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 led Kalamazoo to 12 wins in his first season as head coach. Including his two years as assistant coach, the Hornets have posted double-digit wins each year he has been on staff. Two players earned All-MIAA honors under Coach Rix 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.

In his role as recruiting coordinator, Rix helped bring in 21 freshman prospects for the 2006 season, the largest recruiting class in the history of the baseball program.

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 from Kalamazoo, earned a law degree from Michigan State University in May of 2004. He passed the Michigan Bar exam and is currently an associate at Peter F. Davis & Associates, PC in Mattawan, Mich.

Matt served as the head coach of the Kalamazoo Vipers Travel Baseball Club from 2002-04, 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). 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.

Travis Willey
Assistant Coach

Travis Willey joins the coaching staff in 2006-07 after graduating from Kalamazoo College in 2006 with a degree in computer science.

Willey was a four-year starter in centerfield for the Hornets and a career .279 hitter. He hit .295 as a junior and .293 as a senior, helping lead the Hornets to a school-record 20 wins during his senior season.

Willey was a captain his junior and senior seasons, and earned team Most Improved Player honors his senior year. Willey also saw time on the mound, compiling a 2-2 record in 14 career appearances.

Willey ranks third all-time at Kalamazoo with 119 career hits. He also ranks second in career triples, fifth in RBIs, and sixth in doubles and runs scored.

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, and refocus his efforts on his sports information duties, a position he has held since 1998.

Wideen guided the Hornets to an overall record of 20-20 in 2006, setting a school record for most wins in a season (20). Previous Hornet teams won 15 games in 1969, 1988 and 1989. The 2006 squad also set school records for most hits, runs, RBIs, and complete games.

One starter graduated from the 2006 team (new assistant coach Travis Willey). The remainder of the starting lineup consisted of three juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen. The starting rotation had three juniors and one freshman.

In 2005, the baseball team finished 11-20, a 10-game improvement over the previous season. 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 2005 starting lineup consisted of one senior, two juniors, four sophomores, and two freshmen.

The baseball program began rebuilding 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.