Wisconsin Rapids Rafters Field Manager Jake Martin began to assemble his 2012 coaching staff by announcing the return of a familiar face to Rafters fans.  The team announced that Chad Lee will return for a second season to mentor the Rafters pitching staff. 

“I am happy to have Chad back this year as pitching coach,” said Jake Martin.  “He does a great job working with the pitchers and keeping them on a good routine for the summer.”

Chad Lee is currently in his second year as a coach, first as the pitching coach, at Emporia State University.  Before joining the staff at Emporia State, he spent the previous four seasons as a pitcher in the Oakland Athletics minor league system.

Lee played at Barton County Community College, in Great Bend, Kansas, during the 2005-2006 seasons and was named first team All-Jayhawk conference in 2006.  His solid performance at Barton and a promising fastball that had been clocked as high as 96 mph, led him to being selected in the 4th Round (128th overall) by the Oakland Athletics in the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft.  During his four seasons in the Athletics organization he posted a 6-3 record with a 4.04 ERA, topping out with the Kane County Cougars of the Midwest League in 2009, before his career was abbreviated due to injury.

Lee graduated from Putnam City North High School in 2004 and is a native of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.