University of Minnesota Athletics
Baseball
- Title:
- Volunteer Assistant Coach
- Email:
- vavra028@umn.edu
Trey Vavra finished his first season coaching for the Gophers in 2022 after being hired as the volunteer assistant coach in August of 2021.
In his first season with the maroon and gold, Vavra helped the 'U' compile a .965 team fielding percentage and cut down on their errors by 20 percent from the 2021 season. Minnesota upped both its fielding percentage and ERA from the previous year with the help of Vavra.
Vavra comes to Gold Country after previously serving the past four years on the coaching staff at the University of St. Thomas, compiling an 83-46 record (41-18 MIAC). 2021 was a banner year for the Tommies as they won the MIAC regular season title with a 17-2 record in conference play and advanced to the NCAA Division III College World Series, where they finished as national runner-up. Vavra oversaw the St. Thomas defense the previous three seasons, as well as serving as the lead base running instructor and assisting his brother Tanner (Vavra) with the hitters.
"I'm extremely excited to join the University of Minnesota Gophers Baseball program," Vavra said. "It's an honor to join such an established program with fantastic history and tradition. I'm truly blessed for the opportunity and am ready to get after it this fall."
Vavra's defense at St. Thomas was amongst the best nationally as the Tommies finished seventh in the NCAA in fielding percentage at .975 this past spring. He helped develop redshirt freshman Sam Kulesa into one of the finer defenders in the country, posting an elite .994 fielding percentage making just one error in 181 chances and turning 25 double plays. Kulesa was recently named to the ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. III Gold Glove Team. Additionally, St. Thomas had six regulars post fielding percentages higher than .980 on the season, leading to the sixth best earned run average nationally.
Prior to his time at UST, Vavra had an outstanding career, both collegiately and professionally. A native of Menomonie, Wis., Trey was a three-sport star (baseball, hockey, football) for Menomonie High School. A two-time all-conference selection and team captain, Vavra garnered MVP and All-State honors while being named the Big Rivers Conference Player of the Year in 2010. After high school, Vavra headed to Madison Area College for two seasons, playing for Head Coach Mike Davenport, where he earned the Madison College Sportsperson of the Year in 2012 and was the NJCAA National Defensive Player of the Year in both 2011 and 2012. Additionally, the 6-foot-2 infielder was a two-time Northwoods League All-Star for the Duluth Huskies, leading Duluth to a Northwoods League runner-up finish in the summer of 2013. He then played a season at both Eastern Illinois and Florida Southern before being drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 2014 MLB Draft (33rd Round).
As a professional in affiliated minor league baseball, Vavra hit .319 with 22 extra base hits and 34 RBI's in his first season for the Elizabethton Twins of the Appalachian Rookie League. In 2015, he continued his torrid hitting, posting a .346 average with six home runs, 10 doubles and 28 RBI's for the Class-A Cedar Rapids Kernels, where he was a Midwest League All-Star. In 2016 he was promoted to high A+ at Fort Myers with the Miracle where he tallied 99 hits, 17 doubles and 8 home runs and was named a Florida State League All-Star and took 3rd place in the FSL Home Run Derby. After an injury, Vavra finished his last three years as a professional playing for the Sioux Falls Canaries and the Chicago Dogs of the American Association. In 2018, Vavra had one of his finest seasons as a professional, hitting 16 home runs, compiling 110 hits, 65 RBI's, and 23 doubles while setting team records in every offensive category.
2019 was Vavra's last in professional baseball. He finished with a .279 average in 93 games to go along with seven home runs, 56 RBI's and 26 extra base hits while helping Chicago reach a 59-41 record. On defense he posted an impressive .988 career fielding percentage in four seasons in the Twins organization. He saw time at just about every position in his pro career, playing first, second and third base in addition to multiple starts in the outfield.
Vavra becomes just the ninth volunteer coach under John Anderson since 1982. The late Herb Isakson was the Gophers volunteer/assistant coach from 1964-1997 and is one of five Gophers to have his uniform number retired (#5) in the program, J.T. Bruett (current Director of the Lindahl Academic Center) held the position in 1998, Lee Swenson (current Director of Operations) then held the volunteer position from 1999-2010 before former Gopher great Rob Quinlan had the role during the 2011-2012 seasons. Current NDSU Head Coach Tyler Oakes was the Gophers volunteer assistant in 2013. Patrick Casey was the volunteer assistant from 2014-2016 followed by Ty McDevitt from 2017-2018 before Hunt took the position from 2019-2021. Casey and McDevitt are of course on staff now as full-time assistant coaches.
Trey is the second oldest of three boys in the Vavra family to Lesa and Joe Vavra. His older brother, Tanner, is currently the top assistant and recruiting coordinator at the University of St. Thomas, He also played professionally with the Minnesota Twins from 2013-2015. His youngest brother, Terrin, played for the Gophers from 2016-2018 and was an All-American shortstop for John Anderson, helping lead the 2016 and 2018 Gopher squads to Big Ten Titles and the school's first ever NCAA Super Regional appearance. Terrin is currently one of the top prospects in the Baltimore Orioles organization. His mother, Lesa, is the anchor of the family and was an elementary school teacher in the Menomonie school district for over 20 years. His father, Joe, is well known nationally and professionally as one of the finest coaches in the country. Joe was with the Minnesota Twins from 2002 to 2017 as the hitting and bench coach before being named the quality control coach by the Detroit Tigers in 2018. He was promoted to hitting coach in 2020 but is now happily retired with Lesa.
A native of Menomonie, Wis., Trey was the 2010 Big Rivers Conference Player of the Year at Menomonie High School.
Trey is currently engaged to his fiancé, Courtney Mack, who returns to Broadway in the musical 'Six' this fall.
