USA — Jay Alexander, the head baseball coach at Wayne State University for the past six seasons, has been named head baseball coach at Eastern Michigan University, EMU Director of Athletics Dr. Derrick Gragg announced today. Alexander takes over the head coaching duties from Jake Boss Jr. who left July 2 to become the head baseball coach at Michigan State University.

“When we started the process of searching for a new head baseball coach, the name Jay Alexander was at the top of our list,” Gragg said. “Coach Alexander had tremendous support from the entire baseball community and we are excited that he will be here to continue the strong legacy of success our baseball program has built under previous head coaches Ron Oestrike, Roger Coryell, and Jake Boss.”

The 36-year-old Alexander becomes the first African-American head coach in EMU baseball history.

The eighth head coach in Wayne State history, Alexander saw his 2008 squad turn in one of the most memorable years in school history. The Warriors recorded a school-record 34 wins, against just 19 losses, won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) regular-season and tournament championships and made it all the way to the championship game of the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament. In addition, pitcher Anthony Bass and utility player Adam Kaminski were the first WSU players to earn All-American honors since the 1978 season.

During his six-year tenure, Alexander’s Wayne State teams averaged 27 wins a season. He was named GLIAC Coach of the Year twice, in both 2005 and 2008 and the Warriors qualified for the NCAA Division II Regional Championship in both of those seasons. He led the 2005 Warriors to the GLIAC regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the league tournament.

That 2005 squad recorded 32 regular-season victories to earn its first-ever trip to the NCAA Regional Championship. In addition, shortstop Frank Jeney was named GLIAC Player of the Year.

In all, Alexander has coached 12 All-Region players, 37 All-GLIAC selections and has landed 71 on the GLIAC All-Academic squad. Under Alexander, Wayne State also had its first player sign a major league contract since 1999 when Randy Surratt joined the Chicago White Sox organization after WSU’s 2003 season. Then in 2005, Steve Squires became the first Wayne State player to be selected in the Major League draft when the White Sox picked him in the 49th round. In 2008, Anthony Bass was selected by the San Diego Padres in the fifth round (165th pick overall).

A native of Detroit, Alexander was a standout shortstop and centerfielder at Wayne State from 1993-96. He led the Warriors in hits, runs scored, stolen bases and batting average while a senior and was nationally ranked in all of those categories. He was a first-team All-GLIAC and All-Regional player that season.

Alexander stayed at Wayne State to serve as a baseball assistant under legendary head coach Rod George for five seasons before becoming the head coach in December 2002 when George passed away.

Courtesy of EMU Sports Information

Tags: Coaches, NCAA Division I