Wednesday, May 23, 2018
LACEY, Wash. – Saint Martin's athletic director Bob Grisham announced Wednesday that interim head coach Kelly Gau has been selected as the next head coach of Saint Martin's baseball.
"We conducted a national search over the past three weeks and had a very competitive selection process and from this Kelly surfaced that he is the coach we felt would be a great fit for the program moving forward," said Grisham.
"I feel his background and experience as a player and coach has prepared him well for his first collegiate head coaching opportunity."
Gau was named interim head coach during the 2018 season when head coach Ken Garland passed away. Gau had been an assistant coach for the Saints for more than three seasons, working primarily with the infielders and hitters.
During his time as interim head coach, Gau was faced with an extremely difficult situation, but rose to the challenge and had the Saints playing their best ball at the end of the year.
He helped coach junior outfielder Austin Feist to a First Team All-GNAC selection, along with freshman shortstop Ryne Oshiro to the second team. Sophomore pitcher Tanner Inouye was an Honorable Mention All-GNAC selection in 2018. The Saints also racked up the weekly awards, with four players earning GNAC Player/Pitcher of the Week (junior pitcher Aaron Shoup, Inouye, Oshiro, and senior outfielder Adam Eskil).
Not only did the Saints improve by the end of the year, they also maintained their excellence in the classroom, with six athletes being named to the GNAC All-Academic team.
Gau becomes only the third coach in Saint Martin's Baseball program history since the program joined the NCAA in 1999.