Waterloo, IA – The Waterloo Bucks, members of the Northwoods League, have announced that Coach Patrick Casey will be returning for his third season with the team. Casey
was named the NWL’s 2013 Coach of the Year after the Bucks’ record setting 51-win season. With Casey’s assistance, the Bucks made their first playoff appearance since 2002.
"The opportunity to return to the Waterloo Bucks for another summer is like going home for me,” said Casey. “There isn't a better working environment in all of summer-collegiate league baseball than with the Bucks and the Northwoods League. General Manager Dan Corbin and Field Manager Travis Kiewiet took a chance in hiring me two years ago and it's been beyond my expectations of what we've been able to achieve. As an organization we've made unprecedented strides, both on and off the field, setting the bar of expectations higher for the league and for our passionate fan base in the Cedar Valley. The progress we made this last summer was huge in re-establishing a winning culture and a tradition of excellence in Waterloo. With a substantial number of players returning for 2014 the goal is now to go further and keeping building off our success from 2013. We owe it to the organization and we owe it to the great fans of Waterloo to bring them a Northwoods League Championship in 2014. I'm honored to be back with the Bucks and again I'd like to thank Travis Kiewiet and Dan Corbin for the opportunity to be back wearing the Bucks uniform in 2014."
Casey is currently the Hitting Coach at Butler University, a position that he began in the fall of 2013. He spent five years as a coach at the University of St. Thomas from 2008-2012. During that span, the Tommies posted a 179-59 record including an 83-15 mark in conference play. In the fall of 2012, Casey was selected by the Minnesota Twins to attend the Major League Baseball Scouting and Development School in Phoenix, Arizona. He has been a speaker at multiple coaches’ clinics and has helped assist at the Minnesota Twins try-out camps in Minneapolis.
“Having Pat back for a third year is huge for the coaching staff here in Waterloo,” said Kiewiet. “He did an outstanding job in the third base coaching box last summer and calls a game that the players really enjoy. He is able to take a player's strength and incorporate it into success that is team orientated. Pat was a major factor in the accomplishments that we were able to achieve along the way to our 51 wins last summer. I am very excited to get the opportunity to work with Pat again in 2014 and see if we can take that next step towards a Northwoods League championship.”
Casey was a three-year letter winner as a catcher at the University of North Dakota, playing there from 2005-2007. He played three different positions for the Sioux and posted a .995 career fielding percentage, having played catcher, second base and outfield. Casey graduated from St. Thomas with a bachelor’s degree in English, Literature Arts with an emphasis in writing.
Born April 19, 1985, Casey comes from a baseball family. His grandfather, the late Bob Casey, was the Hall of Fame public address announcer of the Minnesota Twins from 1961-2005. His father, Mike, lettered for the Tommies in baseball from 1972-1975 and was a part of the 1972 MIAC Conference Championship team while also serving as a professional scout for the Twins from 1980-1987.
The Bucks will open the 2014 season on the road versus the Rochester Honkers on May 27, but return to Waterloo for their home opener versus Rochester on May 28. Season tickets and group outings are currently on sale. For more information, call the Bucks’ Ticket Line at (319) 232-5633. Fans are encouraged to stay in touch with the Bucks in the off-season by utilizing their website at www.waterloobucks.com.
The Waterloo Bucks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including MLB All-Stars Max Scherzer (DET), Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYY), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live and free of charge via the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.waterloobucks.com.
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