GREENWOOD – Head baseball coach Jason Burke and the Lander baseball team are proud to announce Jeff Stanek as an assistant head coach and hitting coach for the Bearcats for the 2023 season.

"I'm very excited to be bringing Jeff onto our staff.  He and I have known each other for a long time and I've always admired his work," said coach Burke. "Jeff comes in with coaching experience at a lot of different levels from Junior college to Div. I. He also brings in a lot of recruiting experience, having been in charge of that aspect at three different stops before coming to Greenwood.  He is a proven winner and will bring a great mentality to our team and guide an offense that I believe is ready to have a monster season." 

Stanek brings a wealth of experience, working with three Div. I programs and a pair of high-caliber junior colleges. He most recently served as an Associate Scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2015 through 2022 along with acting as a scout for Prep Baseball Report in 2021. In July of 2019, Stanek also released a unique online training website called Figure It Out Baseball (figureitoutbaseball.com). Figure It Out Baseball is a completely free online training platform for young players, coaches and parents comprised of more than 1,000 educational videos and podcasts, all featuring college and pro coaches.

Before his role as a scout, Stanek was a recruiting coordinator at Morehead State, a Div. I school in the Ohio Valley Conference in Morehead, Ky. Stanek helped the Eagles engineer a fast and remarkable turnaround, helping to build a roster that went from 16 wins in 2013 to reaching an NCAA Regional in 2015 while winning a program record 38 games. The Regional was the first for MSU Baseball since 1984. In just two seasons at Morehead State, Stanek coached seven All Ohio Valley Conference players and one Freshman All-American.

Before heading to Morehead State, Stanek spent the 2012 season at Louisburg College (NJCAA D1, Louisburg, N.C. In his only season at Louisburg, Stanek helped guide the team to a school-record 52 victories as the team's recruiting coordinator, hitting coach and baserunning coordinator. The 2012 team at Louisburg began the year 27-0 at which time they achieved a No. 1 National Ranking in the NJCAA Polls for the first time in school history.

Stanek served as a volunteer assistant coach at Winthrop University (NCAA Div. I, Rock Hill, S.C.) in 2010 and 2011 and also served one summer as a full-time assistant coach. He was in charge of Winthrop's outfield and baserunning.

Before his stint at Winthrop, Stanek was the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach at Southeastern (Iowa) Community College in 2008 and 2009. He helped lead the team to 76 wins in his two campaigns, and his hitters ranked in the top-30 nationally in batting average in both seasons. The 2009 team set a school record for wins (41) and ranked as high as No. 9 in the NJCAA Polls.

Stanek began his coaching career at his alma mater, Duquesne University (NCAA Div. I, Pittsburgh, Pa). He served as a volunteer assistant for the 2006-07 season before being elevated to assistant coach for the fall 2007 semester.

In only eight seasons of coaching college baseball, Stanek has coached or recruited more than 30 players who have signed professional contracts, including Major Leaguers Dakota Bacus, Cedric Mullins and Wynton Bernard.

Stanek is married to the former Amanda Kokemuller, and together, the two have four children: Vaida (8), Freddie (5), Mae (3) and Annie (born 7/2022).

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