University of Wisconsin, Platteville Men's Baseball

"Our goals and vision for this baseball program revolve around developing the person.  You have to stand for your core values, your non-negotiables of your life.  In our program, they are:  Education First, Serve Others Before Oneself, Leave It Better Than You Found It, Community Give-back, and Self-Accountability.  We believe that if you can live by these values, success on the field and more importantly, in life, will be the by-product. By starting with a strong foundation, we can withstand any adversity together and continue to build stronger every day." -Head Coach Chad Harris Chad Harris was appointed head baseball coach at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in December of 2018.  In addition to head coaching duties, Harris works with the Academic Support Programs in working collaboratively with coaches and student-athletes including one-on-one academic coaching.  Some highlights since Coach Harris took over leading the Pioneer baseball program include having had seven First-Team WIAC selections, 12 honorable mention WIAC selections, and one player earn Midwest Region Player of the Year, ABCA 2nd Team All-American, and 1st Team D3Baseball.com All-American.  For six straight years, the baseball program has earned the ABCA Academic Excellence Award for having a team GPA above a 3.0. The program has also won nine games against top 10 nationally ranked programs.  In his first season at the helm of the Pioneers, the team doubled overall wins from the previous season, set a school record in conference wins with 14 WIAC victories, made the conference tournament for the first time since 2010 and won a tournament game for the first time since 2005.  Six of Harris' players earned WIAC honors while two were also named All-Region.  Following his first season with the Pioneers, Harris was named College Coach of the Year (2019) by the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association.  Prior to UW-Platteville, Harris spent 17 years coaching baseball at the collegiate level.  Stops included head coach at AIB College of Business in Des Moines, Iowa (2013-15), head coach at Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa, (2006-2012), and assistant coach at University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Arkansas (2001-2006).  He returned to his passion of coaching full-time in the spring of 2018 and joined the staff at the University of Dubuque after serving as a volunteer assistant coach with the Spartans during the 2017 season.   During Harris’ time as pitching coach with the Spartans, the University of Dubuque baseball team won the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 2018 Championship (now re-named the American Rivers Conference).  The Spartans went on to win the Iowa Conference Tournament and two games in the Duluth Regional of the NCAA Division III National Tournament. During their 2018 trip into the tournament, two of Harris’ pitchers were named ABCA/Rawlings All-Central Region Team.  The 2018 Spartans squad set two new program records with an ERA of 3.58 and 292 strikeouts. Prior to coaching at Dubuque, Harris was named the inaugural head coach at AIB College of Business (NAIA) located in Des Moines, Iowa. In the two years of that program having baseball, Harris’ teams won 49 games and led the Midwest Collegiate Conference (MCC) with 30 conference wins over a two year span. The 2015 and final AIB squad won the MCC title. During his two seasons at AIB, the program led NAIA baseball teams in overall team GPA (3.55) while earning the NAIA Scholar Team Award twice, saw 17 players earn all-conference/gold glove awards, had 51 players named Academic All-Conference, and had 14 players earn the NAIA Daktronics Scholar Athlete Award. Both the 2014 and 2015 AIB teams played in the MCC Tournament championship games. Harris recruited and coached both the national Rawlings Gold Glove award for centerfield recipient and a NAIA Honorable Mention All-American. AIB dropped athletics after the 2015 season. At Clarke University (Dubuque, Iowa), Harris transitioned a NCAA Division III program to NAIA and had the program finishing as high as second place in their fourth year in the MCC. His teams earned the NAIA Scholar Team Award in 2010 and 2011 (team G.P.A. of 3.0 or higher) highlighted with a conference leading 26 Academic All-Conference honorees over those two years. The 2011 Clarke team also had six players earn all-conference recognition.  A native of Hot Springs, Arkansas, Harris launched his collegiate coaching career as a five-year assistant coach at NCAA Division III University of the Ozarks located in Clarksville, Arkansas. During his time at Ozarks, the program saw the team's most success in more than 10 seasons, having set numerous team records, along with individual hitting and pitching records. As recruiting coordinator at Ozarks, Harris helped guide the Eagles from a four win program in 2001 to 22 wins in 2005. Harris earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Social Science in 2001 from the University of the Ozarks where he played collegiately for two years with the Eagles and received Academic All-Conference honors in 2000.  Prior to Ozarks, Harris pitched for the nationally ranked North Arkansas College Pioneers in Harrison, Arkansas while earning his associate’s degree. Harris went on to earn his Master of Science degree in Administrative Studies with emphasis in Sport Management from Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri in 2005. Season Overall Conference 2025 20-21 13-15 2024 16-21 11-13 2023 10-25 7-17 2022 13-22 11-17 2021 15-26 8-20 2020 3-3 0-0 2019 20-21 14-10 Total 97-139 64-92

