Austin Peay State University Men's Baseball

Roland Fanning, an Oklahoma State baseball staff member for the past three seasons, was named Austin Peay’s 12th head baseball coach on May 29, 2022. In his first season at Austin Peay, Fanning led the Governors through a remarkable transformation that began with a Division I record 27 newcomers added to the roster and finished with a seven-win improvement, an appearance in their first Atlantic Sun Conference tournament, and a victory in that tournament. Fanning brought 15 seasons of experience as an assistant coach to Austin Peay, including eight combined seasons at Oklahoma State and Kentucky. While he was on the Cowboys and Wildcats staffs, those programs posted four 40-plus win campaigns, with this season’s OSU squad a win away from another 40-win season. The Coalgate, Oklahoma native also has developed top-caliber athletes, with three conference Player of the Year award winners and 23 All-American Selections. He has seen 69 athletes selected in the MLB Draft, with four chosen in the first round and seven reaching the major leagues. And yet, the athletes Fanning has coached also have excelled off the field. Over 300 athletes have earned academic honors during Fanning’s coaching career. Prior to taking over at Austin Peay, Fanning completed his third season in his second turn as an Oklahoma State baseball staff member, most recently serving as the Cowboys’ Director of Player Development. In 2021, the Cowboys posted 36 wins and appeared in the NCAA Baseball Tournament at the Tuscon Regional. In 2022, OSU finished with 42 victories and hosted the Stillwater Regional. Fanning’s collegiate playing career included stops at Carl Albert State College, Northern Oklahoma-Enid, and Southeastern Oklahoma. He was inducted into the Coalgate High School Hall of Fame in 2019. Fanning and his wife, Beverly, have two daughters, Emery Jo and Eastyn Rowe. FANNING’S CAREER SUMMARY AUSTIN PEAY (2023-current) 2025: For the second-straight season, Fanning led Austin Peay to a banner year as the Governors captured the Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Gold Division title, marking the Governors’ 17th title in program history. The Govs finished the regular season with the best conference (26-4) and overall record (45-14) in the ASUN Conference. At the conclusion of the regular season, he was named the ASUN Coach of the Year for the second-straight time. He is the second head coach in program history to be named Coach of the Year in multiple seasons, and the first to earn the honor in consecutive seasons. The honor was well deserved after seeing his team reach the 30 and 40-win marks faster than any Governor team. He became the fourth head coach in program history to lead APSU to a 40-win season, and the first to reach 43 wins in the regular season. The Govs recorded a program-record nine series sweeps while becoming the winningest team in conference play in Austin Peay history. The Governors had the second-fewest losses at home in program history after going 26-4 at Raymond C. Hand Park. In addition, his team was inside the top five of multiple offensive categories across all Division I teams. The Govs ranked second in the NCAA with a team batting average of .333, third with 141 doubles, fifth with 670 hits, fourth with a .443 on-base percentage, third with 567 runs scored, third in scoring with 9.6 runs per game, and second with a .585 slugging percentage. Fanning also reached the 100-win mark in his career during the 2025 season, becoming the fastest head coach in program history to reach the milestone, accomplishing such in just 164 games. Fanning had 10 players named ASUN All-Conference selections, including six First Team All-ASUN honorees. Leading the charge in major ASUN awards, Cameron Nickens was named the league’s Player of the Year after tying the program’s single-season hit record. Nickens was named an All-American by D1Baseball, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, and Perfect Game after being tabbed to the American Baseball Coaches Association Southeast All-Region Team. He was also one of four finalists for the Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award. Paired with Nickens, Cole Johnson was named the ASUN Freshman of the Year after leading all freshmen in the league in batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, runs scored, hits, doubles, home runs, and RBI. The redshirt freshman landed on the NCBWA Freshman All-American Team after also being named to the ABCA Southeast All-Region Team. Joining the pair on the All-ASUN roster for 2025 included Trevor Conley, Kyler Proctor, Ray Velazquez, John Bay, Gavin Braunecker, Lyndon Glidewell, Gus Freeman, and Andres Matias. Bay was named an All-American by the NCBWA and landed on the Academic All-ASUN Team with Brody Szako. Braunecker was named to the All-Tournament Team following his win over Jacksonville in the second round of the ASUN Championship. Braunecker also joined Jacob Weaver on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. 