full years with the title. Lees has an eye for talent and it has shown in his national recruiting rankings. His recruiting class for the 2008 season, when it was announced in November, 2007, was rated third nationally by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. The 2009 class, meanwhile, was rated 12th nationally by Collegiate Baseball.
Since 2005, Lees has coached eight starting infielders who have gone on to sign professional contracts. Included in that list is Darwin Barney, who after being selected in the fourth round of the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, has already reached the Triple-A level in the Chicago Cubs organization. Lees also mentored Joey Wong, who finished his three-year career in Corvallis with an outstanding .978 fielding percentage and is now in the Colorado organization.
Lees took over catcher’s coaching duties after the 2007 season and mentored Ryan Ortiz who was taken in the sixth round of the 2009 draft after two years as an All-Pac-10 First Team selection.
The Pac-10 began its Defensive Player of the Year award in 2006, and the initial recipient was OSU second baseman Chris Kunda. The team’s shortstop from 2005-07, Barney, was named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in 2005 and was selected to Team USA, the United States national team that plays an International summer schedule, in 2006.
Lees, 40, was also the athletic director and a teacher at Harrisburg High School. He coached one of the state’s top American Legion programs, the Pepsi Challengers of Eugene. In 2002, the Challengers went 56-13 and Lees was named the Oregon AAA Legion Coach of the Year.
A native of Lakeview, Ore., he graduated from Western Oregon in 1994 after lettering for two seasons for the Wolves. He also played two years at Lane Community College.
Members of the Oregon State baseball team return to Corvallis in early September in preparation for fall workouts. Casey will be in his 16th season as Oregon State’s head coach, while assistant coach Pat Bailey will be in his third year with the Beavers and fellow assistant coach Nate Yeskie will be in his second.
