Thrilled to be a Warrior Meet Warrior Baseball’s New Coach
T
here’s no doubt about it—Kip McWilliams is
thrilled
to
be
the
new
baseball
coach for Indiana Tech. Smiling from ear
to ear, he’s quick to point out that he’s always wanted to be a baseball coach, and he knows the Warriors are poised to go all the way to the NAIA World Series. They just need some strong leadership—which he is more than capable of providing. “The Warriors have a fantastic record,” McWilliams states. “They’ve been to the NAIA championships six times in the past ten years—that’s not easy to accomplish. A real baseball fan should be thrilled to be here at Tech coaching this team. I know I am.” Though this is McWilliams’ first position as head coach of a collegiate level baseball team, his experience in coaching and playing baseball and other sports goes back several years. In his hometown of Bloomington, Ind., he played high school baseball and football. Looking at his record as a football player, where he earned All-State recognition, you might assume he was destined for a career as a linebacker. McWilliams, however, had his heart set on America’s favorite pastime. “I was probably better at football than baseball,” he admits, “but I really love the sport of baseball—it’s the greatest game ever invented—and I really wanted to coach.” After graduating high school, McWilliams played two seasons of football and baseball while attending Franklin College. Then he transferred to IUPUI, where he studied physical education. At IUPUI he was the assistant baseball coach in charge of the catchers and recruiting. After graduation, McWilliams spent eight seasons assistant coaching for Marian College, where the team won five conference titles and made six regional appearances. During his years at Marian, McWilliams also coached numerous summer teams, such as the Indy Bulldogs, whom he led to the National Amateur Baseball Federation World Series in 2002. Also on McWilliams coaching résumé are four seasons with the Lids Indiana Bulls. Lids is a summer travelling baseball organization for teenage players. The Lids are recognized as one of the best base-
14 TRENDS Summer 2007