FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Mike Clement, boasting seven years of coaching experience at two Division I baseball programs and strong recruiting ties in the state of Texas, has been named Kansas State’s hitting coach, head coach Brad Hill announced today.
Clement, who spent the past three seasons on the staff at Texas A&M, replaces former associate head coach John Szefc, who was hired last month as the head coach at the University of Maryland.
Prior to this stint at Texas A&M, Clement, 32, spent four seasons at UTSA, including the final three as the team’s hitting coach. He brings an impressive coaching resume to K-State, including three postseason appearances at Texas A&M and a trip to the 2011 College World Series.
“I am very pleased to add Mike Clement to our coaching staff,” Hill said. “Most importantly, Mike brings continuity to our program as he has worked with Andy Sawyers, one of our former assistant coaches, for the past two seasons, and he will bring the same offensive philosophies that we’ve been running for several years. He has extensive championship experience in his seven-year career as a Division I coach, he is familiar with the Big 12 after being at Texas A&M the past three seasons, and he also has experience running an offense.
“Aside from his recruiting ties to the state of Texas, Mike has ties to the Midwest as he played and coached collegiately in Iowa,” Hill continued. “He comes from baseball bloodlines as his dad was a well-respected high school coach in the state of Iowa, and his brother was a first-round draft pick.”
Texas A&M advanced to postseason play each year Clement was a part of the coaching staff. He helped guide the Aggies to both the Big 12 conference regular-season and postseason championship titles in 2011 on their way to a College World Series appearance. In 2010, Texas A&M won the Big 12 Championship and advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Coral Gables Regional. Last season, the Aggies hosted an NCAA regional round.
“It’s an honor to join the staff at K-State and work with Coach Hill,” Clement said. “He has elevated the program to what it is today, and it’s his hard work in raising the standard in Manhattan that made this job very attractive to me. It’s my hope that I can come in and help better that tradition and compete for Big 12 championships. I’m also appreciative of the administration for its belief in me and know that with the current players we have, we can find the success that we are looking for.”
Clement helped direct an Aggie offense in 2012 that led the Big 12 and ranked fourth nationally with 129 steals. Also, Clement coached the Texas A&M infielders that saw its 2011 squad decrease its errors by 23 from the previous year and finish in the top 25 nationally with a .975 fielding percentage.
During his time at UTSA from 2006-09, Clement helped the Roadrunners accumulate a 144-81 overall record – including an impressive 84-40 mark in Southland Conference play – win two Southland Conference regular-season titles, tutor 16 hitters that earned All-Southland Conference honors and set 30 offensive school records. Additionally, UTSA saw its team batting average jump 32 points from .285 the year before he took over the offense to .317 during his final season, a mark that still stands as the school record.
In his final year as the hitting coach in San Antonio, Clement steered an offense that rewrote the record books as he helped the Roadrunners win a school-record 39 games. Along the way, UTSA set new highs in five offensive categories, including home runs, hits and batting average. UTSA finished in the top 25 nationally in triples (11th; 25), slugging percentage (20th; .532) and home runs (21st; 89), while the 2009 squad also stole 79 bases to rank third in school history, the most since a school-record 92 in 1999.
Clement tutored just the second All-American in UTSA history in Michael Rockett. The outfielder, who was a four-time All-Southland Conference performer, was drafted in the 13th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft by Detroit.
Prior to his stint at UTSA, Clement served as an assistant for one year at Kirkwood Junior College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, and then spent one year at Loyola High School in Los Angeles. He was also an assistant coach for the Orleans Cardinals in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League in the summers of 2005 and 2006, including a Cape Cod Championship in 2005.
A former college catcher, Clement played two seasons at Kirkwood, helping the Eagles compile a 91-25 record. He finished his college career at Morningside, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education/secondary education in 2002. Following college, the Marshalltown, Iowa, native played professionally one season for the Canton Coyotes of the Frontier League.
Clement comes from a baseball background as his father, Brad, was a legendary head coach at Marshalltown (Iowa) High School, helping the Bobcats win three state championships before being inducted into the Iowa High School Hall of Fame. Clement’s younger brother, Jeff, was drafted in the first round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft by the Seattle Mariners. The eight-year veteran has spent time in the majors with Seattle and Pittsburgh, while he is currently playing for the Indianapolis Indians, the Triple A affiliate of the Pirates.
Clement is engaged to Amanda Rosenberg of Kingwood, Texas, and will be married in November.
The Mike Clement File
Coaching Experience
2010-12: Texas A&M, Volunteer Assistant Coach
2007-09: UTSA, Assistant Coach
2006: UTSA, Volunteer Assistant Coach
2005: Kirkwood Junior College, Assistant Coach
2004: Loyola High School (Los Angeles), Assistant Coach
2003: Morningside College, Graduate Assistant
Education
College: Morningside College (Bachelor’s in Physical Education/Secondary Education)
