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Steve Trimper 2020
Steve Simoneau

Baseball Athletic Communications

Steve Trimper Completes Baseball Staff

Hatters welcome Shane Opitz, Colt Chrestman and Nick Saven to the program

DeLand, Fla. -- Stetson University head baseball coach Steve Trimper has completed his staff for the 2021-22 academic year with the addition of Shane Opitz as the volunteer assistant coach, Colt Chrestman as director of player personnel and Nick Saven as director of operations.
 
Opitz comes to Stetson from the University of Arkansas where he was a graduate assistant for the Razorbacks, who spent most of the 2021 season ranked No. 1 in the nation. He primarily worked with the Arkansas hitters, but also worked with infielder and outfielder development and baserunning.
 
A graduate of Colorado State University, Opitz was an 11th round selection of the Toronto Blue Jays out of high school in 2010 after being named the Colorado High School Player of the Year. He was a Louisville Slugger All-American and had committed to play college baseball at Nebraska before being selected in the draft.
 
He worked his way through the Toronto organization all the way to AAA in 2017 and then joined the Milwaukee Brewers organization, playing the 2018 season at AAA in the Pacific Coast League.
 
While still an active player, Opitz worked as a camp coordinator for Khaos Baseball in Littleton, Colo. Following the end of his playing career, he became head coach for USA Prime Baseball in Littleton, and position that he has continued in, working to develop practice plans for 25 USA Prime teams.
 
Opitz served as the volunteer assistant coach at the University of Northern Colorado during the 2019-20 academic year, coordinating camps and working with the development of hitters, infielders and overall baserunning.
 
"Shane brings a wealth of knowledge in all facets of the game," Trimper said.  "His long professional playing career, along with his baseball family genes with his two brothers in professional baseball, will undoubtedly help us develop Stetson baseball players.  He will work with our infielders and hitters and serve as the first base coach."

Chrestman comes to Stetson after serving as a graduate assistant at Troy University during the 2020-21 academic year. At Troy he oversaw all video aspects for the program and assisted in offensive and outfield drills in addition to baserunning. He was also in charge of scouting report preparation and player evaluation for recruiting.
 
Chrestman is no stranger to the ASUN, having played collegiately at North Alabama from 2018-20. He was a starting outfielder for the Lions while earning ASUN Academic Honor Roll and Dean's List accolades. Prior to playing at UNA, Chrestman played for two seasons at Northeast Mississippi Community College, earning All-State honors in 2018.
 
A native of Maben, Miss., Chrestman was a turf worker at Mississippi State for athletics facilities management and he also spent time job shadowing in the MSU sports nutrition program.
 
This past summer he served as head coach for the East Coast Sox 17U team in Columbus, Miss.

"Colt is a tireless worker that will add a high energy person with tremendous work ethic," Trimper said.  "In his role as Director of Player Personal and Video Coordinator, he will have responsibilities in scouting reports, game management, and a liaison to our academic department.  As a former outfielder at the University of North Alabama, he is familiar with the ASUN and what it takes to succeed at the highest level."

No stranger to the Stetson program, Nicholas Saven has worked as a student manager for the Hatters since 2018 and took over the role of director of operations on an interim basis during the season last spring before being promoted to the full-time role. He received his undergraduate degree in Sport Business last spring, finishing Magnum Cum Laude and was a two-time Business School Foundation award winner.
 
A native of Fort Lauderdale, Saven attended Saint Thomas Aquinas High. He has worked with the Cannons Baseball travel team as a coach and administrator in addition to spending one year working for analytics firm Baseball Cloud as a research development intern.

"Nick is a former student and graduate at Stetson and served as our student manager for four seasons," Trimper said.  "He has a great understanding to the day to day operations of our program and will take on all roles pertaining to operations.  He is a person of great character and integrity, and he is a tremendous addition to our staff."

These new members of the Stetson Baseball staff join with new Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Shane Gierke along with returning Associate Head Coach/Pitching Coach Dave Therneau on Trimper's staff for the coming year.
 
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.
 
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