New head coach Randy Briesacher leads the way with two new assistant coaches, Al Newman and Mitch Zwolensky.
Coach Randy Briesacher
After two seasons as pitching coach for the Dakota County Technical College Blue Knights baseball team, Randy Briesacher is moving up to the top spot as head coach for the upcoming 2008-2009 season.
Briesacher replaces Tim Huber, who took over as head coach of the Augustana College Vikings baseball team. Located in Sioux Falls, S.D., the Vikings play NCAA Division II baseball in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
Briesacher inherits a team that began building a winning legacy under Huber in 2006 and posted an impressive 36-16 record last season. The founder and head coach of the Minnesota Starz, a nationally recognized amateur baseball team in the World Wood Bat Association, and an associate scout with the Atlanta Braves, Briesacher is optimistic about the future of the Blue Knights.
“We are going to continue our winning ways,” Briesacher said. “Our goal is to move forward and take our team to the next level.”
Joining Briesacher will be former Minnesota Twin Al Newman, the new fielding and hitting coach, and Mitch Zwolensky, the pitching and bench coach.
A Major League Baseball second baseman and infielder for eight years, Newman brings a substantial baseball résumé to the Blue Knights. He played on two Minnesota Twins World Series Championships teams, 1987 and 1991, before going on to coach third base for the Twins for three seasons. He worked as an advance scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks and today serves as special events coordinator for the AFLAC Kids Program.
The current president of the ACE Baseball Academy, Zwolensky was a player for the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs organizations in the 1980s. He went on to serve as a pitching coach for the Milwaukee Brewers and Montreal Expos organizations as well as for the Duluth-Superior Dukes of the Northern League. He was general manager and field manager for the Brainerd Bears and Minot Mallards, minor league teams in Minnesota and North Dakota respectively. Zwolensky has more than 20 years of professional baseball experience.
Briesacher, a practicing chiropractor, resides with his wife, Leslie, and the couple’s three children, Ben, Megan and Madison, in New Market, Minn. Newman resides in Elko, Minn., and Zwolensky resides in Burnsville, Minn.
Blue Knights Baseball
The Blue Knights practice at the Irish Sports Dome in Rosemount, Minn. The team plays all home games at Alimagnet Park in Burnsville, Minn.
The Blue Knights compete in NJCAA Division III baseball in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference, or MCAC, formerly known as the Minnesota Community College Conference, or MCCC.
The schedule for the upcoming 2008-2009 season is under formulation and will be released shortly.
