Dallas Baptist University Patriot Baseball Head Coach Dan Heefner announced the hiring of Bob Keller to be the Patriots’ Pitching Coach, effective July 1, 2010.
Keller comes to the Patriots after spending the previous six seasons as the pitching coach at the University of Michigan. Keller brings 15 years of Division I coaching experience, and has participated in NCAA regional action five of the past six years.
In his time at Michigan, Keller had 16 pitchers earn All-Big Ten honors, and also had 10 players selected in the MLB Draft. Keller’s pitching staff finished in the top two in the Big Ten in overall team ERA three of the past four seasons, and led the league in 2008 with a team ERA of 4.19. His 2008 staff helped guide the Wolverines to the most wins in Big Ten history.
Before his stint at Michigan, Keller spent three seasons as the pitching coach at Birmingham-Southern. Under Keller’s direction, the Panther pitching staff posted the best team ERA in the Big South Conference, and had six pitchers taken in the draft. Keller’s staff played an instrumental role in the Panther’s 2004 season, in which they posted an impressive 47-18 record, won the Big South regular season title, and ranked 29th in the NCAA with a 3.82 ERA.
From 1995-2001, Keller served as an assistant coach at Georgia State, spending three seasons as the recruiting coordinator.
Keller had an outstanding career as both a pitcher and outfielder at Biola University. A two-time NCCAA All-American, Keller held school records for RBI and doubles, and ranked second in hits and homeruns upon graduation in 1992. In his first career start as a freshman, Keller threw a complete game victory against Texas Tech University.
Keller earned a B.S. in physical education while at Biola, and a B.S. in kinesiology while at Georgia State. He and his wife Jeannie, have two sons, Charles (7) and Brady (4).
"I am very excited that Bob is joining our staff, his coaching ability and faith make him a perfect fit for the DBU baseball program as we are seeking to develop our players on and off the field," said Heefner.
"The DBU Administration and I are looking forward to Bob Keller joining the Patriot Baseball coaching staff and leading the Patriot pitching staff. Coach Keller comes to DBU with extensive experience and success at the collegiate level. We felt that Coach Keller shared the same vision and passion for collegiate baseball at a Christ-centered institution of higher learning. Coach Keller is a man of character, integrity and servant leadership, which are the values we desire to instill in our student-athletes,” commented Director of Athletics, Ryan Erwin.
"We are honored to have Bob Keller join our Patriot Baseball leadership," said DBU Executive Vice President Blair Blackburn. "Bob's pitching expertise and innovative training techniques are considered on the cutting edge and will enable us to continue DBU's great baseball tradition. Bob is well respected as one of collegiate baseball's top pitching coaches. His calling to DBU is a blessing to our University family," he added.