Waterloo, IA – The Waterloo Bucks, members of the Northwoods League, have announced that Field Manager Travis Kiewiet will be returning for his third season as the team’s skipper. Kiewiet (pronounced KEE-wit) was named the NWL’s 2013 Manager of the Year after leading the Bucks to the best record in the league at 51-19. Waterloo set a new NWL record for wins in a season, surpassing the Rochester Honkers’ record of 50 which was set in 2006.
"I would like to thank the owners, Steve and John Marso, as well as General Manager Dan Corbin for the opportunity to come back and manage the Waterloo Bucks for the 2014 season," said Kiewiet. "There isn’t any other organization I would rather be a part of than Waterloo. Over my past six years, this organization has made every effort to put the best possible product on the field and I couldn’t be happier to be a part of it. I am very excited to build on what the 2013 team accomplished and can’t wait to get back to Riverfront Stadium to start another run at trying to bring a Northwoods League Championship to Waterloo."
Kiewiet, a Dike, Iowa resident, guided the Bucks to the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Under Kiewiet, Waterloo finished with a .729 winning percentage, the team’s best since 1998 and second best in team history. The Bucks won both the NWL North Division First Half and Second Half Championships, the first time since ’98 that a Waterloo squad accomplished that feat.
Kiewiet owns an 85-54 overall record as manager of the Bucks, giving him a winning percentage of .612. That mark is the second-highest winning percentage by a Waterloo manager. Eric Snider led the Bucks to a 158-87 (.645) record during his time with the team from 1995-98.
"After an unprecedented season, we couldn’t be more thrilled to have Travis returning to our dugout," said Bucks general manager Dan Corbin. "There hasn’t been this much buzz for Waterloo baseball in a long time, and Travis is a huge part of our organization’s success. In August, Travis was named the NWL’s Manager of the Year, an award that he was very deserving of. It was the fifth time a Bucks’ manager received that honor and we are energized to build on the team accomplishments of this past year."
Currently, Kiewiet is a physical education teacher at Hudson Middle School and High School. Prior to being the Bucks’ Bench Coach from 2008-2011, Kiewiet was the head baseball coach at Dike-New Hartford High School in 2007 and associate head baseball coach at Cedar Falls High School in 2006. Kiewiet also served as the C.F.H.S. assistant varsity coach during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Before his work with the Wolverines and Tigers, Kiewiet was the head coach at Hudson High School in 2002 and 2003 where he directed his ’02 team to the class 2A state baseball tournament. Kiewiet resides in Dike, Iowa with his wife Teresa and three children Marley, Parker, and Taylor.
Kiewiet is the ninth manager in Waterloo Bucks history, following Bucks Baseball Hall of Fame member Eric Snider (1995-98), NWL All-Decade Team manager Darrell Handelsman (1999-2002), Andy Haines (2003-04), Jason Shockey (2005), Corey Allen (2006), Dan Fitzgerald (2007), Pete Lauritson (2008-09), and Jason Nell (2010-11).
The Bucks will be back in action in late-spring of 2014. The 2014 Northwoods League schedule is expected to be released this fall. Fans are encouraged to stay in touch with the Bucks in the off-season by utilizing their website at www.waterloobucks.com.
