Both offensively and defensively, the University of Evansville baseball team has reached new heights under the direction of assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Marc Wagner, a veteran of 14 seasons in the dugout at both the NCAA Division I and junior college levels. Wagner is now in his fourth season as a member of the UE coaching staff.
With the help of Wagner, the Aces boasted a .977 fielding percentage in 2011, representing a program record and the 10th best in NCAA Division I that season, as Evansville finished the year with a 28-25 mark. With four UE players earning all-MVC honors, Cody Fick, a first team pick, headlined the cast. Fick became one of only two players in Evansville baseball history to earn multiple All-America honors in the same season, being named an ABCA/Rawlings first team All-America selection by the American Baseball Coaches Association, and was a second team Louisville Slugger All-American as selected by Collegiate Baseball. With Wagner’s guidance, Fick was also named Region V Player of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America and was a finalist for the College Baseball Hall of Fame’s John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award.
With Wagner as hitting coach, Evansville saw 10 offensive school records fall during the course of the 2010 season, while UE ranked among the Missouri Valley Conference’s leaders in nearly every offensive category. Evansville’s .298 team batting average ranked as the highest single-season team mark at UE in over a decade, and the Purple Aces posted the highest run total (408) since UE scored a school-record 423 runs in 1998. The Aces finished the year 32-27 overall and third in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, as seven Aces earned all-conference honors, including three first team picks and the Freshman of the Year in Eric Stamets.
Defensively, the Purple Aces ranked among the nation’s top 15 in fielding percentage (.975) and fewest errors (56) thanks to Wagner’s assistance in 2010, as well as ranking fourth nationally with a program-best 69 double plays turned.
Wagner came to UE in the summer of 2008 after four seasons in the dugout at Missouri Valley Conference rival Bradley University. As hitting coach, Wagner helped former Bradley infielder Ryan Curry win the 2007 MVC batting title, with a modern Bradley record .416 batting average. The Braves also reached new heights defensively under Wagner, as Bradley posted three of its four best fielding percentage marks on record in Wagner's four years on staff.
Wagner came to Bradley from Odessa College in Texas, where he helped the Wranglers to a regional tournament appearance in his only season with the program. Prior to his tour of duty at Odessa, Wagner served as an assistant coach at Morehead State University from 2001 through 2003. While at Morehead State, Wagner helped the Eagles lead the nation in 2002 with 127 home runs and 2.27 home runs per game as the program’s recruiting coordinator and hitting coach. The 2002 Eagles also ranked second nationally in slugging percentage and sixth in both scoring average and team batting average, while setting eight Ohio Valley Conference team records.
Wagner earned a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis in political science and communications from Abilene Christian University in 1995. Marc and his wife, Stacy, have three children: Brooks (10), Alexis (8) and Gabriella (1).
