MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois Director of Athletics Danielle Surprenant named Andy Pascoe the head coach of Leatherneck baseball on Thursday (Sept. 19).
Pascoe is the seventh head coach in program history.
“I’m thrilled to announce the hiring of Andy Pascoe as the new head baseball coach at Western Illinois University,” Surprenant said. “It was very evident that Andy has a great sense of drive and passion for helping student-athletes succeed both on and off the field. He brings a wealth of coaching and recruiting experience, which will allow him to make an immediate impact on the program. I look forward to watching the program grow under his leadership.”
Pascoe makes his arrival from Butler University, where he completed three seasons (2016-19) as an assistant coach. His career includes stops at Prep Baseball Report and his alma mater, the University of Evansville.
“I am very excited and grateful about this opportunity to become the next head coach at Western Illinois,” Pascoe added. “I know Ryan Brownlee well and have the utmost respect for him and what he has done at WIU; he has established a strong foundation and culture for this program. It is exciting not only to lead this program but also to be a part of an athletic department that is close-knit and family-oriented.
“I can not thank Dave Schrage and the rest of Butler staff enough for what they have done for me the last three years, as well as the players that I had the opportunity to coach at Butler and at the University of Evansville. I appreciate how Schrage and Wes Carroll have prepared me for this next stage in my coaching career.”
In his second season with the Bulldogs, Pascoe helped buster the offense to reach the 2018 Big East Tournament for the first time in school history. The year also saw Butler break the school record for winning percentage in a season (.630), and it marked the first winning season (34-20) since 2003.
In his first two seasons, Pascoe assisted the team to increases in all major offensive categories, highlighted by a tripling of their home run total. His work helped Butler earn three All-Big East Selections in 2017, five in 2018 and two in 2019, including second-team All-American Harrison Freed, who was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 13th round of the 2019 MLB Draft.
Before Butler, Pascoe served as the Director of Scouting (Michigan) for Prep Baseball Report. His coaching career began as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Evansville (2011-15). Pascoe helped the Purple Aces to an overall record of 147-131, a regular-season conference title (2014), and seven MLB draft picks. The program also amassed four All-Americans, a conference player of the year and 22 all-conference selections.
After Pascoe completed his collegiate career in 2010, he remained with Evansville as a volunteer assistant before being promoted to assistant coach in the summer of 2012.
It was a season to remember in 2014, as the Purple Aces finished the campaign with a 34-21 record and their first regular-season Missouri Valley Conference Championship since 2006. The team totaled a .283 average, slugged 103 doubles and scored 330 runs en route to the most productive offensive season during Pascoe’s tenure.
In
his fifth and final season as part of the staff, Pascoe coached
All-American Kevin Kaczmarski to become the program’s first Missouri
Valley Conference Player of the Year. A ninth-round pick by the New York
Mets in 2015, Kaczmarski finished his senior year leading the nation in
batting average (.465) and triples (9) and was second in on-base
percentage (.543) and slugging percentage (.746).
A
four-year letter winner, Pascoe played in 151 games between 2007 and
2010. During his playing career, he was a designated hitter, catcher,
and infielder. As a junior Pascoe was a Second Team All-Missouri Valley
Conference selection at DH, leading the Purple Aces in hitting with a
.331 average.
The Traverse City, Mich., native completed his undergraduate degree in exercise science.
