Iowa Baseball Camps
Camp Staff
Ryan Brownlee
Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
One of college baseball's bright young coaches, Ryan Brownlee, completed his eighth season as Iowa's hitting, infield instructor and recruiting coordinator in 2011.
"We are very fortunate to have Ryan on the coaching staff here at Iowa," Head Coach Jack Dahm said. "Ryan has proven over the past seven years that he is one of the top young coaches in the country with his relentless work ethic on and off the field. Ryan grew up around the game of baseball and understands the commitment it takes to build a championship program. As our recruiting coordinator he continues to bring in some of the best classes in the country. Additionally, I have been very impressed with our hitters and infielders' development under Ryan."
Over the past 11 seasons, Brownlee has had 28 players he coached or recruited drafted; two more signed free agent contracts. In the past three years, Kurtis Muller, Patrick Schatz, Steve Turnbull, Kyle Heim, Mike Schurz and recruits Matt Dermody, Dan Sheppard, Patrick Lala, Taylor Zeutenhorst, Derrick Loveless, Sasha Kuebel and Nick Hibbing were drafted by major league teams. In six years of coaching summer collegiate leagues, he has seen 33 of his players sign pro contracts, including Khalil Green of the Padres and Kevin Cash of the Yankees, Joe Thatcher of the Padres, Dan Meyer of the Marlins and Luke Scott of the Astros.
Brownlee has also watched his student-athletes excel in the classroom. An average of nine Hawkeyes each season, have been named academic all-Big Ten during his Hawkeye coaching tenure. In 2011, a team-record 12 Hawkeyes were named Academic All-Big Ten.
Last season, Brownlee coached Trevor Willis and Tyson Blaser to third team all-conference honors and helped freshman outfielder Taylor Zeutenhorst earn Big Ten All-Freshman accolades. Blaser led the Hawkeyes and tied for second in the Big Ten with 18 doubles, which ties for the fourth most in a single season in Iowa history. Additionally, Willis led the league and ranked second nationally with a career-high nine triples, which established a new school single-season record.
In 2010, the hitting coach preached a `pitch-by-pitch' approach at the plate that helped propel the Hawkeyes to 11 wins in their final 14 contests; the team eventually finished 30-28. Iowa finished third in the conference and ultimately placing second at the Big Ten Tournament. The tournament berth was the eighth in school history. The Hawkeyes won three games at the tournament, which was the first time an Iowa team had won since 1990. The runner-up finish in the conference tournament tied the school's highest finish, which was accomplished once before (1983).
Brownlee guided Muller to second team all-conference honors, as well as Zach McCool to third team and Mike Corbeil to the all-freshman squad. Muller also made the Big Ten all-Tournament squad. The hitting and infield instructor helped mentor Iowa to a stronger defensive showing in 2010. The Hawkeyes also boasted more hits, doubles, triples, home runs, RBI, sacrifice flies, sacrifice bunts and walks than the previous year. Additionally, Iowa ranked among the national leaders in stolen bases, triples and sacrifice hits.
On the heels of the 2010 success, the Hawkeyes' 2011 recruiting class was once again rated the best in the Big Ten by Perfect Game USA. The class was ranked fourth-best in the Midwest and 48th-best nationally.
Under his guidance, the Hawkeyes broke the single-season record for hit-by-pitch four consecutive seasons (2005-08). Furthermore, they broke the school record for sacrifice hits in four of the last five years and also established a sacrifice flies record (33) in 2007. The Hawkeyes shattered the sac hits record in 2011, successfully advancing runners 82 times.
In 2008, Brownlee's expertise on stealing bases and knowledge of hitting were essential in establishing team and individual records. Iowa stole 138 bases, which are the most in a single-season by a Hawkeye team; the previous record of 127 was set by the 1981 team. The team total ranked third in the country. On top of that, Iowa knocked out 436 singles for a new single-season record and wore 86 pitches to set a single-season team record in hit-by-pitches.
Under Brownlee's direction, four Hawkeyes moved up the record books in respective statistical categories in 2008. Justin Toole had 87 hits, which is the second-highest single-season total in school history and strung together 25-games in a row with a hit for a new Iowa record. Curry stole 45 bases for a new single-season record. In 2009, third baseman Kevin Hoef finished his career by shattering the career hit-by-pitch mark, getting plunked 68 times in his career.
