Article

Like Father...Like Son
Many players have come and gone during baseball coach Dean Bowyer’s 30 seasons in Mankato. Among his first recruits at MSU were Bob Bresnahan, Greg Odegaard and Larry Woodall. Now their sons currently don the same uniform and play for the same coach they once did.

by Joey Burns
April 13, 2006

Sometimes, the apple does not fall far from the tree.

Evidence of this can be seen on a diamond near you as a group of second-generation Mavericks take the field for the Minnesota State baseball team.

There are three MSU ballplayers that are following in their father's footsteps and currently playing for Coach Dean Bowyer and Company in Mankato — freshmen Jay Bresnahan, Chris Odegaard and sophomore Dan Woodall. All of them may be in the same place, but they each have taken a different route to get here.

Shortstop Jay Bresnahan has made a direct impact in his first season.

Bresnahan has played in 17 games so far this season and had a .429 batting average going into last night's doubleheader against Waldorf College — in which he went 2-5, scoring three runs and hitting an RBI triple. His father Bob Bresnahan was there to witness it all.

“It's great to come back and see a game,” said Bob Bresnahan, who played for Bowyer from 1978 through 1982. “It's just a lot of fun because, to me, this is home anyway.”

Bresnahan played on two of MSU's three Division II World Series teams — contributing also to the fourth-and third-place teams in the 1979 and 1980 seasons, respectively.

“Bob was really intense,” Bowyer said. “Bob played the outfield and Jay plays the infield. Bob was more of a power hitter while Jay has a more controlled swing. But Bob threw well. Bob Bresnahan was one of the hardest workers I've ever had, so I knew that Jay was going to be the same way.”

After his stint at then-Mankato State University, Bob Bresnahan spent time in the Minnesota Twins farm system. But son Jay says his most memorable baseball was the time he spent in Mankato.

The decision to come to Mankato was not an easy one for Jay to make. According to his father, Jay wanted to go to a place with a warmer climate and was heavily looking at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

“[My dad's experience] was always on the back of my mind,” Jay Bresnahan said. “It wasn't my first choice. But in the end I made the decision to stay close to home and that fit best.”

Jay is content so far with his decision, mostly because he knew what to expect coming into the situation.

“Coming in here I knew it was going to be hard work,” Jay Bresnahan said. “But it's awesome playing for coach Bowyer. He's very personable and if you ever need anything he'll bend over backwards for you.”

Chris Odegaard, whose father Greg played for MSU from 1977-1981, also said he entertained other options.

“I had recruiting from other colleges but this was probably the top one,” Odegaard said. “My dad had some impact, also. He liked coach a lot and had a lot of fun.”

Although Odegaard is redshirted this year and will not play, he said he enjoys his experience on the team — thanks to the fun environment created by Bowyer and Mavericks assistant coach Matt Magers.

Dan Woodall's route to Mankato was a bit less direct.

Hailing from Huntersville, N.C., it was difficult for Woodall to move so far from home, even though Minnesota State was his first choice.

Woodall spent last season at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, a Division I school in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

“I knew in the middle of the year last year when I was playing that I was coming here,” said Woodall, who has started 24-of-30 games for the Mavericks so far in 2006.

Woodall's father Larry played at MSU from 1976-1980, also contributing on those stellar D-II World Series teams. Larry Woodall signed with the Baltimore Orioles organization after his stint with the Mavs.

Although 25-30 years may have separated fathers and sons on the baseball field, there still remains one constant in the whole picture — Dean Bowyer.

Now in his 30th year coaching for the Mavericks, it is Bowyer's demeanor and commitment to his players that has led to this influx of family recruiting.

“What sets [Bowyer] over the top is he's a guy that kids want to be around and parents want their kids to be around,” Bob Bresnahan said. “He's not just concerned about baseball. He's got a big picture view of everything and he's concerned about the kid growing up right.”