Rhodes College Men's Baseball

Cleanthes, assistant athletic director and head baseball coach at Rhodes, has been named the colleges new director of athletics, effective March 2016.    Cleanthes came to Rhodes in 2003 from Keuka College in Keuka Park, NY, where he was the head baseball coach. During his tenure at Rhodes, the baseball program has had great success, including consistently ranking in the top 30 in Division III; winning the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) conference; competing in the NCAA tournament; and placing players on the academic conference honor roll, as well as earning All American honors.    Not only has he maintained tremendous relationships with alumni and parents of the players, Cleanthes has also initiated two major fundraising effortsone in 2008 to add a grand stand, press box, new dugouts, warning track, and bullpens to the baseball complex, and the other in 2011 to renovate storage space into a locker room and baseball offices behind the first base dugout. The facility is now one of the finest in Division III.    In 2008, Cleanthes received Rhodes Outstanding Administrator Award and was described as a mentor who inspires students to participate fully in all that they do. Its his ability to put the players firststaying at the office or on the field from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. because he knows a player needs his advice or assistance, wrote one nominator. His greatest asset is his concern for the welfare of each player. He will continue to coach through the 2016-2017 season.    Cleanthes holds a MBA in professional accounting from Rutgers University and a bachelors degree in economics and political science from Drew University. He served as chair of the South Region NCAA Division III Baseball Committee from 2010 to 2014 and currently serves as SAA Chair for the baseball council. He succeeds Mike Clary who announced his retirement as athletics director at Rhodes in December 2015 after leading the program for 26 years. Cleanthes enters his 13th season as head coach of the Lynx.  He was named as Rhodes Head Baseball Coach on July 21, 2003.  In June of 2012 Cleanthes was promoted to Assistant Athletic Director.  In 2016, Rhodes returned to the SAA Championship Game for the third time in the last four seasons, falling just short to Birmingham-Southern. Cleanthes coaches shortstop Bill Munson, who went on to earn All-American honors from both D3baseball.com and the ABCA. The Lynx begin the season with their highest preseason ranking in school history at No. 7. Under the helm of Cleanthes, the 2015 Rhodes baseball team posted a 33-13 record and finished third in the regular season in the SAA with a 14-6 Record in conference play. The Lynx were ranked as high as No. 6 during the season in both the D3Baseball.com poll and the American Baseball Coaches Association poll. Rhodes finished the season with the highest post-season ranking in school history, ending the season ranked No. 11. Rhodes also topped the national statistical category of earned run average, with a team 2.48 average. Over the last ten seasons the baseball program has posted a 283-158 record (.642 winning percentage). Rhodes baseball was revitalized in 2006 when they finished 28-15, with a 15 game improvement from the previous year and led the nation with the biggest improvement in Division III from 2005 to 2006.  Cleanthes came to Rhodes from Keuka College in Keuka Park, New York, where he was the head baseball coach for the previous three seasons. Prior to his stint in New York, Cleanthes was an assistant at Belmont Abbey College in Charlotte, NC.  During Coach Cleanthes tenure the baseball program has had great success in all areas. Coach Cleanthes has coached four Verizon Academic All Americans, two ABCA All Americans, 23 ABCA All South Region players and 32  First-Team All SAA/SCAC players.  In his 11 seasons he has coached two SCAC pitchers of the year as Flanagan won the award in back to back seasons. Coach Cleanthes spear headed two major fundraising efforts, one in 2008 to the tune of $750,000 to renovate the baseball complex, adding a grand stand, press box, new dugouts, warning track and bullpens and the other in January of 2011, a $340,000 effort to renovate storage space into a locker room and baseball offices behind the first base dugout.  The facility is now one of the finest in Division III. At Keuka, the program turned around quickly.  The baseball program was in its early stages.  There were 12 players on the roster and the most games they won in a season were six.  By his third season, they set records in almost all categories including wins each of his three seasons.  He was named as the 2002 North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Coach of the Year, and led Keuka to a 2003 Regular season NEAC Championship. Prior to his time at Keuka College, Cleanthes served as an associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina. Cleanthes helped to establish the Crusaders as a nationally recognized Division II program that captured its first NCAA tournament bid in school history. The Crusaders finished at the bottom of the league for the previous eight seasons prior to the addition of Cleanthes.  In his first season with the Abbey, Cleanthes served as the recruiting coordinator and was responsible for signing 37 student athletes.  This class ended up winning back to back CVAC titles in 2000 and 2001.  In 2000 the team posted a 39-17 record and participated in the NCAA Division II tournament.  Two of his recruits went on to play professional baseball after graduating from Belmont Abbey.   Previous to his stint at Belmont Abbey, Cleanthes served as the head baseball coach at Somers High School in Somers, New York, where his teams compiled an overall 49-27 record and captured two league championships. He also serves as Camp Director of the "Rhodes Triple Play Summer Baseball Camp." Cleanthes also served the NCAA for four years, 2009 - 2013 as the chair of the South Region Division III Baseball Committee. A 1989 graduate of Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, Cleanthes was a two-sport standout in baseball and soccer, and was a First-Team Mid Atlantic Conference selection as well as an NCAA All-Region outfielder in 1989 under the recently retired coach, Vince Masco. Cleanthes earned a M.B.A. in Accounting from Rutgers University in 1992.  

