Kalamazoo College Baseball Coaching Staff

Matt Rix
Head Coach

Matt Rix was promoted to head baseball coach on Aug. 4, 2006. Rix, a 2000 graduate of Kalamazoo College, served as an assistant coach the previous two seasons.

Rix's 2010 team posted 14 wins, the third highest total in school history. Four Hornets set single season records while the team set records for hits, home runs and RBIs in a season. The team's .308 batting average is second best in school history.

Rix has posted 46 wins in his first four seasons at Kalamazoo College, the second highest four-year total in school history.

Rix led the Hornets to 12 wins in each of his first two seasons as head coach. Including his two years as assistant coach, the Hornets have posted double-digit wins during five of his six years on staff. Several players have earned All-MIAA honors during Rix's tenure. Senior Ryan Benjamin earned All-MIAA first-team honors in 2009. Two players earned All-MIAA honors in 2008 -- junior Ryan Benjamin earned first-team honors as catcher while sophomore Brandon Luczak earned second-team honors as Utility Player. Two players earned All-MIAA honors in 2007 -- senior Charlie Mackinnon earned first-team honors as DH/Utility Player and freshman Brandon Luczak earned second-team honors as a pitcher.

As an assistant coach in 2005, Rix was instrumental in helping guide the Hornets to 11 wins as he directed the offense and the pitching staff. The Hornets tied a school record for most hits in a season, had the school's second-highest batting average (.301), and produced the third-highest run total.

Rix followed up with a school-record 20 wins in his second season on staff. He helped guide the Hornets to school records for hits, runs, RBIs and complete games. The team went from 3-32 before his arrival to 20-20 during his second year on staff, marking the second-best turnaround in NCAA Division III over that span.

Rix was a four-year letter winner on the mound for the Hornets. He was team captain in 2000. In 1998 he earned team most valuable player and team most improved player honors. He also earned coaches honorable mention honors in 1998. Rix was on the Dean's List and the MIAA Academic Honor Roll all four years.

As a student at Kalamazoo College, Rix studied abroad in Bonn, Germany during the fall of his junior year. He also interned at a travel agency during his time in Bonn.

Rix, who holds a degree in philosophy and history from Kalamazoo, earned a law degree from Michigan State University College of Law in May of 2004. He passed the Michigan Bar exam and currently runs a solo practice.

Rix served as the head coach of the Kalamazoo Vipers Travel Baseball Club from 2002-05, leading the team to first-place finishes in the Kalamazoo Amateur Baseball Association (2002 and 2003) and the Southwest Michigan Men's League (2004 and 2005). The Kalamazoo Vipers compiled an overall record of 92-34 under Rix. In 2001 he served as head coach of the jayvee baseball team at Mattawan High School, leading the Wildcats to a 19-3 record and a first-place finish in the Kalamazoo Valley Association. He also assisted on the varsity team in their run as district champions and regional semifinalists.

Matt and his wife, Melissa, reside in Kalamazoo.

Steve Wideen
Assistant Coach

Steve Wideen completed his fifth season as head coach of the Hornet baseball team in 2006. He stepped down as head coach in August of 2006 to work as an assistant coach while refocusing his efforts as Kalamazoo College's sports information director, a position he has held since 1998.

As head coach, Wideen guided the Hornets to an overall record of 20-20 in his final season (2006). The team was 3-32 just two seasons before, marking the second-best turnaround in NCAA Division III during that span. The team set school records for most wins, hits, runs, RBIs, and complete games.

In 2005, the baseball team finished 11-20, a 10-game improvement over the previous season and the 14th-best turnaround in NCAA Division III. The 11 wins were the fifth-highest total in school history. Charlie Mackinnon was selected to the All-MIAA First Team as a utility player (pitcher/first base), and was Kalamazoo's first All-MIAA player since 1999.

The baseball program began rebuilding in 2002 under Wideen, with seven incoming freshmen each of his first two recruiting years. Three-to-five freshmen started every game in 2003. The 2004 squad was also young, as 13 of the 19 players were freshmen or sophomores. The Hornets started freshmen pitchers in all conference games in 2004.

Wideen is a 1998 graduate of Cornerstone University where he earned a degree in business administration. He was a four-year starter at third base and pitcher while serving as co-captain for two years. He earned team most valuable player honors and was selected as the College's male athlete of the year following his senior season.

Wideen earned a master's degree in athletic administration from Western Michigan University in December of 2004.

Steve and his wife, Katie, reside in Kalamazoo.

Justin Carter
Assistant Coach

Justin Carter began his first season as an assistant coach with the Kalamazoo College baseball team in 2010.

A native of Jackson, Mich., Carter was named Citizen Patriot Player of the Year following his 2001 season at Jackson High School. Carter went on to play two seasons at third base for Kellogg Community College where he earned All-Conference and All-American honors in 2003, while also being named to the All-Tournament Team at the NJCAA World Series in 2002.

Carter finished his collegiate career at Western Michigan University and earned All-MAC honors in both 2004 and 2005, playing third base, first base, rightfield and leftfield. Carter hit .331 in two seasons with the Broncos and ranks among the single-season leaders in hits (72), RBIs (49), doubles (14), home runs (13), total bases (117) and slugging percentage (.619). He tied the school record by being hit by pitch 14 times in a season, and ranks second at WMU with 20 career hit by pitches.

Carter signed with the Frontier League's Traverse City Beach Bums in 2007 and retired later that year.