Kellen Bornbach joined the UW-Platteville Strength and Conditioning staff on July 1, 2021. Prior to joining the Pioneers, Bornbach served as a graduate assistant strength & conditioning coach while earning a master’s degree in Kinesiology from UW-Madison. Before his 2.5-year tenure in Madison, Wisconsin, Kellen earned his Bachelors in Exercise Sport Science from UW-La Crosse in May of 2019 where he also served as a volunteer strength and conditioning coach coach for 1.5 years. Bornbach currently holds his National Strength and Conditioning Coach’s Certified Strength & Conditioning Coach (CSCS), Functional Movement Screen Level 1, Functional Movement Systems’ Indian Club Basics, Eric Leija’s Primal Kettlebell Master, and American Red Cross’ CPR, AED, First Aid. In addition, Bornbach's certifications include: USAW Level 1 through USAW Weightlifting Movement Optimization Specialist through the Ballistic Advanced Training Academy Level 1 Reflexive Performance Reset Practitioner Functional Movement Systems (FMS) certified Breathing Assessment and Correction Specialist Volleyball Performance Specialist through The Art of Coaching Volleyball Functional Range Conditioning Practitioner through Functional Range Systems Stress Management Specialist through Adapt Shift

Assistant Baseball Coach Isaac Stanton is in his second year with the Pioneer baseball program.  Coach Stanton works with the Pioneer catchers, hitters, and team defense along with recruiting.  He brings a wealth of experience to the Platteville baseball program.  Stanton came to UW-Platteville from Southwestern High School (Hazel Green, WI) where he served as head coach from 2019-2023 and assistant coach from 2016-2019. In 2021, Stanton led the Wildcats to regional and sectional titles, and guided the team to the Wisconsin State Tournament for the first time in 10 years. Prior to his time at Southwestern, Stanton coached travel baseball with EMB Gold (Gold Standard Athletics/Eric Munson Baseball). During his time with EMB, he guided five consecutive teams to Iowa Majors Championships, winning in 2014, 2015, and 2017.   Under Coach McCoy’s and Coach Stanton’s guidance, the Pioneer defense set a program record with a fielding percentage of .967 in 2024 and the Pioneer offense saw the following increases from the previous season:Batting Average: +29 pointsOn-Base %: +24 pointsRBI: +47Total Runs Scored: +54Coach Harris on Coach Stanton:"Coach Stanton has already made a tremendous impact to our coaching staff. He brings a wealth of experience, including as a successful head coach, along with strong connections to the local area for recruiting. Coach Stanton understands the thought process that goes into making the decisions of a head coach and that is a huge benefit to have within a coaching staff.  When Coach Stanton agreed to join our program, I knew he would be a key addition to our staff and he has not disappointed.  I appreciate his trust in our goals and vision, and his willingness to step into this role at the college level."

Coach Owens comes UW-Platteville from Fort Worth, Texas.  He is a graduate of Dallas Northlake College and Central Christian College in McPherson, Kansas, where he was also a left-handed pitcher for their baseball programs. Marshall is joining the Pioneer baseball program as a graduate-assistant coach and will primarily work with the pitching staff.  He is working on his Master’s Degree in Sport Administration. Coach Harris on Coach Owens:“Throughout the interview process, Coach Owens showed a strong desire to begin his coaching career and he had an understanding of the demands of the coaching life.  He will be a great resource for our pitchers.  Upon arriving, he has already proven himself to have a strong work ethic and a willingness to do what is asked. He is here for the right reasons (our student-athletes) and that speaks volumes.”