RELEASED:  Monday, August 24, 2009

Seth Maier To Take Over As UW-Stout Baseball Coach

MENOMONIE, Wis.--When the 2009-10 academic school year begins, University of Wisconsin-Stout will have a new baseball coach.

Effective Aug. 14, Craig Walter resigned to pursue other business ventures and assistant coach and former Blue Devil All-American Seth Maier will take over as head coach.

Walter recently completed his eighth year with the Blue Devils, finishing the 2009 season with an 18-18 overall record.  In his eight years with UW-Stout, Walter compiled a 126-180 record. Before coming to UW-Stout, Walter was the head coach at UW-River Falls and at UW-Eau Claire. His 15-year record as a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) head coach was 269-304 overall.

Maier, 26, has been an assistant coach with the Blue Devils for the last two seasons. During the 2009 season, Maier was in charge of the UW-Stout recruiting effort and was the on-field third base coach.

Maier was a four-time all-WIAC player and was the conference player of the year in 2007, the same year he was named All-American.

“I know the rich history of this place (UW-Stout baseball) and that is one of the reasons I came here as a player in the first place,” Maier said. “I see the pictures on the wall of all of the All-Americans. I want to get us back to that stage where we are contenders every year.”

Maier recently completed a two-year stint with the Northwoods League Alexandria, Minn., Beetles. Following the 2008 season as an assistant coach, Maier was tabbed as the Beetles’ field manager for the 2009 season.

The Beetles finished the 2009 season with a 38-30 overall record, the second best record in team history and placed third in the North Division of the Northwoods League. The record was also the fifth best overall record in the 14-team league this summer. The teams play a 68-game schedule from late May to early August.

Maier was in charge of the offense for the Beetles where he was also the third base coach. Maier played a big hand in recruiting players to the summer league. The Northwoods League is made up of players from NCAA Division I, II and III schools, along with junior colleges and NAIA schools. The players must have at least one year of collegiate eligibility remaining.

“Some of these players will become big-time players,” Maier said.

In addition to on-field activities, Maier also had a weekly radio show in the Alexandria area and helped set up and conduct local baseball camps and lessons.

During his playing career at Stout, Maier, a Park Falls native, was a four-year all-conference player, and he earned his stripes at a number of positions - outfield, third base, short stop and first base, where he played his final two seasons. Maier was the WIAC player of the year in 2007. He is the all-time hits leader for the Blue Devils with 224 and the all-time doubles leader (50).

Maier is grateful for the time he spent with Walter, both as a player and as a coach.

“I had a good relationship with Walt,” Maier said. “After an inning or during practice, I would pick his brain…ask him, if this happens, should I do this?”

Maier is focused on the recruiting process and sees his relationship with UW-Stout as a positive.

“I owe the University for giving me a chance both as a player and now as a coach,” Maier said. “I want to continue to get the quality athletes, the quality student-athletes.”

As a coaching staff, Maier wants to model what helped to make him an All-American.

“It’s all about effort,” Maier said. “We are going to work hard. If we work hard, we know the players will see that and work hard.”