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UMW Names Wayne Riser as Head Baseball Coach

V VirginiaBsblDad100+ posts
Article

The University of Mary Washington has hired Wayne Riser as its new Head Baseball Coach, according to Director of Athletics Ken Tyler. Riser comes to Fredericksburg from Shepherd University, where he served as head coach for 22 years, winning 512 games and ranking as the all-time winningest coach in any sport in Rams’ history. He was inducted as a 2008 member of the Shepherd Athletic Hall of Fame. Riser replaces 25-year veteran coach Tom Sheridan, who left UMW last month to become the associate head coach at Division I George Washington University.

“First and foremost, I want to thank Dr. Searcy, the search committee, and Ken Tyler for this opportunity to become a part of the UMW family”, said Riser. “I am humbled, honored, and extremely excited to meet the team and get started.”

In his tenure at Shepherd, Riser guided 15 teams to winning seasons, including three 30-win campaigns in the past seven years. His 2012 team won 33 games en route to an NCAA Division II Regional Tournament appearance. Riser’s first baseman, Nathan Minnich, was named as the Division II National Player of the Year, and was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the eighth round.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Wayne Riser as our new head baseball coach, said Tyler. “Wayne brings over 500 career victories and multiple NCAA tournament appearances to UMW. He recruited and coached the national Division II Player of the Year and served three years in the prestigious position of Chair of the Division II National Baseball Committee. More importantly, Wayne truly understands the role athletics plays in developing the total person and will be a great mentor to our student-athletes. We look forward to Wayne Riser taking our baseball program to even greater heights!”

In all, Riser led five teams to NCAA Tournament play, and saw 16 teams win 20 or more games. His teams won numerous WVIAC Northern Division titles, and he was recognized as WVIAC Coach of the Year four times.

Under Riser's guidance, the Rams became a force on the national scene as their 39-7 record in 1997 brought with it the highest NCAA II ranking in school history plus the first-ever trip to the NCAA North Atlantic Regionals. Shepherd's banner year earned Riser WVIAC Coach of the Year and Mid Atlantic Major League Scouts Association College Coach of the Year honors.

In his 22 seasons at Shepherd, Riser coached 45 First Team All-WVIAC and 32 All-Region selections. He has also coached nine All-Americans, six Regional Players of the Year, three Academic All-Americans, a Regional Pitcher of the Year and a Tino Martinez Player of the Year winner. Numerous players have gone on to play professionally.

Riser, who also served as facilities coordinator for the Butcher Athletic Center at Shepherd, served for two years as an assistant coach for the Rams after playing two seasons in the Blue and Gold. A reserve outfielder and part-time pitcher, Riser posted a 2-0 record on the mound for the Rams after transferring from Henderson State University (AR).

After serving as a member of the NCAA Division II Baseball Committee and chair of the North Atlantic Regional Committee for two years, Riser recently completed a stint as chair of the NCAA Division II Baseball Committee. Riser graduated from Shepherd in 1989 with a bachelor of arts degree in secondary education. He earned his master's degree in curriculum and instruction from Shepherd in December 2007.
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right arm of zeusright arm of zeus1,000+ posts
Akadema not sure if you mean shepherd and shanendoah as far as d2 and d3, not even sure where your comment was headed, not trying to be critical i just felt lost.

Lovecoachingva: I have had players play for shepherd and I myself back in the day also played for Riser. Here is what you get with Riser, you get a great baseball mind, the man knows baseball and runs a first class program, if he runs into trouble he takes care of it quickly, used to be old school, shaved faces, clean cut look black shoes and so on, not sure if he has changed much. He treats people with respect, but rubs some people the wrong way as he is in a way milititant. That i know of he mainly works with hitting. He should be a great asset to Mary Wash. It truley is Shepherd's Loss and being an alum of shepherd i can only hope they fill their spot with someone who is close to wayne.

A question i have which i cannot find the answer is, Why would you leave a program that you have built from ground up, to become a powerhouse in the division 2 ranks, where you were brought up (local boy Riser is to shepherd) to go to a medicore at best division 3 school? This might just be some of my bitterness of him leaving shepherd, but its how i feel at the moment. Shepherd was not going to let him go and seemed shocked he was leaving. Wayne leaves them in a bind with school already beginning and most coaches in a position already. But any takers on why?
Last edited by right arm of zeus
PISPIS1,000+ posts
What you describe as "a mediocre at best" D3 program may be viewed as a diamond in the rough by some.

