2013 Tennessee Tech Baseball
the coaching staff
#27
HEAD COACH
MATT BRAGGA TENTH SEASON • KENTUCKY, 1994 2010 OVC COACH OF THE YEAR
The 2010 Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year and the 2009 Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association Coach of the Year, Matt Bragga, enters his tenth season at the helm of the Tennessee Tech baseball team after leading the Golden Eagles to their four Ohio Valley Conference Tournament appearances in five seasons. With 21 wins in 2012 Bragga eclipsed the 200-win mark as a head coach for the Golden Eagles and currently owns 215 total victories. The milestone victory came on the road as Tech took down in-state powerhouse Tennessee in Knoxville by a score of 5-1. Another milestone was met under Bragga’s watch in 2012, as the baseball team put together the highest single-semester GPA in program history. Collectively, 35 student-athletes combined for a 3.177 GPA over the 2012 fall semester, an improvement of .364 over the 2012 spring semester. Twenty-five players were named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, a program record for one semester. Since his debut as Tech’s head guy in 2004, Bragga owns 144 home victories. Following last season’s 21 wins, the Golden Eagles have finished six straight seasons with 20 or more wins. Five members of the 2010 Golden Eagle lineup appeared on the All-Tournament team, while senior right-hander Lee Henry was named Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year. Juniors AJ Kirby-Jones and Chad Oberacker combined for nine total All-America Team appearances, boasting selections by Collegiate Baseball News, Ping!Baseball, Baseball America, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and the American Baseball Coaches Association. The team was also awarded the Ohio Valley Conference Sportsmanship Award as voted by coaches throughout the OVC. Additionally, four Golden Eagles were selected in the top 21 rounds of the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft. Junior Stephen Pryor was selected in the 5th round by the Seattle Mariners, Kirby-Jones in the 9th round by the Oakland A’s, Oberacker in the 19th round by the St. Louis Cardinals, and senior Adam Liberatore in the 21st round by the Tampa Bay Rays. Recently, Oberacker was drafted by the Oakland A’s in the 25th round of the 2011 draft. In 2009, the Golden Eagles made a thrilling run to sweep the Ohio Valley Conference baseball tournament and eliminate No. 14 Alabama from the NCAA regionals, setting the standard for what proved to be an epic 2010 season. They finished the 2009 season with a 31-24-1 record, marking the first back-to-back 30 win seasons in Tech history. The Golden Eagles swept the OVC tournament, going 4-0, including back-to-back extra-inning victories over Jacksonville State to clinch the OVC title.
8
5 OVC Regular Season Titles
3 OVC Tournament Titles