Rob Schrier enters his 22nd year with the Rhodes College baseball team and 1st year as head coach. Schrier, a 2004 graduate of Rhodes College, was a four year starter in the Lynx outfield and a three year starter for the Rhodes football team, where he played free safety.     The Germantown, TN native was a 1st Team All-SCAC selection in 2004, hitting .343 and was ranked 10th in the country in stolen bases stealing 29, in 32 attempts. Schrier was named team captain his junior and seniors seasons. In 2004, Schrier was given the Walter E. Gay award, given to the top male athlete at Rhodes.     The 2025 season was Coach Schrier’s 15th year as the Lynx hitting coach. Schrier was the Lynx hitting coach from 2005-2008, took over the pitching staff from 2009-2014, and moved back to the offensive side before the 2015 season.  In his six years leading the pitching staff, the Lynx set school records for ERA (3.45), strikeouts (323), saves (12), and innings pitched (420.1), as well as setting two career and nine individual single season pitching records. The Lynx pitching staff broke the school record for ERA in 2012, 2013, and 2014.  In 2014, the school record for lowest opposing batting average by an individual pitcher was broken three times over.  From 2006-2009, Schrier served as the hitting and outfield coach for the Lynx. In his four seasons as the Lynx hitting coach, Rhodes has had a combined team batting average of .329, including leading the SCAC in 2007 with a .342 average. The Lynx were also 7th in the country in scoring in 2007 averaging 9.2 runs per game. In his seven years as the Lynx hitting coach, Rhodes has set sixteen single season, twenty one career, and fifteen team offensive records. Schrier will serve as the Lynx infield coach in 2025, a position he took over in before the 2017 season.  In his first year as the infield coach, the Lynx posted a .969 fielding percentage, which ranked 19th in all of DIII, and the highest in school history in over 25 years.     Prior to coaching at Rhodes, Schrier coached for Dulin's Sports Academy in Cordova, TN from 2001-2003, where he coached the Dulin 17s to AAU and NABF national championships during the summer of 2002. He has also coached the Memphis Tiger 16s during the summer of 2005 and served as the head coach of the Memphis Tiger 17s during the summers of 2006 and 2007. During the summer of 2009, Schrier was the hitting and outfield coach for the St. Cloud Riverbats of the Northwoods League.    Schrier is married to the former Erin Meyer. The couple resides in Bartlett, TN with their dog, Fancy. 

Coach Mikey Nantze joined the Rhodes College baseball staff as the Pitching Coach in the fall of 2023. In just two seasons, Nantze has made a significant impact on the program. Under his guidance, the pitching staff helped lead the Lynx to back-to-back appearances in the SAA Conference Championship weekend, culminating in the 2025 SAA Tournament Championship title. The 2025 season was particularly notable, with the pitching staff producing two First Team All-Conference selections and one All-Region honoree. In 2024, his staff also earned recognition with one All-Conference selection and one All-Region selection, demonstrating consistent development and performance on the mound. Prior to his time at Rhodes, Nantze served as an Assistant Coach at Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi. During his tenure, the program achieved a second-place finish in the Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) and boasted the longest winning streak in the nation at the time—14 consecutive games. Before Belhaven,  Nantze spent six years at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, where he held multiple roles including Hitting Coach, Catching Coach, Recruiting Coordinator, and Baserunning Instructor. During his time with the Bearcats, the team made three appearances in the Northwest Conference Championship and one in the NCAA Regional Championship. Notably, in 2021, Willamette led the nation in home runs (68) en route to a second-place finish in the Northwest Conference Tournament. His work with catchers at Willamette produced three First Team All-Region selections and four All-Conference honorees, including three First Team selections. Offensively, his guidance helped yield one All-American, a Freshman/Newcomer of the Year, and numerous First and Second Team All-Conference selections. As a player, Nantze began his collegiate career at Sierra College (2012–2013) in Rocklin, California, before earning a Division I scholarship to the University of Tennessee at Martin (2014–2015). He graduated from UT Martin with a degree in Early Childhood Education. Nantze is married to Karly Nantze. They have one child, Hollis, who can often be seen cheering on the Lynx alongside Karly at Rhodes games.  

Malcolm Rohlfing joined the Rhodes College Baseball coaching staff after competing as the Lynx’ starting catcher throughout his playing career (2021-2025). He earned All-Conference honors in three of his four years and served as a team Captain during his two years as an upperclassman. During Rohlfing’s time in Memphis, he has worked with Sports Academy USA, facilitating youth baseball tournaments at USA Stadium. Additionally, he served as a Clubhouse Assistant for the Memphis Redbirds for just under two years. As a student at Rhodes, Rohlfing earned a degree in History.