Kansas Wesleyan baseball coach Bill Neale has a deep appreciation for the work his assistant Jonathan Freemyer has done the past four years.
"I get credit for them but he's every bit as responsible for all the (victories) he's been here for," Neale said following KWU's 20-10 victory over Bethany on April 11.
To that end Neale has announced Freemyer's promotion to associate head coach.
"He deserves this title, it's been a long time coming," Neale said of Freemyer, who serves as recruiting coordinator and works with outfielders and hitters. "He's happy here and it's just another way to keep him here."
"It's exciting when you get a promotion wherever you work, it's something that proves you're doing a good job," Freemyer said. "Coming from Coach Neale it's tremendous."
Freemyer and Neale have been together for eight years. Freemyer played outfield at Northwestern Oklahoma State for three years when Neale was an assistant coach before coming to Wesleyan. Freemyer was the Great American Conference Player of the Year, a first-team All-GAC selection and a Third Team NABC All-American his senior year.
He also played basketball for the Rangers from 2009-13 and departed as the third-leading all-time scorer and was top five all-time in rebounds and steals. He was the first athlete to earn all-GAC honors in two different sports.
Neale praises Freemyer's recruiting acumen.
"I'll put him up against any recruiter in the nation, he's one of the best," he said. "You work, you make phone calls, you follow up with kids, you can show them the scholarship money, but you love on them make them feel like Kansas Wesleyan is a fit for them. And he does that better than anybody."
Freemyer's baseball responsibilities won't change with the promotion but he will have additional duties within the athletics department. He was recently interim KWU's esports coach before the hiring of Zac Allor and will work with the department's graduate assistant coaches.
"He'll help with that first-year transition, getting them on the same page and getting organized," Neale said. "GAs are tough their first year and the second year you have them how you want them then boom they're out the door. He's going to help with their first year, help them get acclimated and some of the things that go into coaching."
Freemyer said the esports experience was beneficial.
"It definitely helped me be a better communicator and helped with time management," he said. "You're working both jobs and there was either practices or games almost every day. There wasn't a whole lot of time for myself or time with my wife. It was a cool experience but I'm glad to be kind of baseball only now."
Neale recorded his 200th career victory on April 11 in KWU's 7-2 victory over Bethany.
"I've worked with him for eight years and to see him succeed like that and be a part of it is unbelievable," Freemyer said. "I know he works extremely hard. It's awesome.
"We have the same coaching style and philosophy. We're not identical people, but we're pretty much the same. We like same things; we have the same approach, and we just like to have fun and get after it."
--kwucoyotes.com--