TCU'S Jim Schlossnagle Names Assistant Coaches
7/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
July 18, 2003
FORT WORTH, Texas - Head baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle has announced the hiring of two assistant coaches today. Matt Siegel will join Schlossnagle from UNLV and Todd Whitting comes to TCU from the University of Houston.
Whitting arrives in Fort Worth after eight seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Houston. During his time with the Cougars, Whitting served as the program's recruiting coordinator as well as overseeing the team's fielding and defensive skills. Whitting's success as a defensive coach shows in the numbers Houston has put up defensively, as the Cougars have been ranked among the nation's leaders six of the last eight seasons in fielding percentage and/or double plays.
"I am very appreciative of Coach Schlossnagle and the TCU Athletics Department for giving me this opportunity," Whitting said. "The biggest factor in my decision to come to TCU was the effort and support the TCU staff has put into its baseball program."
"Todd is widely regarded as one of the most successful and hard working recruiters in the country," Schlossnagle said. "His established contacts in Texas and beyond will be a great asset to the rapid growth of the program."
Siegel, a Florida native, coached under Schlossnagle for one season at UNLV where he served as a volunteer assistant coach. His responsibilities at UNLV included coaching the infielders and assisting with the hitters. While under his direction, the Rebels set a school mark with a .970 fielding percentage in 2003.
Siegel also served as the head coach of the Arlington Senators, a collegiate summer league team in Northern Virginia this past summer and in 2002 he was an assistant coach for the Cotuit Kettlers in the Cape Cod Baseball League. From 1997-2001, he was a member of the University of Florida Gators baseball team and was a four-year starter at second base. He led his team to a berth in the 1998 Collegiate Baseball World Series.
"I am extremely excited about working with this staff and the TCU family," Siegel said. "I am very anxious about getting things going, as well as being very optimistic about the program. I can see a lot of success in the not-so-distant future."
"Matt has a tremendous amount of baseball knowledge and is the best young coach that I have been around," said Schlossnagle. "He was a big part of the success we had at UNLV last season and is a tireless worker."
