Baseball Grows Their Coaching Staff With Two New Additions
SOUTH BEND, Ind.– Indiana University South Bend head baseball coach Doug Buysse has added experience to his coaching staff, welcoming two new assistant coaches in Zane Gonzalez and Kevin Phelps.
Gonzalez served as a graduate assistant at the University of Rio Grande in Ohio where he earned his master’s degree in athletic coaching and leadership. In his two years at Rio Grande, the team had back-to-back playoff seasons for the first time in school history. The program’s success included a 2019 season where the Rio Grande RedStorm went on to win the River State Conference sending them to the national tournament where they knocked off the No. 1 seed.
His success on the field goes farther back than just his coaching career. Gonzalez attended Comstock Park High School in Grand Rapids, Mich. where he was a three-time All-District, All-Region, and All-Area player along with a two-time All-Conference pitcher. After high school, Gonzalez attended Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC) for two years where he was appointed team caption leading his team to regionals and the highest school ranking in program history at No. 16 in the country.
After his time at KVCC, Gonzalez transferred to IUSB where he was a relief pitcher setting the Titan career record after accumulating 45 appearances with a 7-7 record to go along with nine saves. During his junior season, he was the winning pitcher in IUSB’s first postseason win in school history against No. 1 seed Judson, including seizing the game winning save to knock out two-seeded Olivet Nazarene.
“Zane brings a wealth of knowledge from both his time at Rio Grande and working with the Kalamazoo Growlers in the Northwoods league. Our pitching staff will benefit greatly working with Zane every day.” says head coach Doug Buysse. “He is a tireless worker who understands not only the player development side, but also the importance of building relationships with our student-athletes.”
Gonzalez has spent his last three summers as the Kalamazoo Growlers pitching coach. During his time coaching in Kalamazoo, Gonzalez has had three players drafted and one sign a professional contract with the West Virginia Wild Things.
Coach Phelps graduated from Portage Central High School in 2013. Phelps was a walk-on for baseball at Kalamazoo Valley Community College for two years where he held over .400 career batting average. After KVCC, he transferred to IUSB where he finished his last two years of eligibility. Post college, Coach Phelps played a year of independent baseball where he doubled as a reliever and an infielder.
Kevin Phelps graduated from IUSB in 2017 and took a head coaching job at Comstock High School in Comstock, Mich.. As a head coach for the Colts, Phelps boasted an impressive 20-7 record until returning to KVCC as the hitting coach. KVCC hit 13 home runs in nine games last season before it was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coach Buysse has nothing but great things to say about Assistant Coach Kevin Phelps. “KP will bring our energy every day! His background at Kalamazoo Valley CC along with his time in pro ball will greatly benefit our program on several levels. He will be running our infielders, base running, and coordinating the offense. KP brings another style of coaching to our program that will help maximize our player development.”
“I am very excited to welcome alumni Zane Gonzales and Kevin Phelps back to Titan Baseball. The addition of these two to the coaching staff will greatly benefit the development of our student-athletes.” says Buysse. “They are great coaches, workers, but most of all they understand what Titan Baseball is all about. FAMILY.”
The Titan athletic department would like to welcome coach Gonzalez and coach Phelps to IU South Bend as coaches and as alumni.