DMACC Baseball Camps - Des Moines Area Community College

DMACC Baseball Camps

Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald

When asked about his team prior to the 2008 season, DMACC Head Baseball Coach Dan Fitzgerald said, “On paper we had a very successful recruiting class, and most of our returning sophomores made a huge impact as freshmen. We’re deep on the mound and pretty balanced offensively…I’m optimistic.” Optimism paid off for the first year head coach as his Bears shattered almost every DMACC record on their way to the 2008 JUCO World Series.

The Bears won the 2008 ICCAC Regular Season Championship and led the league in hitting with a .360 batting average which also ranked in the Top Ten Nationally in 2008. The Bears then went on to win the Region 11 Championship and advanced to the Northwest District Championship where they captured the title with three wins against Miles CC of Montana and Madison Area Tech of Wisconsin. For their efforts, the Bears placed 6 players on the 1st Team All-Region Team which included SO SS Travis Meiners (Dallas Baptist), FR RHP Mitch Mormann, FR LHP Eric Holmes, FR CF Matt Keys, FR 1B Jake Astor, and ICCAC Player of the Year FR 2B Tyler Robbins.

After winning the Northwest District Championship the Bears traveled to Millington, TN where they played in the National JUCO World Series losing to eventual champion LSU-Eunice 7-4. Robbins and Astor were both named 1st Team NJCAA All-Americans.

Offensively, the 2008 rendition of the Bears hit 98 HRs in 66 games, hit .360 as a team, and set school marks in Wins (48), runs, hits, doubles, triples, HRs, BBs, HBPs, and RBI. On the mound, the Bears set school records in wins, K’s (434Ks to 188BBs), IP, and saves while limiting teams to almost 4 runs/game less than in 2007.

Sophomore Travis Meiners signed with DI Dallas Baptist and left as one of the most decorated players in DMACC history, ranking amongst the leaders in every statistical category including games played, hits, doubles, triples, RBI and HRs. Meiners was also drafted in the 29th round of the 2008 MLB First Year Player Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Freshman Mitch Mormann also garnered national attention as one of the top closers in JUCO Baseball saving 12 games on his way to becoming a 17th round selection of the Cleveland Indians in the 2008 MLB First Year Player Draft.

In his first year as the Head Baseball Coach at DMACC, Fitzgerald was named the 2008 Diamond Dreams National JUCO Coach of the Year, the Northwest District JUCO Coach of the Year, and the Region 11 JUCO Coach of the Year. “It’s humbling,” said Fitzgerald, who will be among the honorees at the 2009 American Baseball Coaches Association Region Coach of the Year Awards Banquet, “I can’t say enough about the 29 young men we had on our team. They made the commitment to be great and it paid off. I am also blessed with having two of the best assistants in collegiate baseball in Brandon Scott and Matt Goliber.”

Widely regarded for his ability to recruit and evaluate talent, Fitzgerald came to DMACC in June of 2006 to serve as the assistant to his long time colleague and former DMACC Coach Travis Wyckoff. Fitzgerald spent the 2007 season as the top assistant/recruiting coordinator for the DMACC Bears where he led the offense to a .325 batting average.

Before coming to DMACC, Fitzgerald coached at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida where he served as the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach for the Saints during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. In 2005, the Saints were 32-24 and ranked as high as 13th in the NAIA baseball poll. While at Flagler, Fitzgerald also coached current New York Mets prospect Todd Lietz.

Prior to arriving at Flagler, Fitzgerald served as an assistant coach at North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. During the summer of 2004 Fitzgerald managed the Athletes in Action baseball team in the Alaskan Summer League where he coached MLB Draftees Mike Penn (KC), Brad Canada (NYY), Roger Everson (CHC), Reid Price (STL), Ricky Sparks (NYM), and Drew Holder (HOU). Fitzgerald also spent time with the Minnesota Twin’s organization and attended the Major League Baseball Scout School in 2001.

Fitzgerald started his coaching career at the University of Iowa during the 2001 season where he and former DMACC Head Coach Travis Wyckoff worked on the same staff.

A native of Edina, MN, Fitzgerald attended and played baseball at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls before graduating with a degree in English from the University of Minnesota in 2000. Fitzgerald is single and resides in Boone.