HAMMOND, La. – Veteran college coach Tim Donnelly and Louisiana native Trey Caswell have joined the Southeastern Louisiana baseball staff, head coach Matt Riser announced Monday.
 
Donnelly, whose appointment is pending the approval of the University of Louisiana System's Board of Supervisors, assumes recruiting coordinator and hitting coach duties at Southeastern after spending the past two seasons serving in both roles at Middle Tennessee State. Prior to that, he spent 10 seasons as an assistant at Marshall - serving the last five as both recruiting coordinator and hitting coach.
 
"I'm extremely excited to add Tim to our staff," Riser said. "He brings more than 12 years of coaching knowledge as both a recruiter and a hitting coach. Baseball knowledge is in his DNA, growing up around his father's coaching at the major league level to applying his own experience at the collegiate level. He's a well-known recruiter and hitting coach throughout the country, and is a big addition to our Southeastern family." 
 
Middle Tennessee ranked second in Conference USA with a .306 batting average (24th nationally) and 606 hits (13th nationally) in 2017. Home run totals more than doubled from 18 in 2016 to 46. Six starters in the Blue Raiders' lineup hit .300 or better.

This past season, the Blue Raiders hit .280 as a team and finished third in C-USA in runs scored (354), RBI (313) and on-base percentage (.369), and fourth in home runs (50). Middle Tennessee was aggressive on the base paths, swiping a league-high 75 bags in just 93 attempts.

Donnelly was named the Conference USA Assistant Coach of the Year in 2016, his final season at Marshall. He produced the nation's No. 34-ranked signing class in 2011, following up with the No. 50-ranked class in 2012.
 
During his time with the Thundering Herd, 25 players were either drafted or signed as free agents with an MLB franchise, including the highest pick in school history (Aaron Blair - 36th overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks). 
 
Blair, Emmanuel Burris (33rd overall by the San Francisco Giants, 2006), Dan Straily and Kevin Shackelford are all Donnelly products that have reached the Major League level.

Caswell joins the Lion after spending the past season as an assistant coach on the staff of Steve Adams, winner of back-to-back Red River Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors. In addition to his coaching duties, he will coordinate camps, equipment and program operations.
 
"Trey is a young, energetic coach," Riser said. "He's worked a few of our camps and shown the intangibles to be at this level. He brings a wealth of knowledge and organizational skills that set him apart from others his age. Being from Louisiana and having played in state, he has a lot of local ties to high school coaches that will help with recruiting and our camps."
 
Working with the infielders, instructing hitters, and overseeing the strength and conditioning program, Caswell helped guide LSUA to the NAIA national tournament in 2018, his first season as a coach. The Generals finished the year as the No. 17-ranked team in the NAIA with 117 stolen bases.
 
As a player, the native of Eunice, Louisiana helped lead the Generals to back-to-back RRAC titles and a trip to the NAIA national tournament. Prior to LSUA, Caswell spent two seasons playing for LSU Eunice, his hometown school. During his time with the Bengals, he teamed with former Southeastern outfielder Trenon Trosclair to win the NJCAA national championship in 2015.

The duo joins associate head coach Andrew Gipson, who will serve as pitching coach and academic coordinator, to complete the staff heading into Riser's sixth season at the helm of the program in 2019.
 
DIAMOND CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the Southeastern baseball program are encouraged to join the Diamond Club. Lion baseball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners. S Club members also gain membership in the Diamond Club.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Diamond Club and S Club (baseball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern baseball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091.
 
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