PINE BLUFF, Ark. – UAPB has promoted Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Marc MacMillan to Associate Head Coach of the baseball program, Golden Lions head coach Carlos James announced on Wednesday.
MacMillan, who just completed his third season with the Golden Lions, will continue to coordinate the Golden Lions recruiting efforts plus oversee the pitching staff, infielders, and base-running along with the team's strength training and conditioning efforts. In addition, MacMillan will assist with the day-to-day operations of the baseball program.
MacMillan's 2014 signing class included 17 new recruits from twelve states and Puerto Rico: Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, and Texas. UAPB's 2014 commitments included Andre Davis (Castro Valley, CA), a Rawlings 3rdTeam All-American and 1st Team CCCBCA Northern California All-American; Dixon Marble (Trementon, UT), Golden Valley "Pitcher of the Year"; Nate Ross (Albuquerque, NM), 1st Team All-Region; and Kevin Walsh (Magnolia, NJ), closer for the DIII NJCAA National Champions; along with multiple all-conference honorees.
In 2013, MacMillan helped guide the Golden Lions to its first SWAC Tournament appearance since 2009. Under MacMillan, the pitching staff led the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) in ERA both overall and in conference. Jim Ploeger, Mikey Ramirez, and Kyle Schwartz earned "Pitcher of the Week" honors a total of four times. Isias Alcantar, a 2013 recruit, was selected as the SWAC "Player of the Year" and 1st Team All-Conference SS. As well, former Golden Lion and 2012 recruit LHP Jordan Sechler was drafted in the 19th Round by the Atlanta Braves in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. In the summer, Ploeger was not only recognized by Perfect Game USA as one the Top 25 Prospects in the Hamptons League but also was selected as an All-Star for his performance. Ploeger along with the following additional 2013 commits were also selected as All-Stars: SR/UT Kirby Campbell represented the Geneva Twins in the New York Collegiate League while both SR/C Mike Wieland of the Peninsula Oilers and Ramirez of the Alaska Goldpanners were named All-Stars in the prestigious Alaska Baseball League along with earning 1st Team All-ABL and 2nd Team All-ABL honors, respectively.
"I'm appreciative that Marc is part of our staff," James said. "He was a head coach and pro scout prior to us working together, and his experience along with the combination of Marc, Jon, and I is what has helped take this program to the level it is today."
"I'm grateful for this show of support by Dr. Alexander, Mr. Hardy, and Carlos," MacMillan shared. "It's an exciting time to be a part of UAPB Baseball, and working with Carlos and Jon has been great! The three of us function well together, and we will continue to instill the vision and goals we have for this program while tirelessly working for our student-athletes who represent Golden Lions Baseball."
MacMillan came to UAPB after serving the previous year as the Recruiting Coordinator/Pitching Coach at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Before joining James at UAM, MacMillan was head coach at Victory University (formerly known as Crichton College) for one year. In addition, MacMillan was an Associate Scout for the Seattle Mariners as well as Head Coach for eight seasons at Memphis University School in Memphis, TN.
