FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Thomas Eager, a pitcher at Cal Poly in 2006 and 2007 who also pitched four seasons in the minor leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals organization, is Cal Poly’s new pitching coach.
The announcement was made Wednesday by Mustang head baseball coach Larry Lee and director of athletics Don Oberhelman.
After playing four years in the minor leagues, Eager returned to his alma mater in 2011 and has served the last two seasons as Director of Baseball Operations. He replaces Jason Kelly, who resigned in July to become pitching coach at the University of Washington.
“Tom is a great teacher and very familiar with the program, both as a player and as a coach,” said Lee, Mustang head coach for the last 10 seasons. “He will be a good fit for our program.”
Eager compiled an 11-3 record and 3.43 ERA as a sophomore in 2007, striking out 99 batters in 126 innings en route to first-team All-Big West Conference honors. He was 1-2 with a 4.15 ERA as a redshirt freshman in 2006.
Eager was drafted in the fifth round by St. Louis following the 2007 season and played for the Batavia Muckdogs (New York-Penn League), Quad Cities RiverBandits (Midwest League), Palm Beach Cardinals (Florida State League) and Springfield Cardinals (Texas League), compiling a 15-21 career win-loss mark as a professional.
Eager was a three-year varsity letterman in baseball at Merced High, earning first-team All-Central California Conference honors as a senior and second team as a junior. He helped Merced win a CIF-Sac-Joaquin Section title as a sophomore in 2002.
Born in Visalia, Eager, 26, was a business administration major at Cal Poly. Married to 2008 Cal Poly graduate Jenna in November 2011, he obtained a bachelor of science degree in business management with the University of Phoenix in May 2012.