Mary Washington has the potential to become a national power. Both CNU and Shenandoah have put together World Series season in the past few years.

How can MW get there?
Great leadership on the field.
Great academics. Some would argue that MW's degree is superior to CNU or SU.
State school price. Instead of starting a retail of $45,000 you start at $20,000. Thats sort of a big deal.
Good facilities. Nice stadium. Better then some worse then some. But still nice.
Recruit your area. If the new guy can begin winning the battle for some of the NoVa and RVa kids that are currently heading to RMC, CNU, HSC & SU he will be fine.

I think that MW can be and should be a powerhouse in their conference!

I wish Tom Sheridan well at GW and wish Coach Riser well at MW.

Rich
PlayInSchool.com
Flying DutchmanFlying Dutchman100+ posts
quote:
A question i have which i cannot find the answer is, Why would you leave a program that you have built from ground up, to become a powerhouse in the division 2 ranks, where you were brought up (local boy Riser is to shepherd) to go to a medicore at best division 3 school? This might just be some of my bitterness of him leaving shepherd, but its how i feel at the moment. Shepherd was not going to let him go and seemed shocked he was leaving. Wayne leaves them in a bind with school already beginning and most coaches in a position already. But any takers on why?


Good question, but certainly the answer can only come from Coach Riser....
LB luv baseball5,000+ posts
Noone can be surprised when a AD hires a person he is familiar with. If the AD made a mistake he will eventually pay with his job.

As for a National Power you'd think MW would be an easier sell than Shenadoah on location and cost. I've had kids in both schools and I think the eduacations are comprable but there is a significant difference in cost. Fredricksburg is obviously much more centrally located than Winchester. The size of the schools is actually pretty similar as well.
V VirginiaBsblDad100+ posts
quote:
VirginiaBsblDad

quote:
What a mistake,the AD just hired his friend who could care less about the program. The evaluation of talent by Riser was a joke and the AD should take a look at the injustice he has done to the program!!!!!!!!!



My son plays at Mary Washington and he said all the players playing for him are really glad he is coaching there. I have to disagree with your comments about him not caring about the baseball program, my son had a conversation with him yesterday and he has a lot of great plans for the team/facilities. When he started at Mary Washington this season there were 70 players trying out for the baseball team and he has narrowed the list down to 40 players for the fall. Unlike the former coach who would have kept all 70 players to help with their fundraising and then make cuts just before the season started. Coach Riser said he will not tell 30 plus freshmen to come play for him and then end up cutting more than half of them before the baseball season starts. I understand there are some players from last year who ended up getting cut who are very upset, but he evaluated all the players fairly. I think you are going to see a lot of great things happen with the program at Mary Washington in the coming years, because they finally have a coach who does care. Then again this is my opinion and you’re entitled your own.
Last edited by VirginiaBsblDad
TJ tom Jones10+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by VirginiaBsblDad:
quote:
VirginiaBsblDad

quote:
What a mistake,the AD just hired his friend who could care less about the program. The evaluation of talent by Riser was a joke and the AD should take a look at the injustice he has done to the program!!!!!!!!!



My son plays at Mary Washington and he said all the players playing for him are really glad he is coaching there. I have to disagree with your comments about him not caring about the baseball program, my son had a conversation with him yesterday and he has a lot of great plans for the team/facilities. When he started at Mary Washington this season there were 70 players trying out for the baseball team and he has narrowed the list down to 40 players for the fall. Unlike the former coach who would have kept all 70 players to help with their fundraising and then make cuts just before the season started. Coach Riser said he will not tell 30 plus freshmen to come play for him and then end up cutting more than half of them before the baseball season starts. I understand there are some players from last year who ended up getting cut who are very upset, but he evaluated all the players fairly. I think you are going to see a lot of great things happen with the program at Mary Washington in the coming years, because they finally have a coach who does care. Then again this is my opinion and you’re entitled your own.
TJ tom Jones10+ posts
When a coach evaluates players he doesn't do it in two days. High school you get more time then that!
quote:
Originally posted by tom Jones:
quote:
Originally posted by VirginiaBsblDad:
quote:
VirginiaBsblDad

quote:
What a mistake,the AD just hired his friend who could care less about the program. The evaluation of talent by Riser was a joke and the AD should take a look at the injustice he has done to the program!!!!!!!!!



