The Oakland Golden Grizzlies baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, United States.[2] The team is a member of the Horizon League, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The team plays its home games at Oakland University Baseball Field in Rochester, Michigan.
| Oakland Golden Grizzlies | |
|---|---|
 2024 Oakland Golden Grizzlies baseball team | |
 | |
| Founded | 1970 |
| University | Oakland University |
| Head coach | Brian Nelson (Interim) |
| Conference | Horizon League |
| Location | Rochester, Michigan |
| Home stadium | Oakland University Baseball Field "The Den" (Capacity: 500) |
| Nickname | Golden Grizzlies |
| Colors | Black and gold[1] |
| Regular season conference champions | |
| GLIAC: 1978 | |
Oakland won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) league championship in 1978.[3]
Head coaches
edit| Year(s) | Coach | Seasons | W–L–T | Pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970–1971 | Gene Bolden | 2 | 22–34 | .393 |
| 1972 | John Scovill | 1 | 14–18 | .438 |
| 1973–1974 | Bill Pfaff | 2 | 38–28 | .576 |
| 1975 | Dick Robinson | 1 | 27–15 | .643 |
| 1976–1980 | Dirk Dieters | 5 | 126–102–2 | .552 |
| 1987 | Rob Righter | 1 | 4–28 | .125 |
| 1988–1993 | Paul Chapoton | 6 | 135–123 | .523 |
| 1994–1998 | Steve Lyon | 5 | 113–101–1 | .528 |
| 1999–2005 | Mark Avery | 7 | 129–241–1 | .349 |
| 2006–2007 | Dylan Putnam | 2 | 40–72 | .357 |
| 2008–2016 | John Musachio | 9 | 169–294 | .365 |
| 2017–2019 | Colin Kaline / Jacke Healey | 3 | 43–109 | .283 |
| 2020 | Colin Kaline | 1 | 2–10 | .167 |
| 2021–2024 | Jordon Banfield | 4 | 109–114 | .489 |
| 2025-Present | Brian Nelson | 1 | 0-0 | --- |
| Totals | 13 | 49 | 971–1,289–3 | .430 |
Jacke Healey and Colin Kaline were named co-head coaches of the Oakland program on July 12, 2016.[4] Healey was relieved of his duties as co-head coach in June, 2019. Kaline continued as the team's head coach.[5] The team was coached solely be Kaline until his resignation in March 2020 for health reasons.[6] On May 29, 2020, Jordon Banfield was named the programs new head coach.[7] On July 12, 2024, Banfield resigned from Oakland to accept the Head Coach position at Cal-State Bakersfield.[8] Brian Nelson was promoted and named the Interim Head Baseball Coach on July 17, 2024 for the 2025 Season.[9]
Major League Baseball
editOakland has had 19 Major League Baseball Draft selections since the draft began in 1965.[10] Don Kirkwood one of the only 2 OU players to have played in Major League Baseball. He played for the California Angels, Chicago White Sox and Toronto Blue Jays from 1974 to 1978. The other is Mike Brosseau of the Tampa Bay Rays although he went undrafted he made his way to the pros in though the Rays farm system.
| Golden Grizzlies in the Major League Baseball Draft | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Round | Team |
| 1977 | Thomas McWilliams | 7 | Baltimore Orioles |
| 1978 | James Dieters | 32 | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 1987 | Jim Kosnik | 31 | Kansas City Royals |
| 1997 | Matt McClellan | 7 | Toronto Blue Jays |
| 2000 | Erick Swanson | 12 | Seattle Mariners |
| 2001 | Adam Sokoll | 21 | Atlanta Braves |
| 2002 | David Viane | 20 | Seattle Mariners |
| 2002 | Jared Thomas | 11 | Seattle Mariners |
| 2003 | B. J. Brown | 22 | Anaheim Angels |
| 2004 | Brad Morenko | 40 | Cincinnati Reds |
| 2004 | Dominic Carmosino | 27 | Detroit Tigers |
| 2004 | Kyle Boehm | 17 | Baltimore Orioles |
| 2005 | Paul Phillips | 9 | Toronto Blue Jays |
| 2007 | Kevin Carkeek | 25 | Houston Astros |
| 2009 | Shane McCatty | 34 | Washington Nationals |
| 2012 | Hayden Fox | 21 | Miami Marlins |
| 2014 | Jacob Morton | 39 | Cleveland Indians |
| 2014 | Jake Paulson | 27 | Cincinnati Reds |
| 2024 | Brandon Decker | 19 | New York Yankees |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Oakland University Athletics Branding Guidelines". March 14, 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
- ^ "Oakland Grizzlies". d1baseball.com. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
- ^ "Oakland Baseball" (PDF). p. 2. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
- ^ "Colin Kaline and Jacke Healey named Oakland Baseball Co-Head Coaches". www.goldengrizzlies.com. CBS Interactive. July 12, 2016. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
- ^ Tony Paul (June 19, 2019). "Oakland baseball ditches co-head coach setup; Colin Kaline gets full-time gig". www.detroitnews.com. The Detroit News. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
- ^ Tony Paul (March 10, 2020). "Colin Kaline, Al's grandson, steps down as Oakland baseball coach for 'health reasons'". www.detroitnews.com. The Detroit News. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
- ^ Tony Paul (May 29, 2020). "Ann Arbor native Jordon Banfield succeeds Colin Kaline as Oakland baseball coach". www.detroitnews.com. The Detroit News. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ Michael Reedy (July 12, 2024). "Oakland University Baseball Head Coach Jordon Banfield Announces Resignation". www.goldengrizzlies.com. Oakland University. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
- ^ Michael Reedy (July 17, 2024). "Brian Nelson Named Interim Head Baseball Coach for Oakland University". www.goldengrizzlies.com. Oakland University. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
- ^ "MLB Amateur Draft Picks who came from "Oakland University (Rochester, MI)"". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
External links
edit
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