2024: Fanning led his team to the program’s 16th Conference Champion title in his second season as the Governors head coach. This is the first time since 2012 the Govs have won the title. Austin Peay ranked first nationally in batting average (.359), home runs per game (2.61), slugging percentage (.661), on-base percentage (.455), scoring (10.9 runs per game), and second in doubles per game (2.79). In doing so and leading his team to a 35-win season, Fanning was named the 2024 ASUN Coach of the Year. After setting a new program record for the All-ASUN haul and landing 10 governors on the team, this was a well-deserved feat. Leading the charge in major ASUN awards, the dynamic two-way Lyle Miller-Green was named ASUN Player of the Year after setting the new program record for home runs in a season with 30. LMG, paired with one of the best shortstop’s to ever play for Austin Peay, Jon Jon Gazdar, was a dangerous threat to any opponent. Gazdar ranked nationally as the fourth toughest batter to strike out, averaging a strikeout every 16.9 at-bats. Gazdar was also superb defensively and was named ASUN Defensive Player of the Year. The pair also earned All-American honors as members of the ABCA/Rawlings All-American Team. This was the first time since 2013 that a pair of Govs have earned All-American honors in the same season. The remainder of the Govs record-breaking All-ASUN Roster for 2024 included Ambren Voitik, Brody Szako, Andrew Devine, Harrison Brown, John Bay, Clayton Gray, Gus Freeman, and Jaden Brown. Jacob Weaver was also named to the 2024 Academic All-ASUN Team. Miller-Green, Gazdar, and Bay were all named to ABCA All-Southeast Region Teams. The Governors also excelled in the classroom, earning a cumulative team GPA of 3.32 in the fall and a 3.25 in the spring semester, placing Miller-Green, Gazdar, Gray, and Weaver on the CSC Academic All-District Team. At the conclusion of the season, four Governors were selected in the MLB Draft, including Miller-Green (Chicago White Sox), Gazdar (St. Louis Cardinals), Titan Kennedy-Hayes (Philadelphia Phillies), and Tyler Hampu (Colorado Rockies), who were all selected in the first 20 rounds. In November 2024, Clayton Gray signed as a free agent with the Colorado Rockies. 2023: Fanning oversaw a complete overhaul of the roster in his first season as the Governors head coach by bringing in a Division I record 27 newcomers, including 22 transfers. That effort led to the program’s most significant season-to-season improvement since 2016, as Fanning led APSU to a 26-win campaign that was seven better more than the year prior to his arrival. Austin Peay was picked 12th in the ASUN Conference’s Preseason Coaches’ Poll and finished eighth after briefly ascending to the top of the conference standings in late April. The Govs played 17 games against teams that finished the 2023 season ranked among the NCAA RPI Top 100, winning two games and losing four by one run. Austin Peay saw three student-athletes named to the All-ASUN roster: outfielder Garrett Martin, pitcher and designated hitter Lyle Miller-Green, and outfielder Clayton Gray. In addition, shortstop Jon Jon Gazdar was named to the ASUN All-Academic Team. The Governors set a program record with a 3.56 grade-point average during the fall and followed that with a 3.40 GPA during the spring, with 34 student-athletes earning academic recognition from the department or university. Following the season, Martin was signed as a free agent by the New York Yankees. AS AN ASSISTANT COACH (2008-2022) Prior to taking over at Austin Peay, Fanning completed his third season in his second turn as an Oklahoma State baseball staff member, serving as the Cowboys’ Director of Player Development. In 2021, the Cowboys posted 36 wins and appeared in the NCAA Baseball Tournament at the Tuscon Regional. OSU finished the 2022 season with 42 victories and hosted the NCAA Baseball Tournament’s Stillwater Regional. Oklahoma State was led by starting pitcher Justin Campbell, who was a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award. Campbell was one of five Cowboys to earn First Team All-Big 12 honors. Last season, three Oklahoma State baseball student-athletes were named to All-American squads, and two were named Freshman All-America.Off the field, Oklahoma State received the American Baseball Coaches Association’s Team Academic Excellence award in both 2021 and 2022. Before rejoining the Oklahoma State staff, Fanning was an assistant coach at Kentucky for three seasons (2017-19) and served as the Wildcats recruiting coordinator. He helped lead UK to its first NCAA Super Regional appearance in 2017 to cap a 43-win season in Lexington. In his three seasons in Lexington, Fanning was on a staff that amassed a program record 103 wins over three years. Fanning was also responsible for the Wildcats’ Top 20 recruiting classes in 2017 and 2018. He also helped develop a program-record 13 players selected in the 2018 MLB Draft and saw two UK athletes selected in the First Round of the MLB Draft in 2017 (Evan White) and 2019 (Zack Thompson). His turn in the Southeastern Conference was preceded by two seasons (2015-16) at Little Rock, where he was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the first time. During the 2016 season, the Trojans posted a then-program record 17-win Sun Belt Conference campaign – their first winning record in SBC play since 2000. While at Little Rock, Fanning coached Ryan Scott, the 2016 NCAA Batting Champion who posted a .435 batting average that season, and Greg Taylor, the 2016 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and First Team All-American.

