Jay Alexander, the head baseball coach at Wayne State
University for the past six seasons, has been named head
baseball coach at Eastern Michigan University, EMU Director
of Athletics Derrick Gragg recently announced. Alexander
takes over the head coaching duties from Jake Boss Jr.,
who left July 2 to become the head baseball coach at Michigan
State University.
"When we started the process of searching for a new
head baseball coach, the name Jay Alexander was at the
top of our list," Gragg said. "Coach Alexander
had tremendous support from the entire baseball community
and we are excited that he will be here to continue the
strong legacy of success our baseball program has built
under previous head coaches Ron Oestrike, Roger Coryell
and Jake Boss."
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AT THE HELM: Jay Alexander was named head
coach
of EMU's baseball team Aug. 8. Alexander had been
head baseball coach at Wayne State University the
past six years, where he averaged 27 wins a
season. This past season, he led his team to the
championship game of
the NCAA Division II Regional
Tournament. |
The 36-year-old Alexander, who took over Aug. 8, becomes
the first African-American head coach in EMU baseball history.
The
eighth head coach in Wayne State history, Alexander saw
his 2008 squad turn in one of the most memorable years
in school history. The Warriors recorded a school-record
34 wins, against just 19 losses, won the Great Lakes
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) regular-season
and tournament championships and advanced to
the championship game of the NCAA Division II Regional
Tournament. In addition, pitcher Anthony Bass and utility
player Adam Kaminski were the first WSU players to earn
All-American honors since the 1978 season.
During his six-year tenure, Alexander’s Wayne State
teams averaged 27 wins a season. He was named GLIAC Coach
of the Year twice, in both 2005 and 2008 and the Warriors
qualified for the NCAA Division II Regional Championship
in both of those seasons. He led the 2005 Warriors to
the GLIAC regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the
league tournament. That 2005 squad recorded 32 regular-season
victories to earn its first-ever trip to the NCAA Regional
Championship. In addition, shortstop Frank Jeney was
named GLIAC Player of the Year.
In all, Alexander has coached
12 All-Region players, 37 All-GLIAC selections and has
landed 71 on the GLIAC All-Academic squad. Under Alexander,
Wayne State also had its first player sign a major league
contract since 1999 when Randy Surratt joined the Chicago
White Sox organization after WSU's 2003 season. Then
in 2005, Steve Squires became the first Wayne State player
to be selected in the Major League draft when the White
Sox picked him in the 49th round. In 2008, Anthony Bass
was selected by the San Diego Padres in the fifth round
(165th pick overall).
A native of Detroit, Alexander was
a standout shortstop and centerfielder at Wayne State
from 1993-96. He led the Warriors in hits, runs scored,
stolen bases and batting average while a senior and was
nationally ranked in all of those categories. He was a
first-team All-GLIAC and All-Regional player that season.
Alexander
stayed at Wayne State to serve as a baseball assistant
under legendary head coach Rod George for five seasons
before becoming the head coach in December 2002 when
George passed away.
His hiring will become effective immediately,
pending approval from the EMU Board of Regents.
