Familiar with the River City, Matt Wollenzin was hired as assistant coach in July 2022. He was elevated to recruiting coordinator for the Purple Aces after the 2024 season. He also serves as UE's hitting coach and main dugout coach during games.
Wollenzin's previous stop at UE came in 2016 and 2017 as assistant coach, primarily serving as catching instructor and assisting with hitters. Most recently, Wollenzin completed his fifth season at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minn. where he served as associate head coach in 2021 and 2022.
In his first two seasons with Evansville handling hitting, Wollenzin has retooled the Aces offense to be more effective at the plate. During the 2024 season, Wollenzin guided the UE offense to its best batting average in 25 years with an overall team average of .299 at the plate while also helping Evansville get on base more often. In 2024 Wollenzin helped the Aces to a program-high 510 runs, 669 hits, 159 doubles, 96 home runs, 477 RBIs, and 326 walks.
In particular Wollenzin has improved UE's power at the plate as both seasons leading the offense Evansville has set a new program high for home runs in a single season. Wollenzin also guided two players to new single season records as outfielder Kip Fougerousse set records in hits (94) and home runs (22) and outfield Mark Shallenberger set a record in most runs scored (72) during the 2024 season. Wollenzin also helped the Aces set new season records for most walks in both 2023 (312) and 2024 (326) to raise their on-base percentage to .406 in 2024.
Wollenzin has also coached in the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer league, with the Mankato Moondogs, serving as the team's head coach and field manager since 2019. This season, Wollenzin earned his 100th win as Moondog head coach and had the opportunity to work with current Aces Donovan Schultz and Brendan Hord.
At Bethany Lutheran, Wollenzin helped guide the Vikings to their most successful season in school history in his first season as an assistant coach. In 2018, the Vikings won a share of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season title for the first time with a record of 14-2 and then went on to win the UMAC postseason tournament for the first time ever. As a result, the Vikings qualified for their first-ever NCAA Regional Tournament.
The 2018 season also brought much individual recognition for the Vikings as they boasted the UMAC Pitcher of the Year in Cody Leitner and Rookie of the Year in Ross Beumer. Additionally, the Vikings had eight players earn All-UMAC First Team honors. The recognition continued as Ross Beumer was named Rookie of the Year by D3baseball.com and Ben Boran was an American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings NCAA DIII Midwest All-Region Second-team selection.
Previous to his prior stop at UE, Wollenzin began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater Austin Peay State University.
As a player at Austin Peay, Matt was a four-year starter as a catcher, first baseman, and designated hitter. Wollenzin's playing career was highlighted by three NCAA Division I Regional appearances (2011-2013) as well as individual honors of 2011 NCBWA Freshman All-American Team and 2011 OVC All-Freshman Team.
Matt graduated from Austin Peay University in 2014 with a Bachelors in Healthcare Management. He earned his Masters in Healthcare Administration in 2015. Wollenzin is a native of Lakewood, CO.
