Stetson University head baseball coach Steve Trimper announced today the addition of Shane Gierke to the Hatters' coaching staff. He will serve as Stetson's recruiting coordinator and will work with the Hatters' catchers in addition to helping build the offensive attack.
 
"Shane has the proven ability to recruit top quality kids that are blue-collar, hard-nosed types of players, the kind of players we want here at Stetson," Trimper said. "He also has a tremendous ability to recruit in Florida because of his deep family ties here. His father was a very successful football coach and his brother is a successful high school baseball coach. He is the home run we were looking for as both an on-field instructor of the game and as a recruiter."
 
Gierke comes to Stetson from Troy University where he served as assistant baseball coach for the last six seasons.
 
"First I would like to thank my wife Veronica for her amazing support over the last 15 plus years," Gierke said. "Without her, nothing would be possible in our family.
 
"This is a dream come true for me to come home to central Florida and work for a storied program like the one at Stetson. It is something that has been 20 years in the making and my family and I can't wait to get fully moved to DeLand and get started."
 
During his time as an assistant coach at Troy, Gierke recruited and coached some of the top players in program history. Those players included outfielder Brandon Lockridge from Pensacola, a fifth-round draft pick of the New York Yankees in 2018, RHP Levi Thomas, a fourth-round pick of the San Diego Padres in 2020 and Andrew Crane from Pascagoula, Miss., who was the Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2017 and set the SBC career record for ERA with a 2.25 mark over two years.
 
"Finding players who are the right fit for Stetson is my number one goal in recruiting," Gierke said. "We look for hard-nosed, blue-collar, high-academic students who are about the team and team success. Getting a degree should be their first goal and winning a team championship should be second. This will be the first time in my career I will have a chance to recruit in my own backyard where I grew up."
 
His recruiting efforts produced freshmen All-Americans three straight years and his work with the Troy catchers produced All-America efforts by Chase Smartt (2019) and Caleb Bartolero (2020). During the shortened 2020 season the Trojans had an NCAA best 46 doubles in just 17 games.
 
Prior to his arrival at Troy, Gierke spent 12 seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, the University of West Florida. For eight of those years, Gierke served as the recruiting coordinator and oversaw catcher development and hitting instruction.
 
Gierke's recruiting efforts at UWF were highlighted by several major league prospects. He recruited all 11 Argonauts that have been drafted by major league teams, including five players in 2011 after the team's national championship season.
 
In 2011, the Argonauts won the NCAA Division II national championship and set school records in runs (449), hits (638) and walks (267). As a team, UWF batted .326 and averaged 7.4 runs per game, led by All-Americans Greg Pron and former Stetson assistant coach Brandon Brewer. Gierke played at UWF himself from 2000-02.
 
"Coach Trimper and I will work with the hitters together to build an offensive strategy that can have success at Melching Field," Gierke said. "Whatever I can do to help the team have success is what I want to do."
 
No stranger to the central Florida area, Gierke grew up in Apopka and is the son of legendary Edgewater High football coach Chip Gierke. His brother, Casey, is the current head baseball coach at Edgewater and his other brother, Brad, was drafted by the San Francisco Giants and played college football at Appalachian State. He now works as a police officer in Orlando.
 
Gierke and his wife, the former Veronica Slover, have two children – son Jackson (11) and daughter Shelby (3).
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.