11 Cal Poly Assistant Coach Ben Greenspan Known nationwide as an elite recruiter, Ben Greenspan was hired as an assistant coach at Cal Poly in July 2021 after coaching as an assistant at Arizona State for seven seasons. A total of 30 Sun Devils were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft during Greenspan’s tenure at Arizona State.
BEN GREENSPAN First Year Ben Greenspan, assistant baseball coach at Arizona State for seven seasons, including the last four as associate head coach, was hired as an assistant coach at Cal Poly in July 2021. Greenspan works primarily with the Mustang catchers and also will assist with the team's offense. He also is the Mustangs' recruiting coordinator. "Ben is a solid addition to the Cal Poly baseball program," said Mustang head coach Larry Lee. "He has recruited successfully at two Power 5 programs and has been around highlevel players from his early days as an assistant coach. Ben will work with our catchers and also be involved on the offensive side. We look for Ben, along with coach (Jake) Silverman, to identify and bring in the level of player needed to compete at the highest level in college baseball." With the Sun Devils, Greenspan coached the offense, worked with the catchers and was the team's recruiting coordinator. During Greenspan's tenure, Arizona State earned NCAA regional berths in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021. "I am appreciative of the opportunity to coach at Cal Poly under the tutelage of Larry Lee," said Greenspan. "Coach Lee is universally respected as a baseball coach and person. I'm excited to join a talented group of student-athletes and coaches to pursue championships at Cal Poly." Greenspan established himself as one of the elite recruiters in the nation during his time in Tempe while also being instrumental in the program's development of talent, as demonstrated by Arizona State's 30 Major League Baseball draft picks under his guidance. His recruiting acumen was solidified with the 2021 recruiting class ranked No. 10 in the nation by Baseball America. The Sun Devils brought in a top-10 recruiting class in four of the last five seasons. The 2020 crop of newcomers was ranked as the No. 8 signing class by both Baseball America and D1Baseball. The 2018 class -- which included the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, Spencer Torkelson -- was ranked No. 4 by Baseball America and No. 6 by D1Baseball. The 2017 class was ranked No. 7 by Baseball America and No. 9 by D1Baseball. Torkelson was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft whike Alika Williams (the 37th pick of the 2020 first round) and Hunter Bishop, the No. 10 overall pick in 2019, all were recruited by Greenspan. Greenspan assembled the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation in 2016, according to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. The class was headlined by Bishop, who was rated the 15th-best outfielder in the nation by Perfect Game. Other highlights of that class included 2019 MLB Draft selections Carter Aldrete, Alec Marsh and Lyle Lin. Greenspan followed that up in playing a big part in another top-five nationally ranked recruiting class in 2017, and the top recruiting class in the Pac-12 and the
West. The 2017 Sun Devil class featured six signees who participated in the 2015 Area Code Baseball Games, an invitation-only elite baseball event held annually in Long Beach, Calif. The class includes Arizona State's entire starting infield in Torkelson, Williams, Workman and 2019 Pac-12 All-Defensive selection Drew Swift. Greenspan oversaw the Sun Devil baseball program's annual competition schedule, arranging over 20 non-conference games and series per season. Well-embedded in the professional baseball community, Greenspan is the program's liaison with professional scouts, analysts and coaching staffs in the MLB and played a pivotal role in preparing the current Sun Devils for life at the next level of competition. In addition to his off-the-field duties, Greenspan spent the majority of his time at Arizona State as the team's third-base coach. He was heavily involved in in-game coaching decisions from the dugout and was a key member of the coaching staff in the program's development of scouting reports on upcoming opponents. Greenspan spent six seasons as an assistant coach at Indiana, including the last year (2014) as recruiting coordinator, and worked extensively with the team's catchers and hitters. The Hoosiers' offense ranked in the top 25 in the nation in batting average, slugging percentage, total hits and extra-base hits in 2014. Greenspan mentored some of the most prolific hitters in Indiana program history, including two-time All-American catcher Kyle Schwarber, current Oakland Athletics catcher Josh Phegley, and 2010 Big Ten Player of the Year Alex Dickerson. He also played a large role in developing talent at Indiana as 11 of his position players were selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, including five in the top five rounds. In the nine years Greenspan has served as a catching coach, his guidance has produced a First Team AllConference player at that position in five of those seasons with two of them currently playing in the Major Leagues (Schwarber and Phegley). Schwarber, who was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, was a 2013 First Team All-American and was named the best catcher in the country by Perfect Game and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Dickerson won the 2010 Big Ten Triple Crown after he batted .419 with 24 home runs and 75 RBIs. Greenspan's additional hitting protégés include 2012 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Sam Travis, two-time All-American Dustin DeMuth and current major leaguers Micah Johnson and Ethan Wilson. Greenspan played two seasons at Indiana and was a Hoosier team captain and Academic All-Big Ten performer in 2007. He spent two years at Connecticut as a catcher and first baseman before joining the Indiana program. He earned a bachelor's degree in Sport Marketing and Management in 2007 and a master's degree in Sport Administration in 2008 from Indiana. Greenspan is originally from West Point, N.Y., and is married to his wife, Janine. The pair have two children, Grayson and Adalyn.
