Rick Rembielak Named Head Baseball Coach at Wake Forest
6/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Rembielak, the all-time winningest coach of any sport in Kent State history, was officially introduced today at a press conference on the Wake Forest campus in Winston-Salem, N.C. He will begin his duties as the Deamon Deacons head coach immediately.
Rick has done an outstanding job for Kent State baseball, Kennedy said. This certainly speaks to the success of our program to have Wake Forest select their coach from Kent State. I wish Rick and his family nothing but great success at Wake Forest. We will begin immediately to select Rems replacement.
Rembielak posted a 373-251 (.597) record in 11 years as the head coach at Kent State after serving as an assistant from 1988-93. He led his team to four Mid-American Conference regular-season titles, three MAC tournament championships and four NCAA tournament berths. Kent State also is the only MAC school to advance to the MAC tournament every year since postseason play was reinstated in 1992.
Rick has all the characteristics that were important for us in the search for our new head baseball coach, Wake Forest Director of Athletics Ron Wellman said. He has been a head coach for many years and been tremendously successful in that position. He is as high-quality as they come in the development of collegiate players.
He is not only recognized as an excellent recruiter, but understands the importance of top-caliber student-athletes, both on the field and in the classroom, Wellman said. He has an outstanding record in terms of graduating his student-athletes, as well as winning numerous conference championships.
Rembielak garnered numerous coaching accolades at KSU, including being named MAC Coach of the Year on three different occasions (1996, 2000 and 03).
"What attracted me to Wake Forest was the university's excellent reputation," Rembielak said. "It is the perfect combination of academics and athletics. I can not think of a better place to further my career than at Wake Forest. It is an ideal position. My excitement and enthusiasm to start the recruiting process and spread Wake Forest's name is immediate."
This season, after capturing the 2004 MAC Tournament Championship, Rembielaks Golden Flashes earned a bid to the NCAA South Bend Regional where they upset top-seeded and fifth-ranked Notre Dame, 2-1, before falling to eventual College World Series participant Arizona and Notre Dame.
Rembielak replaces long time head coach George Greer who officially stepped down June 8 after accepting a position within Demon Deacon athletic program.
Rembielaks Head Coaching Record
Year Overall MAC Finish1994*@ 33-17 18-7 (First)1995 40-18 19-10 (Second)1996@ 30-20-1 21-7 (First)1997 29-28 18-13 (Third)1998 27-28 17-12 (Second/East)1999 33-25 19-12 (Third/East)2000@ 40-18 20-6 (First/East)2001*# 32-20 16-11 (Second/East)2002*# 37-22 18-8 (Second/East)2003@ 36-18 20-4 (First/East)2004*# 36-27 14-10 (Second/East)Totals 373-251 200-100
* NCAA Tournament# MAC Tournament Champions@ MAC Regular Season Champions
