Bucknell University Men's Baseball

Heather spent the previous eight years as an assistant coach at Bucknell, helping the Bison to a pair of Patriot League Tournament titles and NCAA appearances. It took Heather, the 2014 Patriot League Coach of the Year, just two seasons as head coach to lead the Bison through a successful postseason run. Under Heather's tutelage, Bucknell won the Patriot League regular season and Patriot League Tournament titles in 2014. The Bison advanced to the NCAA Regional at Virginia and posted the second NCAA win in program history, defeating Liberty 5-2 behind a complete game four-hitter from pitcher Dan Weigel. In his four years as head coach, Heather has guided the Bison to a pair of 20-win campaigns and 89 victories overall. The squad has qualified for the Patriot League Tournament three times under Heather, who ranks fourth on the program's all-time wins list heading into the 2017 season. A former pitcher at the University of Arkansas, Heather served as the pitching coach during the first eight years of his tenure at Bucknell. The staff had a 4.30 ERA in 2006, marking the teams lowest since 1983 (4.10). The strong pitching has continued with last year's 3.44 team ERA ranking second in the Patriot League and 73rd nationally. During his tenure as pitching coach, Heather tutored a number of outstanding hurlers, including 2011 Patriot League Pitcher of the Year Ryan Ebner. Additionally, Heather oversaw the development of 2008 graduates Jason Buursma and Mathew Wilson. Those two former Bison claimed back-to-back Patriot League ERA titles, while Buursma earned a pair of First Team All-Patriot League selections as a relief pitcher. Wilson, who was the 2007 Patriot League ERA champion, broke the school record for career shutouts and pitched a complete-game shutout against nationally ranked Florida State in the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Heather has had the opportunity to see Bison pitchers selected in three Major League Baseball Drafts since his arrival in Lewisburg in August 2004. Buursma was drafted in 2007 (42nd round by Seattle Mariners) and 2008 (25th round by St. Louis Cardinals), while Kyle Walter was selected in the 18th round of the 2006 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. In addition to his duties with the Bucknell pitching staff, Heather served as the programs recruiting coordinator and assisted with all fundraising projects during his time as a Bison assistant. Prior to his stint as an assistant at Bucknell, Heather served as an assistant coach at Arkansas-Fort Smith from 1999 to 2004. Heather began his playing career at Arizona Western College in Yuma, Ariz., where he was MVP of the 1996 team that was ranked third nationally, before moving on to Arkansas. Heather lettered for the Razorbacks as a pitcher in 1997 and 1998, and then became a student assistant in 1999 when Arkansas won its first Southeastern Conference championship. He also pitched professionally for the Duluth Dukes of the Northern League in 1998. Heather, who earned his degree from Arkansas in 2003, and his wife, Emily, live in nearby Mifflinburg with their daughters, six-year-old Ellie, and Maren (2).

Neitz was drafted in the 37th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft by the San Francisco Giants. Since taking over as Bucknell's pitching coach, Neitz has helped the Bison continue as one of the best pitching teams in the Patriot League by focusing on keeping the ball low and throwing strikes. In 2015, Neitz oversaw a staff that posted an impressive 3.37 ERA, the lowest for a Bucknell squad in nearly 40 years. That figure barely eclipsed the 2014 staff, which registered a 3.44 ERA. In Neitz's first three years as pitching coach, the Bison team ERA was lowered each season. A 2002 graduate of Mifflinburg Area High School, Neitz played baseball for four years at East Carolina before graduating in the fall of 2006 with a bachelors degree in physical education. A left-handed pitcher, Neitz was 3-2 with an ERA of 4.71 in 80.1 career innings over 43 appearances with the Pirates. He recorded 55 strikeouts. Neitz, who serves as Bucknells pitching coach, played professionally for four seasons, three in the Giants organization, and most recently one with the Washington Wild Things. Neitz got his start in the coaching profession as an assistant at Mifflinburg Area High School in the spring of 2010.