KANSAS STATE BASEBALL CAMPS
Coaching Staff
John Szefc
Associate Head Coach/Hitting Coach
A 21-year coaching veteran who has helped guide teams to seven regionals and four conference championships at the Division I level, John Szefc joined the Kansas State program prior to the 2011 season as Associate Head Coach and the program's hitting coach. The first Associate Head Coach under Brad Hill at Kansas State, Szefc will direct the Wildcat offense and is also responsible for coaching the team's infielders.
Szefc, who has coached 58 players that were either drafted or signed pro contracts since 1997, came to Manhattan after a two-year stint at the University of Kansas where he was the team's hitting coach and recruiting coordinator. While in Lawrence, Szefc helped lead the Jayhawks to two Big 12 Championship appearances and a NCAA Regional berth during his first season in 2009.
With Szefc's guidance, the Jayhawks made a 17-point improvement in overall team batting average from .287 in 2008 to .304 in 2010. In Big 12 games last season, Kansas hit .305, which ranked second in the conference, while it led the league in base hits (304), and finished second in runs scored (195) and walks (115) during league play.
Following the 2010 season, three of Szefc's players were drafted, including Brian Heere and Robby Price, who recorded season highs in several offensive categories in 2010.
In just his first season at Kansas, Szefc's hitters raised their batting average by 14 points and scored 68 more runs than they did in the previous season. He also tutored the Big 12's first Triple Crown winner in Tony Thompson, who led the league in batting average (.389), homers (21) and RBI (82).
Szefc coached three of the top six hitters in the conference in 2009 in Thompson, Heere (.364) and David Narodowski (.354).
Prior to his position at Kansas, Szefc was the head assistant coach at Louisiana from 2003-08, running an aggressive-style Ragin' Cajun offense that saw a dramatic 60-point jump in batting average during his first three years. In fact, three of his team's batting averages still rank in the top five of Louisiana history. His 2005 squad set a school record for hits and finished second in school history in runs scored and RBI, while the 2002 team tied the school record with 145 stolen bases.
While in Lafayette, Szefc was responsible for overseeing the Ragin' Cajuns' recruiting efforts, instructing hitters and infielders and coaching third base for a program that won the Sun Belt Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in both 2005 and 2007.
During the Cajuns' Sun Belt Championship season in 2005, the offense dominated the conference and showed up nationally in major statistical categories. Louisiana finished eighth in the nation in hitting (.327), 10th in runs scored (551), 17th in slugging percentage (.495) and 23rd in doubles (155). In the conference, the Cajuns led the Sun Belt in hitting, runs scored, hits, doubles and triples. Freshman catcher Jonathan Lucroy hit .379 and was named a 2005 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American.
Szefc coached three Louisiana hitters that were drafted in 2005 in Dallas Morris (24th round, Angels), Phillip Hawke (29th round, Rangers) and Justin Morgan (39th round, Cubs).
Szefc also brings a wealth of head coaching experience to Manhattan as, prior to his appointment at UL, he was the head coach at Marist College for seven seasons. He posted a 212-137-1 record as the skipper for the Red Foxes, leading Marist to its first baseball title as a member of the Northeast Conference in 1997. He also guided Marist to three more NCAA Tournament appearances in 2000, 2001 and 2002, including a 41-14 record during his final year at the school. The 2002 squad claimed a victory over Southwest Missouri State in the NCAA Lincoln Regional, while five of Szefc's players on that team went on to be selected in the MLB Draft.
Szefc won multiple awards as a head coach as he was named the 1997 NEC Coach of the year, while he earned American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Northeast Region Coach of the Year honors in 2001.
Before his arrival at Marist, Szefc spent one season with Sacred Heart University and four years as an assistant coach with his alma mater, Drexel, from 1990-94.
Szefc managed the New York Generals in the Atlantic College Baseball League (ACBL) during the summers of 1995 and 1996, guiding the club to a 47-28 record in two seasons, two consecutive Kaiser Division championships and the ACBL championship game in 1996.
Szefc played collegiately for two years at Connecticut before transferring in 1987 to Drexel. During his senior campaign for the Dragons, he was tabbed an All-East Coast Conference outfielder.
Szefc graduated from Drexel University with a degree in corporate communications in 1989. He also holds a master's degree in sports administration from Temple University.
A native of Middletown, N.Y., Szefc and his wife, Barbara, have a daughter, Anna (5), and two sons, John Michael (4) and Sam (1).
Josh Reynolds
Pitching Coach
Former Kansas State assistant coach Josh Reynolds returns to Manhattan for the 2011 season after a successful two-year stint at Evansville.
Reynolds was a volunteer assistant coach at K-State during the 2005 and 2006 seasons and, after spending one year as the pitching coach at Northeast Texas Community College in 2007, he returned to the Wildcat program as a graduate manager during the 2008 season.
Reynolds made a significant impact on the UE program as the pitching coach, producing four All-Missouri Valley Conference pitchers during his stint, the second-highest total among league schools over the two-year period. Relief pitchers Tom Heithoff (2009, 2010), Corey Davisson (2010) and J.R. Carbonell (2009) earned All-MVC pitching honors for UE, while Davisson tied Evansville's single-season records for both appearances (33) and winning percentage (9-1, .900) in 2010 under Reynolds' tutelage. Heithoff also emerged as one of the top closers in school history under Reynolds as he totaled 18 saves in his two years to rank second all-time in Evansville history.
The Purple Aces staff also dropped its team ERA by over a full point during Reynolds' two years, while UE improved nearly 150 spots in the national rankings in hits allowed under his watch.
Reynolds excelled on the mound as a player at Division II power University of Central Missouri (formerly Central Missouri State) from 1998 through 2000. He was a two-time MIAA and All-America pitcher for the Mules, while setting a school record with 32 career victories in just three years. Reynolds was selected in the third round of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft by the New York Mets after his junior year, but not before ranking among Central Missouri's career leaders in victories, innings pitched (248.0) and strikeouts (193). Reynolds, who still ranks among the Mules' top five in all three categories, was inducted into the school's athletics Hall of Fame in 2007.
Following college, Reynolds pitched professionally for parts of five seasons in the New York Mets, San Diego Padres, and Boston Red Sox organizations. He posted a career record of 21-15 with a 4.14 ERA as both a starter and a reliever, while tallying nearly a three-to-one strikeout-to-walk ratio (211 strikeouts to 72 walks) as a professional.
Reynolds earned his bachelor's degree in social sciences from Kansas State in 2006. He and his wife, Ashleigh, were married in 2008.
Rob Vaughn
Assistant Coach
A four-year catcher for Kansas State from 2005-08, Rob Vaughn returns to Manhattan as a student assistant coach. In his capacity, Vaughn will assist coaching the hitters while coaching first base and performing other duties assigned by the coaching staff.
Vaughn returned to K-State to work towards his bachelor's degree after spending two seasons in the Chicago White Sox organization. In 2009, Vaughn hit .228 with two doubles, five home runs and 13 RBI in 29 games between Bristol (Rookie) and Kannapolis (Low A). He followed that up by hitting .277 with five RBI in 19 games with Great Falls (Rookie).
A product of Humble, Texas, Vaughn held a career .263 batting average at K-State, including a career-best .281 mark in 2009. He hit a career best five home runs in 2009 and tallied 25 RBI. Vaughn was regarded as one of the best defensive catcher in the Big 12 as he was one of the only catchers in the league to call his own game. He helped former high school teammate A.J. Morris earn Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honors and become the first consensus All-American in school history.
Vaughn married the former Kayleigh Strickler on October 23, 2010. The couple resides in Manhattan.
