University of Minnesota Athletics
Casey Promoted, McDevitt Returns
9/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
University of Minnesota head baseball coach, John Anderson announced Thursday that volunteer assistant coach Patrick Casey has been promoted to full-time assistant coach and Gopher alum Ty McDevitt has been hired as the volunteer pitching coach. Anderson and McDevitt will share the pitching responsibilities.
"We went through a very long, thoughtful and diligent process to hire a new assistant coach to fill the vacancy created by the very difficult and emotional loss of Todd Oakes," Anderson said. "Assistant Head Coach, Rob Fornasiere and I looked at a variety of ways to assemble our staff, whether it was hiring a pitching coach or assistant coach. At the conclusion of the search process, I decided to hire Patrick Casey who possesses a high baseball IQ, empowers the characteristics of loyalty, passion, commitment, and has made a positive connection with the players as a respected and talented coach in his three seasons as our volunteer coach. As a result, I will expand my coaching duties to include overseeing the development of the pitching staff as I did throughout Todd's battle with Leukemia."
Casey joined the Gophers in 2014 as a volunteer assistant and worked primarily with the hitters and catchers the last three seasons. Casey worked with Matt Fiedler, who earn Big Ten Player of the Year honors last season and helped Michael Handel to be named All-Big Ten second team in 2015.
Since Casey joined Minnesota, the Gophers have had 15 student-athletes with batting averages over .300. As a team, the Gophers held a .327 overall batting average last season. From 2011-13 the team had 10 players reach the .300 batting average mark. In his first three seasons with Minnesota, Casey has helped multiple hitters raise all their batting statistics.
Casey uses analytics and new-age technology such as studying sabermetrics to help the approach of the Gopher offense. Last season, Minnesota boasted the No. 3 overall offense in the nation and had the highest team batting average since 2003. Seven hitters under Casey have earned all-conference honors.
"Having the opportunity to work at this University and be a part of this program is a blessing and a dream come true." Casey said, "I'd like to thank the search committee headed by Rob Fornasiere, Tricia Budke and Ky Burgess for their time and efforts and certainly John Anderson for the opportunity to work in the greatest college baseball program in the country. I step into this role with a heavy heart, and I want to acknowledge T.O. and what he did for this University and the Minnesota community. There is no way I'll ever be able to match what he did and the impact he had on our student athletes, his legacy will forever carry on and never be forgotten. My mission, like T.O.'s, is dedication to the University of Minnesota, the student athletes and alumni apart of Gopher Baseball and to continue to uphold our standards of preparing young men for the next 50 years of their lives."
Casey came to the Gophers from Butler University where he was the hitting coach from 2013-14. He worked with infielders, catchers and base runners. He also assisted with recruiting and coordinating travel.
Before coaching with the Bulldogs, Casey spent five seasons at the University of St. Thomas, where he was part of five MIAC championships, five NCAA Regional appearances and two Division III College World Series. He was also a part of the 2009 Tommies team that won the national championship.
As the head coach of the Waterloo Bucks, Casey was named the 2013 Northwoods League Coach of the Year after a league-record 51 wins. In the fall of 2012, Casey was selected by the Minnesota Twins to attend the Major League Baseball Scouting and Development School. He served as an associate scout for the Twins in the Midwest in the spring and summer of 2013.
Casey graduated from the Academy of Holy Angels and went on to play baseball at the University of North Dakota. He held a career .995 fielding percentage in college, playing catcher, second base and outfield.
"Pat is the right man for what our team needs today," Anderson said. "He's proven himself over the last three years as a volunteer coach, he's worked extremely hard and is very passionate. He grew up around the program and he understands the history and tradition of Gopher baseball. He loves putting on the uniform here and he shows great respect for the history and tradition of the program even though he did not play here. He's earned the opportunity to be an assistant coach in this program based on what he's contributed over the last three years."
Ty McDevitt returns to the University of Minnesota after pitching five seasons for the Gophers. He earned an injury redshirt in 2014 after his season was cut short due to arm surgery.
"I was fortunate to have Ty McDevitt, a fifth year senior, help me last year in Todd's absence. He kept a chart in the dugout and helped me communicate with the bullpen during games. For a 23-year old, he's going on as a 30-year old man in his maturation and his intelligence. I was impressed when we had long conversations last season about pitching and he has a background in exercise physiology, kinesiology and a strong understanding of how to teach the physical and mental fundamentals of pitching that will translate to success on the field. Once I decided that I was going to hire Pat, I contacted Ty and asked him if he had interest in coming here to help us with the pitching staff. I am excited he has accepted and I look forward to working with him to develop a highly competitive pitching staff and also mentoring him into a successful college pitching coach."
While at Minnesota, McDevitt had an 11-4 career record with a 3.68 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 54 appearances. He was 4-1 out of the bullpen his senior season where he racked up 23 strikeouts and had a 3.77 ERA.
McDevitt was named Academic All-Big Ten three times while at Minnesota. In 2015, he was a co-recipient of the Gophers' David Chelesnik Jr. Memorial Award for showing perseverance, courage and the ability to overcome obstacles. During his senior season in 2016, McDevitt was named the Phil Isaksson Teammate of the Year.
McDevitt co-created the Dick Siebert Fall League with Casey and also helped run Minnesota Prospects. The team was made up of the top high school prospects within a 50-mile area of the University of Minnesota and competed in tournaments in Arizona during the winter. They finished runner-up in their last tournament in January.
"It was a very difficult process because of the emotional connection I had to Todd Oakes and working with him for 18 years," Anderson said. "However, we landed on two outstanding young men that are going to continue to add to our history and tradition. Adding these two, young, talented coaches to our staff, combined with the 70 plus years of college coaching experience that Rob and I have, will provide some balance in the relationships we want to create with our players. I believe you will see them do some outstanding work here. They fit our culture and will coach and mentor our young men with the right values. I am not a person that makes quick decisions on personnel. I wanted to wait and separate my emotions from this process. I believe we ended up with two solid coaches who share the same values and vision that I have for coaching. I'm excited to work with these two young men and know they can help us stay competitive in the 21st century."
