Concordia University MI Men's Baseball

Johnston and his staff have coached 5 All-Conference selections, 3 Gold Glove recipients, 5 NAIA Scholars-Athletes, 15 Academic All-Conference award winners, 1 CoSIDA Academic All-America recipient, 1 CoSIDA Academic All-District team recipient, and 1 player to a professional contract. In two seasons Johnston and his staff have seen the most wins in a single season in program history (31), the longest winning streak in program history (10), the longest conference winning streak in program history (8), the most conference wins in program history (20), and have beat 4 Nationally ranked opponents including the highest Nationally ranked opponent in program history (#15 - University of Northwestern Ohio - 2015). The 2016 season also saw the Cardinals back in playoff action in the Conference tournament, a feat they narrowly missed by 0.5 a game in 2015. Johnston is a familiar name here at Concordia. He played four years (2006-2010) of collegiate baseball for the Cardinals as a utility player, playing left field, second base, and shortstop. He started 189 games and helped lead all three of the winningest teams in Cardinal History. Johnston etched his name all over the Cardinals record books. He is currently in the Top 10 in 22 different categories in the CUAA record books. He is #1 in 6 of those categories and is in the Top 5 in 10 others. Johnston was a 3x All-Conference selection and a Gold Glove award winner in 2009. Johnston not only excelled on the field but also in the classroom as he is the only athlete in Cardinal History to be a 3x Academic All-Conference Selection and a 3x Academic All-American Selection. After his playing career was over, Johnston became the Sports Information Director at CUAA and coached the CUAA softball program for three seasons. During Johnston's three year tenure with CUAA softball, he helped turn the program around. The softball staff with Johnston on it had an overall record of 71-68-1 over three seasons (2012-14), including a 23-25 record in the competitive Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. During the previous nine seasons (2003-11), the program had an overall record of 33-169 and a 15-110 record in conference. Johnston also has experience outside of Concordia. In 2009 Johnston worked for the Baltimore Orioles in their Public Relations Department.  In 2010, he worked in MiLB for the Baltimore Orioles affiliate the Bluefield Orioles (now the Bluefield Blue Jays). He worked closely with Bluefield's, President and General Manager, George McGonagle, and Bluefield's first base coach and minor league camp coordinator, Len Johnston. Johnston has also been a Director of Player Development, Lead Instructor, Personal Trainer, and Part-time Coach with MC Athletics since 2011. Johnston comes from a baseball family. His grandfather, father and uncle all played Professional Baseball. His grandfather, Len Johnston, has been working in professional baseball since 1967. He began his managerial career in 1967 and has worked in the Washington Senators', Cleveland Indians' and the Baltimore Orioles' systems. Len Johnston has been with Baltimore since 1976 and in 2010 he was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame. Johnston's father, Tom Johnston, has been coaching for over 20+ years. Johnston graduated with a B.A. in Business Administration in 2010, finished his first M.S. in Organizational Leadership and Administration in 2012 and then completed his second Masters degree in Educational Leadership in 2014.  Besides being the Head Baseball Coach Johnston is also the Director of Sports Information at Concordia. A native of Michigan, Johnston resides in Whitmore Lake with his wife Karen and son Zander.   Will Nimke enters his first year on the Cardinals coaching staff. Nimke will be involved in all faucets and will oversee the Cardinals pitching staff. Prior to arriving at CUAA, Nimke served as the Student Assistant at Western Michigan University for Head Coach, Billy Gernon. Nimke worked under Associate Head Coach/Pitching Coach Blaine McFerrin.  At WMU, Nimke helped guide the WMU Broncos to the first Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship in program history and a birth to a NCAA Regional at Louisville University for the first time since 1986. In the 2016 season, alongside pitching coach Blaine McFerrin, Nimke helped Junior LHP Keegan Akin to a historic season. Akin broke the single season strikeout record with 133, surpassing Pat Mischs 2001 record of 99. Akin also finished second for most innings pitched in a season (109.0), second in career strikeouts (270) and fourth in career innings pitched (278.1). Among his many postseason awards, Akin was selected in the second round of the 2016 MLB Draft to the Baltimore Orioles, making him the highest draft pick in WMU history since 1970. Nimke spent four years on the Bronco pitching staff, making 53 appearances and 26 starts over the course of his career. Statistically his best season was his freshman campaign in 2012, when Nimke became the Broncos Sunday starter during Mid-American Conference play. He went 4-4 with a 3.74 ERA in 12 starts that year. Nimkes MAC line was even better that year, with him going 3-2 with a 2.78 ERA, the best in the rotation, in six MAC starts. Nimkes first career win was a 6.1 IP appearance against conference foe Bowling Green State University. That year he became the first freshman to throw a complete game since Ethan Hollingsworth in 2006 with a nine-inning effort in WMUs 5-4 win at Notre Dame on April 11. A native of Ann Arbor, MI., Nimke earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Western Michigan University. He will continue his education pursuing a Masters Degree from CUAA. Tom Johnston enters his third season with the Cardinals as a volunteer coach. Johnston played his collegiate baseball as a middle infielder at Western Michigan University. After his collegiate career Johnston went on to play professionally in both the Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles organizations. Since his playing career Johnston has been coaching in multiple organizations at different levels for over 30 years. Jeremy Maas enters his first season as a volunteer coach after completing his senior season. Maas concluded his career with a strong senior season that helped lead the Cardinals to a school-record, 31 wins (Overall 31-24, WHAC 20-13). Maas set the table from the leadoff spot hitting .319 and leading the team in hits (58), walks (27), triples (5), stolen bases (17), total bases (79), and slugging percentage (.434). Maas finished his 4-year career etching his name into the record books.  Maas played in 186 games, he is 2nd All-Time in triples (9), tied 1st in stolen bases (43), and 1st All-time in walks (90). A middle-infielder early his career, Maas moved to centerfield for his final campaign and played stellar defense making just 1 error in 136 opportunities (.993 Fielding Percentage).  Maas was a 2X NAIA Academic All-America selection, a 2X Academic All-Conference selection, an Honorable Mention All-Conference selection and a CoSIDA Academic All-America and All-District selection. Maas will assist the coaching staff with hitting, as well as, outfielders, baserunners, and day-to-day operations. Jon Targus joins Zach Johnstons staff for the 2016-2017 season after completing his senior year. The RHP helped guide a huge turnaround for the Concordia Baseball team as he played for Coach Johnston and his staff for the last two seasons. In those two seasons Jon helped guide the Cardinals to the most wins in a single season in program history (31), the longest winning streak in program history (10), the longest conference winning streak in program history (8), the most conference wins in program history (20), and back in postseason action in the Conference tournament. Jon was an All-Conference Honorable Mention and is currently in 6 different All-Time Records (Single Season: ERA, Strikeouts, Wins, Innings Pitched - Career: Wins and Strikeouts) Jon will assist with pitching duties and day-to-day operations. Jon will graduate in the spring of 2017.