Brownlee mentored Curry, Toole and Hoef to all-Big Ten and Curry and Toole to all-Mideast region laurels in 2008. In 2007, Toole was recognized on the third all-Big Ten and first all-regional teams, while White earned first all-conference and second team all-regional accolades. Shortstop Andy Lytle and White earned third all-Big Ten team honors in 2005.
Brownlee's success in recruiting didn't falter in 2008. The incoming class was ranked the 49th-best class according to Perfect Game Cross Checker. Iowa's ranking of 49 is the highest of any Big Ten team.
In 2007, Brownlee helped mentor the Hawkeyes to its best record in 14 years with a 31-23 mark. Iowa placed fourth in the league at 17-13, and earned its second trip to the Big Ten Tournament in three years, after going just once in the previous 15 seasons. During the season, Iowa defeated five teams (Nebraska, Fresno State, Ohio State, Minnesota and Michigan) that reached the NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes also put together a 12-game winning streak, which is the second-longest in school history. Included in the streak was a school-record 10-game Big Ten winning streak.
As hitting coach, Brownlee saw the team's batting average vault 55 points from 2005 to 2007 (.269 to .324). Additionally, the team also scored more runs (273 to 401) had more RBIs (249 to 345) and walks (152 to 245) during that time span.
In 2007, Iowa ranked high nationally in three offensive statistical categories: ninth in batting average (.324), 20th in scoring (7.4) and 36th in triples (0.33). Individually, White ranked sixth in the country in runs scored (1.32), Napoleon 10th in walks (0.94) and Sweet 14th in batting average (.413).
In 2005, Brownlee helped the Hawkeyes to their most successful season in 12 years. Iowa took third place in the Big Ten and advanced to their second conference tournament since 1990.
Prior to joining the Iowa staff, Brownlee served as the infield/baserunning coach and assisted with hitting and recruiting at James Madison University four years. Brownlee did a variety of gameday assignments during his tenure at JMU, including coaching first base, bench coach, infield shifts, defensive plays and opponents' scouting reports. In back-to-back years (2001-02), Brownlee guided the Dukes to school record .967 and .968 fielding percentages. Also in 2002, the Dukes broke the school record for wins in a season with 43 and advanced to the NCAA Southeast Regional at Columbia, SC, after winning the Colonial Athletic Association crown.
Before joining the James Madison coaching staff, Brownlee served as an assistant coach under his father, James, at Evansville for two seasons. While at Evansville, Brownlee was responsible for outfield, catching and hitting instruction. Brownlee advanced to the Purple Aces' coaching ranks after excelling as a player four seasons. A four-year starter at second base, Brownlee earned all-MCC honors in 1994 and all-MVC accolades in 1996. He was also selected to the American Baseball Coaches Association all-Region squad. In 1997, Brownlee was tabbed a TPX pre-season third-team all-American and he received the University of Evansville's William V. Slyker award for the most outstanding male athlete at the university.
Brownlee, a native of Evansville, graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in biology in 1997. He received his Master's in athletic administration in 2002 from James Madison. He and his wife, Aimee, have two children - Jackson (8) and Norah (5).
Chris Maliszewski
Pitching Coach
Chris Maliszewski completed his third season as the Hawkeyes' pitching coach in 2011. In addition to his role as pitching coach, Maliszewski is also responsible for the team's travel arrangements and assists in the youth summer camps.
In 2011, Maliszewski guided his pitching staff to one of the best seasons on the mound in Hawkeye history. Iowa registered an ERA of 4.22, the lowest since 1980 (4.14). Starting lefty Jarred Hippen earned second team all-conference laurels for the second consecutive year. Starting LHP Matt Dermody and Hippen, ranked first and third in the Big Ten, respectively, in strikeouts during the regular season. Hippen, who has thrown eight complete games in the last two seasons under Maliszewski's tutelage, nearly threw a perfect game against Minnesota, allowing only one hit. In addition, Maliszewski helped guide newcomers Tim Fangman and Patrick Lala to successful first years in the Black and Gold. Fangman finished in the top ten in the Big Ten in numerous categories, including ERA, opposing batting average, games finished, hits allowed, runs allowed and walks allowed.
Maliszewski had three players he coached or recruited drafted in 2011. Junior starting left-handed pitcher Matt Dermody was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 29th round (888th pick) and incoming recruits Sasha Kuebel and Nick Hibbing were also selected. Kuebel was picked by the Oakland Athletics in the 31st round (946) and Hibbing was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 42nd round (1262).
