Hilltoppers Hire Marc Rardin as Their Next Head Baseball Coach
BOWLING GREEN, KY – Western Kentucky University announced today that they have hired Marc Rardin as the 17th head baseball coach in program history.
The dean of the Reiver coaching staff, Coach Rardin leaves Council Bluffs after spending the last 20 seasons at the helm of the Iowa Western Baseball program, racking up 934 wins, 12 trips to the NJCAA JUCO World Series, and 16 regular season ICCAC conference titles. Iowa Western became the first and still the only team from the northern district to win the JUCO World Series, taking the title in 2010 and then repeating the feat in 2012 and 2014. During the past 20 years, no other Division I junior college baseball program has won more games and more postseason championships (regionals, districts, JUCO World Series) than Iowa Western for a total of 30 postseason titles combined.
"I would like to personally thank Coach Rardin for his years of service to Iowa Western and putting Iowa Western Baseball on the map as one of the top programs in the nation," said Iowa Western President Dr. Dan Kinney. "We hate to see Coach Rardin leave but this is an amazing opportunity for not only him but more importantly for his wife Dawn and their sons Tyler and Griffin as they move closer to family. We wish him well and he will always be part of the Reiver Family!"
"Marc has been part of Reiver Athletics Identity for a long time. His work ethic and leadership within the athletics department will be greatly missed," said Iowa Western Athletic Director Shane Larson. "However, we are all very excited for him and his family as they embark on this new adventure. I have greatly enjoyed working with Marc since I arrived to Iowa Western and I look forward to following his teams in the future. It is also very exciting to see NCAA Division I administrators acknowledging the high caliber of coaching that we here at Iowa Western. Marc is definitely one of the best baseball guys around. Todd Stewart and Western Kentucky have hit a home run with this hire!"
While enjoying a tremendous amount of team success, Rardin also saw many student-athletes achieve individual heights while in a Reiver uniform as well. Coach Rardin ushered in a winning attitude at Iowa Western since he took over the program back in 2003. His teams have averaged more than 46 wins per season and his overall record is 934-252 (an amazing .788 winning percentage) during his 20-year stint as the Reiver skipper. In that same period, the Reivers also have accumulated 455 wins to only 69 losses in regular-season conference and conference tournament play. In post-season play, Rardin has coached in 168 games Of those 168 games, the Reivers have won 125 and only lost 43 for a postseason winning percentage of .744.
Rardin has also mentored many of the individual student-athlete accomplishments while playing in a Reiver uniform. While many players have contributed to the successes, some examples that shine in the all-time marks for Reiver Baseball include Brent Seifert's program record .485 hitting percentage in 2010 and Tanner Krietemeier's 1.78 ERA in 2012 stands as the 'low water' mark for Reiver pitching. Former Reiver Doug Kroll was named the 2008 Junior College Player of the Year, Former Reiver Sean Chandler was named the 2018 Junior College Pitcher of the Year, and Vicente Cafaro, Ivan Hartle, Sam Bumpers, Ronald Sweeny III, and Benjamin Palmer have all been awarded Rawlings Gold Gloves for their outstanding performances in the field.
While many players have gone on to continue their careers at the 4-year level, it's a special moment of pride when former players make the trek to Omaha for the NCAA College World Series. Omaha native Grant Kay was the first to the pinnacle of D-1 College Baseball with Louisville in 2014. In 2016, two former Reivers were on rosters of teams that made it to the CWS. TCU Shortstop Ryan Merrill & Coastal Carolina C David Parrett both played in Omaha with Parrett's Chanticleers team winning the Championship. Both players were named to the All-Tournament Team, Parrett's post-season contributions are a large reason his squad won the title.
Under Coach Rardin, Iowa Western Baseball has seen 141 NCAA Division 1 signees, 101 ICCAC All-Region 1st team athletes, 21 NJCAA All-Americans, and 58 NJCAA All-Academic student-athletes. A 2015 NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Inductee, Coach Rardin owns a record of 30-20 at the JUCO World Series and became the 18th active NJCAA baseball coach to cross 900 career victories this past season.