My son plays at Mary Washington and he said all the players playing for him are really glad he is coaching there. I have to disagree with your comments about him not caring about the baseball program, my son had a conversation with him yesterday and he has a lot of great plans for the team/facilities. When he started at Mary Washington this season there were 70 players trying out for the baseball team and he has narrowed the list down to 40 players for the fall. Unlike the former coach who would have kept all 70 players to help with their fundraising and then make cuts just before the season started. Coach Riser said he will not tell 30 plus freshmen to come play for him and then end up cutting more than half of them before the baseball season starts. I understand there are some players from last year who ended up getting cut who are very upset, but he evaluated all the players fairly. I think you are going to see a lot of great things happen with the program at Mary Washington in the coming years, because they finally have a coach who does care. Then again this is my opinion and you’re entitled your own.
V VirginiaBsblDad100+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by tom Jones:
When a coach evaluates players he doesn't do it in two days. High school you get more time then that!
quote:
Originally posted by tom Jones:
quote:
Originally posted by VirginiaBsblDad:
quote:
VirginiaBsblDad

quote:
What a mistake,the AD just hired his friend who could care less about the program. The evaluation of talent by Riser was a joke and the AD should take a look at the injustice he has done to the program!!!!!!!!!



My son plays at Mary Washington and he said all the players playing for him are really glad he is coaching there. I have to disagree with your comments about him not caring about the baseball program, my son had a conversation with him yesterday and he has a lot of great plans for the team/facilities. When he started at Mary Washington this season there were 70 players trying out for the baseball team and he has narrowed the list down to 40 players for the fall. Unlike the former coach who would have kept all 70 players to help with their fundraising and then make cuts just before the season started. Coach Riser said he will not tell 30 plus freshmen to come play for him and then end up cutting more than half of them before the baseball season starts. I understand there are some players from last year who ended up getting cut who are very upset, but he evaluated all the players fairly. I think you are going to see a lot of great things happen with the program at Mary Washington in the coming years, because they finally have a coach who does care. Then again this is my opinion and you’re entitled your own.


I guess when a coach takes over a baseball program you cannot make everyone happy. I think Coach Riser's record speaks for itself, look at what he did at Shepherd University. I think he is more than qualified to evaluate college players. We will just have to wait and see if he brings the same success to Mary Washington as he did for his former school.
TJ tom Jones10+ posts
Riser looks at the size of the player not the talent. Dustin P wouldn't make his team!
quote:
Originally posted by VirginiaBsblDad:
quote:
Originally posted by tom Jones:
When a coach evaluates players he doesn't do it in two days. High school you get more time then that!
quote:
Originally posted by tom Jones:
quote:
Originally posted by VirginiaBsblDad:
quote:
VirginiaBsblDad

quote:
What a mistake,the AD just hired his friend who could care less about the program. The evaluation of talent by Riser was a joke and the AD should take a look at the injustice he has done to the program!!!!!!!!!



My son plays at Mary Washington and he said all the players playing for him are really glad he is coaching there. I have to disagree with your comments about him not caring about the baseball program, my son had a conversation with him yesterday and he has a lot of great plans for the team/facilities. When he started at Mary Washington this season there were 70 players trying out for the baseball team and he has narrowed the list down to 40 players for the fall. Unlike the former coach who would have kept all 70 players to help with their fundraising and then make cuts just before the season started. Coach Riser said he will not tell 30 plus freshmen to come play for him and then end up cutting more than half of them before the baseball season starts. I understand there are some players from last year who ended up getting cut who are very upset, but he evaluated all the players fairly. I think you are going to see a lot of great things happen with the program at Mary Washington in the coming years, because they finally have a coach who does care. Then again this is my opinion and you’re entitled your own.


I guess when a coach takes over a baseball program you cannot make everyone happy. I think Coach Riser's record speaks for itself, look at what he did at Shepherd University. I think he is more than qualified to evaluate college players. We will just have to wait and see if he brings the same success to Mary Washington as he did for his former school.
V VirginiaBsblDad100+ posts
quote:
Riser looks at the size of the player not the talent. Dustin P wouldn't make his team!