In 2010, Maliszewski and his pitching staff helped propel Iowa to a third place finish in the conference, as well as earning the school's eighth Big Ten Tournament appearance. The Hawkeyes finished as the runner-up in the tournament after winning three games -- the first tournament wins for Iowa since 1990.
Maliszewski mentored his young pitching staff to improved numbers in his second campaign. Under his tutelage, the Hawkeyes posted improved numbers in wins, ERA, saves, walks, wild pitches and opposing batting average. Iowa's talented arms helped the Hawkeyes to a late surge, winning 11 of their last 14 games. Individually, pitcher Jarred Hippen was named to the all-tournament team, as well as garnering second team all-league accolades. In addition to Hippen's accomplishments, closer Kevin Lee broke the school single-season record with 13 saves - nearly double the saves Iowa had as a team in 2009.
On the heels of the 2010 success, the Hawkeyes' 2011 recruiting class was once again rated the best in the Big Ten by Perfect Game USA. The class was ranked fourth-best in the Midwest and 48th-best nationally.
In his first season, the team's ERA in Big Ten play improved 1.45 points from 2008 to 2009. Furthermore, Hawkeye pitchers recorded nearly 20 less walks then the season before and over 30 strikeouts more than in 2008.
Maliszewski has had six pitchers get drafted the last two years; Steve Turnbull, Kyle Heim and Mike Schurz in 2009 and Zach Robertson, Patrick Schatz and recruit Patrick Lala in 2010. All signed professional contracts, except Lala who pitched for Iowa in 2011.
Maliszewski returned to his alma mater after serving two seasons as the outfield and catching instructor and recruiting coordinator at Valparaiso University. In addition to his coaching and recruiting responsibilities, he aided in the Crusaders' youth camps.
"It is an honor and a privilege to be a part of the Hawkeye baseball program," said Maliszewski. "I am extremely grateful for the opportunity provided by the University of Iowa throughout my college baseball experiences. Words can't describe how excited I am to work with our extremely talented pitching staff and continue working towards our goal of winning the Big Ten championship here at Iowa."
Prior to joining Valparaiso's staff, Maliszewski was a volunteer assistant coach for Dahm and the Hawkeyes in 2005 and 2006. Working with the pitching staff in 2005, he helped lead the Black and Gold to one of their most successful seasons in the program's history, posting a 19-13 Big Ten mark.
He was a four-year letterwinner with the Hawkeyes, posting a 7-10 career record with three saves. As a sophomore, he earned the victory over Illinois, sending Iowa to the conference tournament for the first time since 1991. He graduated from Iowa in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in health, leisure and sports studies.
"Chris has demonstrated all the qualities to be an outstanding coach," said Dahm. "He has an incredible energy level and passion for the game that rubs off on everybody around him. I was fortunate enough to have coached Chris and now have him join our coaching staff. Chris has always had goals of helping Iowa win Big Ten championships, making the NCAA Tournament and reaching Omaha ever since the first day he stepped on campus. I truly believe he can help us reach those goals!"
Throughout his seven-year coaching career, Maliszewski has guided 22 players who signed professional contracts.
Maliszewski has also coached in the Northwoods League, a top collegiate summer league, leading the Mankato Moondog pitching staff in 2004 and serving as the associate head coach of the Madison Mallards in 2005 and 2006. He was named Coach of the Year with Madison after leading the Mallard pitching staff to the best earned run average in league history.
Brian Miller
Volunteer Assistant Coach
Brian Miller is in his first season as volunteer assistant coach at the University of Iowa.
Miller has worked as a baseball coach since 1992, including serving as the head baseball coach at Mid-Prairie High School from 2000 to 2010. He served as the Kirkwood Community College pitching coach from 2006 to 2011. Miller also coached the Iowa City High School sophomore baseball team from 1993 to 1999 and was an assistant baseball coach at Iowa City Regina High School in 1992.
Miller was named the district coach of the year six times (2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009), the Iowa High School Association All-Star Coach twice (2005, 2009) and the A.B.C.A Regional Coach of the Year in 2008 and the Iowa state Coach of the Year in 2004. He led Mid-Prairie to its first ever EIHC conference title in 2000 in his first year as head coach. In 2001, Miller led Mid-Prairie to the state semi-finals for the first time in school history. He also led the school to the state semi-finals in 2004, 2006 and 2007, including a state championship in 2004.
"Brian has a lot of coaching experience," said Dahm. "He was a long-time high school coach and served as the pitching coach over at Kirkwood Community College. To be able to bring him in is going to be a big positive for our program. We are very excited."
