FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
STILLWATER, Okla. – Oklahoma State head coach Josh Holliday has added Marty Lees to the Cowboy baseball coaching staff, he announced today.
Lees spent the last 11 years on the coaching staff at Oregon State, including the last three as the Beavers’ associate head coach. He worked primarily as the defensive coach for infielders and catchers and also served the last six years as the team’s recruiting coordinator.
“To have this opportunity to coach with Josh (Holliday) and Coach (Rob) Walton is a dream come true,” Lees said. “I’ve watched Oklahoma State since I was a young kid because we had Jeff Bronkey and Randy Whisler in my neighborhood. As this process went through, it was a great opportunity to try something different, to be in a different area and to work with a program that has a chance to be very, very good and work with two people that will be out grinding and getting after it to rebuild our program. It’s a great baseball school, and my family and I are honored for the opportunity.”
Lees joined the Oregon State staff as a volunteer assistant in 2002 and was added as a full-time staffer in 2004. He helped coach the Beavers to three-straight College World Series berths from 2005-07, including back-to-back national championships in 2006-07.
During his time at Oregon State, Lees coached over 30 All-Pac-10/12 Conference performers and 10 All-Americans. Under his tutelage, Darwin Barney was the 2005 Pac-10 Fielder of the Year, while Chris Kunda was named the conference’s defensive player of the year in 2006.
“We’re extremely excited to welcome Marty Lees and his family to Oklahoma State and Stillwater,” Holliday said. “He’s a tremendous coach and tremendous person, he’s a winner, he’s a family man – he brings so many elements to our program that everyone will benefit from. He thinks enough of who we are and what we can be to leave a great situation, and he’s embraced our community and wants to help us build a national champion here at Oklahoma State.
“Marty has great experience building and being a part of championship teams, and he understands and appreciates what it takes to win at the highest level. He’s a tireless recruiter who has established himself as an outstanding teacher of baseball. His expertise on the defensive side of the ball will help solidify and build the championship-caliber defense we seek to have. Our players, staff and community will certainly benefit from a guy of Marty’s caliber and character joining our staff.”
Under Lees’ direction, Oregon State has consistently ranked among the NCAA’s best in fielding percentage, including twice setting a school record with a .977 mark, and the Beavers recorded a fielding percentage of .972 or higher in each of the last seven seasons.
In 2007, the Beavers posted a .977 fielding percentage to rank second in the NCAA, which marked the first of three-straight years that Oregon State ranked in the top 20 nationally. They also ranked 22nd nationally that year in double plays per game.
Lees is also established as a top recruiter as each of his classes as recruiting coordinator has ranked in the top 25 nationally. In 2008, the Beavers’ signed a class ranked No. 3, and Oregon State’s most recent recruiting class ranked in the top 10 and included Michael Conforto, who earned All-America honors as a freshman in 2012.
“No matter where you are, the best thing you can do is start the recruiting process at home and work from there. So the kids in the state of Oklahoma are going to be the number one priority, getting them on board with the vision we have as a staff,” Lees said. “And the game is won on pitching and defense. We’ve been very fortunate to have some kids at Oregon State that have allowed us to do some big things defensively. Attention to detail and implementing a system are the ways that we will operate. They’re going to work, and they’re going to get better.”
A native of Lakeview, Ore., Lees earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Western Oregon in 1994. He and his wife, Kristy, have three sons, Brandon, Brady and Jacob.