This will be my last response to your comments about Coach Riser. I guess by your comment above if the player is small stature they don't stand a chance at making his team. I just checked the website at Shepherd University and more than a third of his last year's roster (28 players) were 6ft or less and weighed around 170lbs. Looking at the players who made the cut this fall at Mary Washington there are several players who fit the same profile above. Your statement about Coach Riser looking at the size of the player over talent is kind of ridiculous.

Coach Riser has been on a tight timeline since joining the program this late in the fall and what he has done in just a few weeks has already impressed a lot of the players. He has already brought in 2 other coaches to help with pitching and catching, one of them played with the Toronto Blue Jays making it to AAA ball as a catcher and the other has college experience with pitchers. Next week he has a third coach coming in to help with the infielders, this doesn't sound like a coach who could care less about the Mary Washington baseball program. Looking forward to the upcoming baseball season at Mary Washington!
TJ tom Jones10+ posts
Good Luck your going to need it!!!!!!!
quote:
Originally posted by VirginiaBsblDad:
quote:
Riser looks at the size of the player not the talent. Dustin P wouldn't make his team!


This will be my last response to your comments about Coach Riser. I guess by your comment above if the player is small stature they don't stand a chance at making his team. I just checked the website at Shepherd University and more than a third of his last year's roster (28 players) were 6ft or less and weighed around 170lbs. Looking at the players who made the cut this fall at Mary Washington there are several players who fit the same profile above. Your statement about Coach Riser looking at the size of the player over talent is kind of ridiculous.

Coach Riser has been on a tight timeline since joining the program this late in the fall and what he has done in just a few weeks has already impressed a lot of the players. He has already brought in 2 other coaches to help with pitching and catching, one of them played with the Toronto Blue Jays making it to AAA ball as a catcher and the other has college experience with pitchers. Next week he has a third coach coming in to help with the infielders, this doesn't sound like a coach who could care less about the Mary Washington baseball program. Looking forward to the upcoming baseball season at Mary Washington!
TJ tom Jones10+ posts
You better get your facts right 6 players under 6ft out of 35.
quote:
Originally posted by tom Jones:
Good Luck your going to need it!!!!!!!
quote:
Originally posted by VirginiaBsblDad:
quote:
Riser looks at the size of the player not the talent. Dustin P wouldn't make his team!


This will be my last response to your comments about Coach Riser. I guess by your comment above if the player is small stature they don't stand a chance at making his team. I just checked the website at Shepherd University and more than a third of his last year's roster (28 players) were 6ft or less and weighed around 170lbs. Looking at the players who made the cut this fall at Mary Washington there are several players who fit the same profile above. Your statement about Coach Riser looking at the size of the player over talent is kind of ridiculous.

Coach Riser has been on a tight timeline since joining the program this late in the fall and what he has done in just a few weeks has already impressed a lot of the players. He has already brought in 2 other coaches to help with pitching and catching, one of them played with the Toronto Blue Jays making it to AAA ball as a catcher and the other has college experience with pitchers. Next week he has a third coach coming in to help with the infielders, this doesn't sound like a coach who could care less about the Mary Washington baseball program. Looking forward to the upcoming baseball season at Mary Washington!
TJ tom Jones10+ posts
Get your fact right their are only 6 out of 35 that are under 6Ft at Sheperd
quote:
Originally posted by tom Jones:
Good Luck your going to need it!!!!!!!
quote:
Originally posted by VirginiaBsblDad:
quote:
Riser looks at the size of the player not the talent. Dustin P wouldn't make his team!


This will be my last response to your comments about Coach Riser. I guess by your comment above if the player is small stature they don't stand a chance at making his team. I just checked the website at Shepherd University and more than a third of his last year's roster (28 players) were 6ft or less and weighed around 170lbs. Looking at the players who made the cut this fall at Mary Washington there are several players who fit the same profile above. Your statement about Coach Riser looking at the size of the player over talent is kind of ridiculous.

