Merriman and Kalczynski Added to U-M Diamond Staff
11/8/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
| | Merriman | | Kalczynski |
| | | ||
"We are very fortunate to have these two coaches on the staff," said Harrison. "Steve brings a wealth of experience working with our pitching and catching and recruiting, and 'Kal' is one of the best young coaches in America, coming back to us after having spent the past two seasons with legendary college coach 'Itch' Jones at Illinois."
Merriman joins the Michigan baseball staff after serving as head coach at Macomb Community College for the past two seasons. The Monarchs were 52-27 with regional appearances both seasons. A native of Grand Rapids, Mich., Merriman, 34, earned his B.S. degree in education at Central Michigan in 1992. He earned his master's in sports administration at Wayne State in 1998.
A member of Bill Freehan's Michigan coaching staff in 1995 (1994-95 school year), Merriman served as the bullpen coach for the Detroit Tigers (1996-99) and worked with pitchers, catchers and infielders for manager Buddy Bell. He also served as an assistant baseball coach at the University of Toledo (1995-96).
Merriman was a member of three Mid-American Conference championship teams and he played in three NCAA regional tournaments while earning four varsity baseball letters at CMU (1987-90). He earned a listing in the NCAA record book with a 7-for-7 effort (six singles and a homer) vs. Ferris State (4/18/88).
Merriman started his coaching career with two seasons as an assistant at Mt. Pleasant High School and a year at Grosse Pointe North High, and he was an assistant coach at Oakland University in 1994. He also coached Toledo in the Great Lakes League in the summer of 1994.
Kalczynski, Most Valuable Player of Michigan's 1997 Big Ten championship team and captain of the 1998 Wolverine baseball squad, returns to Michigan after two seasons as a volunteer at Illinois. The Fighting Illini captured the 2000 Big Ten playoff championship at Minnesota. A native of Farmington, Mich., and a graduate of Brother Rice High School, Kalczynski earned his B.S. in Education at Michigan in 1999.
Kalczynski, 25, who earned three letters at Michigan (1996-97-98), started his coaching career as an assistant coach at Brother Rice (1999) before heading to Illinois. He coached in the Cape Cod League for Brewster in 1999 and coached for the Torrington Twisters in the New England Baseball League in 2001.
Kalczynski, who hit a double in his first Wolverine at bat, was named to four all-tournament teams as a Wolverine, including the 1997 Big Ten Playoff all-tournament squad.
Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
