Now in his fourth year at the helm of the Wake Forest baseball program, head coach Rick Rembielak THE REMBIELAK FILE has returned the Demon Deacons to national prominence. Last season Rembielak continued the Dea- Born cons’ ascension by leading his squad to a runner-up finish at the ACC Championships and a berth in the August 5, 1960 NCAA Tournament. Rembielak officially became the 24th head baseball coach at Wake Forest University on June 29, Personal 2004. Wife -- Sharon "Rick has all the characteristics that are impor- Son -- Matthew (14) tant for us," said Wake Forest Director of Athletics Daughters -- Nicole (20), Ron Wellman upon Rembielak's hiring. "He has Megan (18) been a head coach for many years and been tremendously successful in that position. He Hometown is as high-quality as they come in the devel- Cleveland, Ohio opment of collegiate players. "He is not only recognized as an excel- College lent recruiter, but understands the impor- 1988 -- Univ. of Akron (B.A. in business education) tance of top-caliber student-athletes, both on the field and in the classroom," Wellman 1992 -- Kent State Univ. said. "He has an outstanding record in terms (M.A. in sports administration) of graduating his student-athletes, as well as winning numerous conference champi- Athletics onships." 1979-81 -- Miami (Ohio) University "What attracted me to Wake Forest was the uni- versity's excellent reputation," Rembielak said. "It is the perfect combination of academics and athletics. I cannot think of a better place to further my career than at Wake Forest. It is an ideal po- sition." In three seasons with the Demon Deacons, Rembielak has a record of 95-81 overall and 42-47 in ACC contests. In 14 years as a head coach, including 11 seasons at Kent State, Rembielak has amassed a record of 468-332-1 (.589). In 2007, Rembielak led Wake Forest to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002. The Deacons’ postseason bid was due in large part to their strong showing at the 2007 ACC Championships. Wake qualified for the conference tournament as the No. 8 seed but went 2-1 in pool play to advance to the final game. The Deacs came up just short in the finals falling 3-2 to North Carolina, which would go on to finish as runner-up at the College World Series. Wake Forest became only the second No. 8-seeded team in league history to play in the title game. HEAD COACH RICK REMBIELAK HEAD COACH 16 2008 WAKE FOREST BASEBALL The Deacons were rewarded for their strong conference showing with a bid to the Round Rock, Texas, Regional where Wake Forest received the No. 3 seed. Wake fell to eventual CWS participant UC Irvine in the first round but rebounded to defeat Ivy League champion Brown in the second round. Facing the University of Texas in front of a hostile home crowd, Wake Forest took the No. 5-ranked Longhorns to 12 innings before bowing out of the postsea- son. Wake Forest finished the year 34-29 overall and 14-16 in the ACC. The Deacs ended the regular season by winning nine of the last 12 games, giving them a strong resume for postseason consideration. The Deacons had a penchant for playing close games in 2007, going 20-17 in contests decided by two runs or less. Wake Forest played in the most one-run games in the country last season, finishing the year 11-14 in one-run contests. Individually, a number of players had stellar seasons under Rembielak’s watch. First baseman Allan Dykstra was one of the top hitters in the country. Dykstra, who was named second team All-ACC and a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist, hit .310 with 18 home runs and 60 RBIs. Dykstra tied for the ACC lead in home runs and finished in the top five in the conference in on-base percentage and slugging percentage. On the mound, relievers Josh Ellis and Eric Niesen had breakout campaigns. Ellis emerged as one of the top closers in the ACC in his final season on campus. Ellis finished with nine saves and a 3.20 ERA. He struck out 72 batters in 50.2 in- RICK REMBIELAK HEAD COACH nings pitched. Niesen began the year as a starter before transitioning to the bullpen where he took off. The lefty finished 6-5 with team-bests of 83 strikeouts and a 3.00 ERA. Both Ellis and Niesen were selected in the MLB Amateur Draft. Niesen signed as a third round pick of the New York Mets, while Ellis signed as an 11th-round se- lection of the Arizona Diamondbacks. In all Rembielak had five players, including signees, selected in the 2007 MLB Draft. Lefthanded