Kimbel, a Franklin, Tennessee native, returned to Clarksville after three seasons at Evansville when head coach Roland Fanning hired him as the Governors’ hitting coach and recruiting coordinator in July 2022. After leading the Governors to one of their finest offensive seasons in recent history, Kimbel moved into the Governors’ pitching coach role for the 2024 season. Kimbel began coaching as a graduate assistant at Kentucky in 2018, serving on the same staff as Fanning for two seasons. After earning his master’s degree at Kentucky, Evansville hired him before the COVID-shortened 2020 season. He was the Purple Aces volunteer assistant in 2020, the hitting coach in 2021, and the pitching coach in 2022. While at Evansville, he coached seven All-MVC selections, including 2022 MVC Pitcher of the Year Nick Smith. Governors’ fans will remember Kimbel for his two seasons as a pitcher during the 2015 and 2016 seasons and his return to serve as the operations assistant in 2017. He made 30 career appearances in the red and white. He joined the Governors after beginning his career at Columbia State Community College, where he made 39 appearances over two seasons. KIMBEL’S CAREER SUMMARY AUSTIN PEAY (2022-current) 2025: In his second season in the pitching role, Kimbel led the bullpen to another Atlantic Sun Conference regular season title, as the Governors won the Gold Division with a 45-14 overall record, and a 26-4 ASUN record. Arms of Cody Airington, Jacob Weaver, and Lyndon Glidewell led the starting rotation for the majority of the season, and pitched to a 17-3 combined record. Gavin Braunecker came into a starting role on the hill after Airington went down at the beginning of conference play, and pitched to a perfect 10-0 record over 15 appearances, starting six games. Braunecker is the first Governor to record double-digit wins in a single season since Austin Peay State University Hall of Famer Alex Robles did in 2016. He is the 10th Governor to reach the mark. Kaleb Applebey was also a big contributor in the closing role, recording eight saves, which led the team and is tied for the eighth-most in a single season. Kimbel was promoted to Associate Head Coach following the conclusion of the season. 2024: After transitioning into the pitching coach role, Kimbel helped lead his bullpen to a championship title. Led by his starting rotation, Andrew Devine and Jacob Weaver paved the path to success for the remainder of the pitching staff, finishing the season with a cumulative 7.48 ERA. Devine finished with a 6-0 record with a 2.95 ERA, and Weaver finished 4-3 with a 7.37. Titan Kennedy-Hayes was strong coming out of the pen for the Govs, finishing the season with a 1-1 record and recording seven saves, ranked 12th most in a season in program history. Kimbel saw Kennedy-Hayes and Tyler Hampu as MLB Draft selections at the conclusion of the season. Kennedy-Hayes was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies and Hampu to the Colorado Rockies.  2023: Kimbel joined the Governors coaching staff in July 2022 as the program’s hitting coach and recruiting coordinator. He coached three All-ASUN honorees: outfielder Garrett Martin, designated hitter Lyle Miller-Green, and outfielder Clayton Gray. Miller-Green and Gray became the first Austin Peay teammates since 2013 to record 80 hits in a season. In addition, Miller-Green became only the fourth APSU hitter to record 80 hits and 15 home runs in a season, finishing the year with 84 hits and 16 home runs. The Govs offense ranked among the program’s Top 15 single-season performances in slugging percentage (5th), on-base percentage (14th), runs scored (4th), doubles (2nd), home runs (t-2nd), and walks (11th). After the season, outfielder Garrett Martin, who posted a .709 slugging percentage, was signed as a free agent by the New York Yankees. EVANSVILLE (2020-22) 2022: He was the Purple Aces pitching coach in 2022 and helped lead the team to a 32-24 record – the program’s first 30-win season since 2014 – and a second-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season race. Kimbel helped coach Nick Smith to MVC Pitcher of the Year accolades, and the Purple Aces, who hit a program-record 77 home runs, saw seven players selected to the 2022 All-MVC teams. 2021: Kimbel was Evansville’s hitting coach in a 28-27 campaign after beginning his Evansville career as the volunteer assistant coach in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. KENTUCKY (2018-19) Kimbel began his coaching career at Kentucky, where he was a graduate assistant for the 2018 and 2019 seasons and served alongside Fanning, a Wildcats assistant coach for three seasons (2017-19).

After spending the 2024 season at Morehead State as Director of Video and Data Analytics, John Bakke entered his first season on the Governors’ coaching staff as the Director of Pitching Performance. He returns for his second season on the Governors' staff in 2026. Bakke’s collegiate playing career consisted of five seasons at Morehead, spanning from 2019 to 2023. In his time there, mainly as a relief pitcher until his fifth season, he made 86 appearances on the mound, starting 15 games. Bakke finished his career with a 13-10 record and a 4.73 ERA while picking up 17 saves over 192.1 innings. Bakke is the all-time leader in saves at Morehead. Bakke was named Preseason OVC Pitcher of the Year in his final playing season for the Eagles in 2023. He also earned Pitcher of the Week honors on March 27 after a superb 7.0 inning, eight K outing against Southern Indiana. In his final two seasons, Bakke earned Academic All-America honors twice and was named to the All-OVC Second Team his junior season. As the Governors Director of Pitching Performance, Bakke will handle all video duties pertaining to practice, scrimmages, and games. He provides insights analytically by utilizing Trackman and TruMedia.