#26 - Tripp Keister

Title: Head Coach

Email: keistetr@wesley.edu

Phone: 302-736-2369

Year: Fifth

College: Delaware '92

Tripp Keister, a former standout outfielder at the University of Delaware and a respected professional scout and NCAA Division I head coach, continues to build Wesley into one of the top baseball programs in the Capital Athletic Conference and the NCAA South Region after leading the Wolverines to the ECAC South title in 2010.

Keister, who also serves as the Wolverines' Associate Athletic Director, wasted no time turning around a program that had not had a winning record or advanced to the conference postseason since 2001.  Each of his teams have made the conference playoffs, with the 2010 team advancing to the CAC Championship game.  His tenure marks the winningest five year run in school history. 

In 2010, the Wolverines won 29 games, just one short of the record of 30 set by his 2007 squad.

The 2009 squad knocked a Salisbury team ranked No. 1 in the regular season before finishing the year in the ECAC South title game.  

Wesley moved into the competitive Capital Athletic Conference in 2008, but still managed to post 27 wins, including a 10-8 mark in the conference.  Four Wolverines were named to the All-CAC team after the year.  His team finished eighth in Division III in stolen bases with 120, while the pitching staff was 15th, allowing only 8.68 hits per nine innings.  Both Stu Madden and Kevin Ellis finished in the top 10 in stolen bases, combining for 69 swipes.  Pitcher Colin Warner was third in Division III with 12.7 strikeouts per nine.

In Keister's first year with Wesley, the former professional scout led the Wolverines to a 23-19 overall mark and a 12-9 record in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC). His efforts earned him PAC Coach of the Year honors after the season. The rebuilding process continued in 2007, as the team notched a 30-14 record and went 17-9 in the PAC, earning a bid to the ECAC Postseason.

Keister is just the third Wesley diamond coach in the past 36 years. A graduate of McKean High School, Keister earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education at the University of Delaware in 1992, where he also lettered as a star outfield on the school's baseball team. Ironically, he played at UD under legendary Coach Bob Hannah, a Wesley College graduate. The New York Mets subsequently drafted him in the 32nd round of the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft.

After playing four years of minor league baseball, he became an assistant baseball coach at the University of South Carolina from 1996-98. Delaware State University hired him as its head baseball coach in July 1998, and over the 1999 and 2000 seasons, Keister turned around a losing program and led the team to a 45-38 overall record that included two Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference North Division titles, including a 14-1 mark in 2000. Keister left DSU after the 2000 season to assume a scouting post with the San Diego Padres. With the Padres, he served as an amateur scout, and also scouted the Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Baltimore Orioles. He continued in the scouting post until he was named associate athletic director of development at DSU.

Coaching Career:

1996-1998- Assistant Coach- University of South Carolina
1999-2000- Head Coach- Delaware State University (45-38, two-time MEAC Northern Division Champions)
2006-Present- Head Coach- Wesley College (135-78-1, four ECAC Tournaments, one ECAC Championship, PAC Coach of the Year)

Playing Career:
1989-1992- University of Delaware
1992- Drafted in 32nd round by New York Mets
1992- Pittsfield Mets
1993- Capital City Bombers (A)
1994- St. Lucie Mets (A)
1995- Binghamton Mets (AA)

*Joined Capital Athletic Conference

#45 - Bret Underwood

Title: Assistant Coach

Email: underwbr@wesley.edu

Phone: 302-736-2459

Year: Fourth

Bret Underwood begins his fourth year as an Assistant Baseball Coach with the Wesley College baseball program. Bret’s responsibilities include working with the hitters and infielders and coaching first base. Underwood was instrumental in the development of Jordan Smith who hit .348 and led the Wolverines in home runs and RBIs in 2006.

“Coach Underwood is a student of the game who relates very well to our players. He is an outstanding teacher of the game and he will be counted on to continue the development of our younger hitters” says Wesley Head Coach Tripp Keister.

Bret was a four year starter at Delaware State University at first base, where he was one of the most prolific hitters in school history. He ranks in the top three in hits, home runs, runs batted in, runs scored, and extra base hits. As a sophomore, he finished 19th in Division I in RBIs.  After completing his senior year at Delaware State, Bret signed a free agent contract with the Boston Red Sox. Bret attended Dickinson High School in Wilmington, Delaware where he was a two-time all-state selection.

Coaching Career:
2006- Assistant Coach- Wesley College

Playing Career:
2005- Spring Training- Boston Red Sox, Washington Wild Things- Independent Frontier League
2004- Ft. Myers Red Sox- Gulf Coast League
2004- Delaware State University (First Team All-MEAC)
2003- Delaware State University (First Team All-MEAC)
2002- Delaware State University (First Team All-MEAC)
2001- Delaware State University