pitchers Garrett Bullock (45th round by the Arizona Diamond- WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT REMBIELAK backs) and Mark Adzick (18th round by the Philadelphia Phillies) did not sign pro- fessional contracts. In his second season at the helm in 2006, the Deacons continued to improve Danny Hall, head coach at Georgia Tech under Rembielak. Wake Forest finished with a record of 33-22 overall and 16-13 “I think Wake Forest made a great choice in Rick Rembielak. They are get- in ACC play. The Deacs won five more games than they did in 2005 and qualified ting a great coach who established Kent State as one of the premier pro- for the ACC Tournament as the No. 8 seed. grams in the Mid-American Conference and the Midwest. He has had Wake Forest got off to a hot start in 2006, winning 13 of its first 16 games. several high draft picks under his watch and he has done a great job in Along the way, the Demon Deacons registered back-to-back wins over No. 12- developing talent. Wake Forest is getting a great coach, a great person ranked Missouri and top-ranked Florida. and a great family. I am extremely excited for him and his new opportu- The Deacs had a season-best winning streak of 11 games from Feb. 21 - March nity.” 10 and also had a five-game streak in mid-March. On May 6, Wake Forest played the longest game in ACC history, a 20-inning af- Mike Gibbons, MLB scout of the New York Yankees fair with Florida State that ultimately lasted over five hours. The Seminoles came “Rick is one of the most respected coaches in all of college baseball by away with a 4-3 win in the Hooks Stadium marathon. professional scouts. He is absolutely terrific. He is a tremendous coach With a 16-13 mark in conference games, the Deacons qualified for the ACC and will do a wonderful job at Wake Forest.” Tournament as the No. 8 seed. Wake fell to top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Clemson in the first round before being ousted by fifth-seeded and No.19-ranked Miami. Tom Shields, MLB scout of the St. Louis Cardinals Several individuals had breakout seasons under Rembielak's tutelage in 2006. “Rick is a great coach. Wake Forest could not have hired a better person Allan Dykstra was named the ACC Rookie of the Year and a Freshman All-American by several publications after hitting .324 with 15 home runs and 56 RBIs. in the entire country. In my mind, he is the absolute best coach in all of Matt Antonelli earned first team All-ACC honors and was drafted in the first America. He will get the most of his players. Every player that joins Rick’s round of the MLB Amateur Draft (17th overall) by the San Diego Padres. Ben program gets better, both mentally and physically. His kids are in high-de- Hunter was also a first team All-ACC selection after recording a league-best 14 mand come draft time. We knew that when we drafted one of his players saves. at Kent State that we would get a tremendous player that was ready for In Rembielak's first year in Winston-Salem, Wake Forest finished the 2005 cam- professional baseball.” paign 28-30 overall and 12-18 in the ACC. The Deacs not only improved their over- all win total from 2004 by 11 games, but also captured eight more games in league Bob Mayer, MLB scout of the Cleveland Indians play. In fact, six of Wake Forest's 12 ACC losses were by a single run. “Rick’s time was coming for an opportunity like this. He is a quality person In the end, the 11-game improvement in victories was the largest over one and will be extremely successful at Wake Forest. For years, Rick has done season since 1997. That season, Wake Forest won 37 games after winning just a tremendous job of landing talent that might have escaped under the 26 in 1996. The school record improvement from one season to the next is 15- MLB and major Division I radar screen. He brings those kids and then games set by the 1949 team which was the runner-up at the College World Se- turns them around in a couple years into MLB-ready talent. He is a first- ries. class coach.” The Deacs also picked up their first ACC Tournament victories in three seasons. Wake Forest, which had dropped four straight tournament games from 2002-2004, 2008 WAKE FOREST BASEBALL 17 recorded three victories at the 2005 ACC Tournament Michigan, 2-0, on May 24 in the MAC Tournament -- ousting Duke, Maryland and North Carolina. The semifinals. The Golden Flashes went on to win their Demon Deacons were the last remaining team from third MAC Tournament title.