BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana University Vice President and Director of Athletics Fred Glass today announced the hiring of Jeff Mercer as the 25th head coach of the Hoosiers baseball program. Mercer, a native of Bargersville, Indiana, is widely regarded as one of the top young baseball coaches in the country. Known for his strength as a recruiter and talent developer as well as his innovative use of advanced analytics, Mercer was named the 2018 Horizon League Coach of the Year with the Wright State Raiders. Mercer has recruited exceptionally within the state of Indiana and Midwest, developed twelve players he recruited into Major League Baseball draft picks since 2015, and led Wright State to 77 wins, including six wins against ranked opponents in just two seasons as head coach.
Mercer will be formally introduced at a press conference later this summer at a time to be determined.
“Predictably, we had very strong interest in this position,” said Glass. “Jeff Mercer quickly rose to the top of an impressive field. I have no doubt that he is the right person to build on the success of Indiana baseball, including taking us back to Omaha.”
Mercer takes over the Big Ten’s premier baseball program. Since 2008, Indiana leads the Big Ten in total wins, conference wins and NCAA tournament appearances. The Hoosiers have appeared in the tournament in five of the last six seasons. No Big Ten program has accomplished that run since Ohio State (1991-95, 97).
“I have loved baseball and the state of Indiana my whole life and it is an honor to be the head baseball coach of the state’s flagship institution,” said Mercer. “With the talent that the Midwest is producing, top notch facilities, the commitment of the school, and our ability to recruit and develop players at the highest level, the sky is the limit for IU baseball. I cannot wait to get to work.”
Mercer was named Wright State head coach in July of 2016 and was the first former Raider player to lead the program. In his two seasons at the helm, WSU posted a 77-38 record (.670; average of 38.5 wins per season), a regular season and conference tournament title along with an appearance in the 2018 Stanford NCAA Regional, and the program’s first ever national ranking in 2017. Mercer’s squads posted a 43-15 record (.741) in conference games over the two seasons.
Mercer brings a winning background to Indiana. In his time as a head coach (2017-18) and an assistant coach (2014-16) at Wright State, he has been a part of three Horizon League regular season and conference tournament titles, three NCAA appearances, and a combined record of 199-92 (.684). The Raiders won four NCAA tournament games over those three appearances, having reached the regional finals twice.
The 2018 Horizon League Champions, Wright State closed the season winning eight of its last 10 games and 15 of its last 19. The Raiders took home the league title with three-straight wins and outscored opponents 32-11 in the tournament. Mercer’s squad, which posted a 39-17 overall record and a 22-6 league mark, was one of the top offensive clubs nationally in 2018, as it ranked eighth in the country in scoring (7.8 runs per game) and stolen bases (110) and was 21st in on-base percentage (.394), while hitting .294 as a team. The Raiders’ .979 fielding percentage was 10th nationally.
Wright State was led by Horizon League Player of the Year Gabe Snyder, who paced the conference in home runs (15) and RBI (73), and was second in batting average (.359), missing the league’s Triple Crown by one batting average point. Snyder was one of 11 total Raiders who earned league honors, including five first team honorees (Snyder, Matt Morrow, Chase Slone, Peyton Burdkick and Ryan Weiss), four second teamers (Seth Gray, JD Orr, Zane Harris and Derek Hendrixson) and two named to the freshman team (Harris and Quincy Hamilton).
Wright State saw three players drafted in the 2018 MLB Draft, all of whom were drafted within the first 21 rounds. Weiss, a starting pitcher, was selected in the fourth round by the Arizona Diamondbacks (129th overall), as he posted a 9-2 record with one save and 92 strikeouts over 98 innings. Fellow starter Caleb Sampen was picked in the 20th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers, while Snyder went in the 21st round to the Minnesota Twins. Second baseman Matt Morrow additionally signed a free agent contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In his two years as a head coach, Mercer made a name for himself as a recruiter. Wright State compiled its first ever top 100 ranked recruiting class (2018) in program history (87th nationally).
WSU received its first-ever top 25 ranking in 2017, finishing the year at 38-21 and 21-9 in league action. Mercer’s aggressiveness in the run game resulted in Wright State ranking second in the nation with 130 stolen bases.
Weiss was selected as the 2017 Horizon League Freshman of the Year and a first team all-conference selection along with Morrow. Pitcher Danny Sexton was named a second team All-League honoree along with Hendrixson and Gray. Both Weiss and Gray were selected to the All-Freshman Team while Weiss was later named a Freshman All-American and second team ABCA All-Midwest selection. Sexton signed a free agent contract with the San Diego Padres.
Mercer, who was a two-time All-Horizon League honoree in 2008 and 2009, returned to the Raiders as an assistant coach in September 2013. WSU set a school record for wins with 43 in 2015 and broke it again a year later with 46 wins.
He assisted then head coach Greg Lovelady, who is now the head coach at UCF. As an assistant on Lovelady’s staff, Mercer coached six players that were taken in the MLB Draft, including five in 2016. During Mercer’s three years as an assistant, the Raiders had 30 Horizon League honorees, two Horizon League regular season and tournament titles and two NCAA appearances.
Working with all aspects of the program, Mercer was the recruiting coordinator responsible for bringing in the majority of the talent. One of Mercer’s primary responsibilities was his role as the hitting coach. During the 2016 season, WSU’s 47 home runs were the most in a season since 2009. He also worked with the infield and outfield, and coached third base.
Mercer came back to WSU after serving two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at Western Kentucky University (2012-13). While with the Hilltoppers, he primarily worked with pitchers and outfielders, but was also instrumental in the development and organization of baseball camps and handled other day-to-day operations.
Prior to WKU, Mercer was a volunteer assistant during the 2011 season at the University of Michigan. During his time there, he worked with the catchers and outfielders.
Before his arrival in Ann Arbor, Mercer spent the 2010 season as the graduate assistant coach at Ohio Northern University where he was in charge of the infielders and hitters and was the recruiting coordinator.
Mercer played two seasons at Dayton before transferring to Wright State, where he was a two-time first team All-Horizon League honoree as a first baseman. He was named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper All-American third team in 2009 after hitting .357 with 26 doubles and 74 RBI. He was also named the Horizon League Player of the Year in 2009 and was named to the league’s All-Tournament team after he tied the WSU single-season records for RBI, doubles, games played and games started. In 2009, the Raiders played in the Fort Worth NCAA Regional.
Mercer earned a degree in organizational leadership from Wright State in 2009. He and his wife, Stephanie, had their first child, Grady, born on June 20, 2018. Mercer’s father (Jeff Sr.) served as an IU baseball assistant coach from 1988 to 1989 and helped found the noted Indiana Bulls baseball organization.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT JEFF MERCER
“I have great respect for Jeff and his family whom I’ve known for 20 years. I can’t be more excited for Indiana baseball. There is now no better spot for player development than Bloomington, Indiana. I hope the boys are ready to work.” – Former MLB 8-Time Gold Glove Winner and 7-Time All-Star Scott Rolen
“After talking with Coach Mercer, you immediately know what he stands for, and that is winning. He is going to come to our program and develop us into winners on and off the field.” – Current IU Catcher Ryan Fineman
“After speaking with Coach Mercer, it became very obvious that our program will be in great hands. His confidence, experience, competitive mentality, and strong urge to win proved to me that we will be successful next year. I’m excited not only for this upcoming season, but for the future of Indiana University baseball as I believe Coach Mercer is here to stay and take this baseball program to the next level.” – Current IU Starting Pitcher Pauly Milto