Coach Riser has been on a tight timeline since joining the program this late in the fall and what he has done in just a few weeks has already impressed a lot of the players. He has already brought in 2 other coaches to help with pitching and catching, one of them played with the Toronto Blue Jays making it to AAA ball as a catcher and the other has college experience with pitchers. Next week he has a third coach coming in to help with the infielders, this doesn't sound like a coach who could care less about the Mary Washington baseball program. Looking forward to the upcoming baseball season at Mary Washington!
TJ tom Jones10+ posts
When the coach says to a player he rather have an average big player then a good smaller player you tend to wonder. He was upset that he had to spend 3 days evaluating those payer that tried out. Average is the best your going to get!
quote:
Originally posted by lovecoachinginva:
Anybody have any insight as to how fall practice at UMW is progressing? Are the guys buyng into Coach Riser and his staff? How is the team shaping up?
V VirginiaBsblDad100+ posts
quote:
Anybody have any insight as to how fall practice at UMW is progressing? Are the guys buyng into Coach Riser and his staff? How is the team shaping up?


My son plays for Mary Washington and all the players are real happy with Coach Riser and the 3 new assistant coaches. Obviously, there are some former players who are upset with some of his decisions, but you cannot make everyone happy. Coach Riser runs a well organized practice and at the end of the day they have been playing intrasquad games.

Mary Washington pretty much has their core pitching staff coming back from last year (Torey Mancari, Michael Straub and Jake Black). The outfield is looking pretty solid with returning players Brendan Jones, Kevin Yarnell, Connor Finnerty and possibly a freshman James Sink from Cosby High School. Catching they have last year's starter Jonathan Haught returning. However, they lost their starting shortstop, second base and third base all seniors from last year. But, they do have Chris King, Steven Barlow, Seth Jordan, and Alex Bryant who should be able to fill in those spots.

Overall Mary Washington baseball is looking good for the upcoming season.
Last edited by VirginiaBsblDad
southpaw_dadsouthpaw_dad100+ posts

TJ - Clearly, you feel like a player of yours has been wronged by Coach Riser and the coaching change at UMW. I'm sorry to hear that. I hate to see any kid come up on the short end of the cut line ... although it happens to every player if they (we) play long enough.

 

Offering a different perspective on the Coach and the direction of the UMW program, SP_son is a FR at UMW this year, and he is thrilled with what he is seeing as a positive direction with the Coaching change and the program. He has former HS and Showcase teammates who are upperclassmen. We had come to understand that under the old program, the final decision on roster spots was not made until right before the season opened. The Coaches essentially ran a 5 month boot-camp kind of approach to the program, kids dropped out on their own, and if there were still too many left coming into the season, cuts were made. Bear in mind, this is hearsay only, But we heard the same basic story from a number of players and families who have been in and thorugh the program.

 

I understand that when Coach Riser took over he inherited 65+ players, had an NCAA limit of 16 fall practices he could hold, and had an NCAA hard stop set at the end of October, whether or not he reached the allowable total (and we had some lousy fall weather). On top of this, they had to delay the start of fall practice for almost 3 weeks while completing all of the details of the hiring process.

 

Yes -- They had a short try-out period of only a few days before they cut the team down to 40 or 42. Did some good players wind up getting cut? Probably so. My son's roommate was one of the players let go. However, this did free those players up to explore other options. My understanding is that it was made pretty clear by the semester break who had made the squad and who had not.

 

As to the "active" roster, my understanding is that the 30 rostered players with #'s are the current traveling roster, and that the make-up of this roster can change during the season based on performance. My understanding is that happens everywhere in the NCAA. There is a limit to the number of active players you can have by NCAA and/or Conference rules, and that teams travel with even fewer players. It can be implemented different ways, but the result is the same.

 

All-in-all, what I am taking away from SP_son and others is that UMW has picked up a very experienced college head coach; who has pulled together a very solid staff; he is already making upgrades to the program and facilities; he came in way behind the 8-ball, and is working hard to build a top flight program; that he has been very consistent in what he expects from his players and the integrity with which he deals with them; and he is staying true to the course he set upon taking over in the fall. You can't ask for much more than that.

 

It seems to me like the UMW program is running very much like every other good college program we learned about. These kids have graduated into the business of baseball when they left the HS ranks. It stinks for every player who comes up on the short end of the stick. But trying to view the coachign change at UMW from a balanced perspective, I would suggest that the initial signs look good for the future direction of the program. My 2 cents.

 

birddogbirddog500+ posts

It's not an easy task to step into a program that over recuited for years and try to trim the roster.  Some good players are bound to get left out.  Most other DIII baseball programs face similar challenges.  With no athletic scholarship dollars to spread around you cast a wide net and see who makes the cut. 

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