Article

Replacing a legend
Magers ready to take over program
by Tyler Buckentine

6/11/2008

When Matt Magers packs up his belongings to migrate into his new office, he won't need a U-Haul truck to help with the move.

In fact, Magers won't need to haul his things very far at all: just a few steps down the hall into the office that formerly belonged to his forerunner, Dean Bowyer.

Minnesota State athletic director Kevin Buismann named Magers head coach of the Mavericks baseball program June 2.

"We are pleased to announce the hiring of Matt Magers as the new head coach of our baseball program," Buisman said in a press release. "Obviously, Matt has had a great mentor in Dean Bowyer and brings with him a rather unique understanding of the history and tradition of MSU baseball."

 

"I'm very excited for not only myself and my family, but also to be able to continue the tradition that Coach Bowyer built," Magers said.

Succeeding a legend like Bowyer, who won 1,064 games in his 36-year coaching career at Minot State and MSU, won't be easy and the 32-year old Magers admits it.

"[Bowyer] has definitely left the program in a good position and I'm anxious to continue the tradition he built," Magers said.

MSU signed Magers to a four-year contract worth around $49,000. He was chosen over two other candidates including Macalaster (St. Paul) coach Matt Parrington - a Maverick from 1989-91 - and Northwest Missouri State assistant Matt Johnson.

Magers spent eight seasons with MSU as a pitching coach and added the associate head coach title last season.

In recent seasons, Magers has been given more responsibility within the program, handling a majority of the recruiting process.

The Gaylord native spent three seasons (1995-97) at South Dakota State, where he was an All-North Central Conference left-handed pitcher each season. He was named the NCC Southern Division Top Pitcher in 1997.

Magers was drafted in the 16th round by the Chicago Cubs and played for the organization's minor league franchises in Rockford, Ill., and Williamsport, Pa., for 2 1/2 seasons.

After running into arm trouble in 1999, Magers' playing days ended and his coaching career began.

He spent the summer of 2000 as an assistant for the Mankato Mashers of the Northwoods League while earning a master's degree in sports management from MSU.

During Magers stint as the Mavericks' pitching coach, 11 MSU pitchers have been drafted, including Chris Odegaard and Pat Lenton, who were selected in last week's draft. Another, Jon Bjelland was signed, not drafted, by the Arizona Diamondbacks a year ago.

The Mavericks also led the NCC in earned-run average as a pitching staff four times (2004-07) and had the best strikeouts per nine innings average in all of Division II in 2007.

It's obvious Magers can manage a pitching staff, but now he faces the challenge of coaching a whole team. Magers is prepared to take the challenge.

"It goes back to our philosophy," Magers said. "We're going to win games with good pitching, strong fundamentals and timely hitting."

"I've been around coach Bowyer for eight years so I think our general hitting philosophy will stay the same."

As for now, Magers' current office is almost still completely intact, because Bowyer, his mentor, hasn't moved out of his own office quite yet.

"It will be a tough day when coach has to move out," Magers said. "But he'll always have a permanent seat in my office."

 

Tyler Buckentine is the Reporter managing editor